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In Ghosts of the Abyss, James Cameron returns to the watery grave of the Titanic in an effort to let the ill-fated ship tell the story of her own demise. Equipped with space age technology and twin little exploratory robots designed specifically for exploring the Titanic, Cameron and his team manage to take us into rooms unseen by human eye since April 1912. Not only do you get the theatrical version of this documentary film (albeit without the 3-D experience offered by IMAX), you also get an extended version featuring an extra half hour of material. Most people would just watch the extended version, but I wanted to get a feel for the difference the extra footage makes, so I watched both versions back to back. I was actually rather amazed to discover that the extended version is ten times better than the original – basically, all of the best material was left out of the theatrical release.

I have to admit I found Bill Paxton, the de facto narrator of the film, rather annoying at times. As he freely admits, he isn’t really qualified for this type of deep-sea mission, and his giddiness and nervous humor tend to grow old pretty quickly. Like most people, I just wanted to see footage of the wreckage, not a chronicling of Paxton’s anxiety over traveling to the ocean floor. I did enjoy the glimpses provided of the other crew members on the expedition, however – they are an interesting assortment of scientists, filmmakers, historians, and Russian seamen.

Ghosts of the Abyss does succeed in showing Titanic in all of her mysterious glory, and the underwater footage makes this film well worth watching. The footage obtained from the two submersible vessels floating around and above the ship is breathtaking, but the true magic happens when two specially-designed robots, Jake and Elroy, are guided (remotely) down into the ship herself. The bots move in and out of individual rooms, giving us glimpses of Colonel Smith’s bathtub, ornate windows (still intact) from the main dining room, personal effects of passengers still lying where their owners left them, etc. This allows the filmmakers to further personalize the visual experience. For the first time, we are able to move down into the bowels of the ship herself and see, for example, the area where the firemen lived, worked, and died. The best footage of all can be found only in the extended version – only here, for example, can you travel down into the steerage section of the ship for the very first time. I was very surprised to see that this important and unprecedented footage was cut out of the theatrical release. If you’re like me, you are also are curious about the animals you know must be calling the Titanic home, but only in the extended version will you find any footage of these mysterious, ocean-bottom dwellers.

Cameron makes extensive use of CGI in order to show the audience what we are actually looking at. You’ll be watching the video footage of a certain location, and then the filmmakers will overlay pictures showing how the room would have looked back in 1912, and many times transparent, ghostly images are also overlaid over the footage. The intention is to really bring the past alive. It works to some degree, but some may see it as overdramatization. Of course, the bots steal the show. Jake and Elwood are fascinating little gizmos that become our eyes and show us the wreckage of the Titanic as we have never seen it before. One of them adds additional drama to the story by malfunctioning; the rescue mission is really the most exciting aspect of the entire film.

A second disc contains some 50 minutes of interviews and additional footage, most of which is quite interesting. I was very glad to see a feature on the “cowboys” who go out to hook the resurfaced submersibles to the surface vessel; seeing these guys work in turbulent seas is just incredible. You also get to watch a few minutes of one dive’s footage from your choice of six different camera angles – you can switch back and forth between views from the submersibles, Jake and Elwood, and the submersible cabin views. All in all, this is a great DVD package, but it is not perfect. I think all of us would like to have seen more of the actual footage and a good deal less of Bill Paxton, but there is no denying the fact that Ghosts of the Abyss offers viewers the most eye-opening tour available of the proud wreckage of the Titanic.

Walt Disney Pictures in association with Walden Media have announced the Region 1 DVD release of Ghosts of the Abyss for 27th April 2004 with a retail price of $29.99. This cinematic experience premiered on the large screen Theatrical IMAX format and is the quest by director James Cameron to go back to the resting ground of the actual Titanic equipped with state of the art technology with a team of top underwater explorers and filmmakers. Actor Bill Paxton also accompanies Cameron on this astonishing underwater voyage.

On 2-disc DVD Ghosts of the Abyss includes both the 60 minute Theatrical version of the film and a 90 minute extended version showcasing unseen footage, especially made for this home entertainment release. The second disc is entirely devoted to bonus materials.

Disc One:
Original Theatrical Version: (60:44 minutes)
Extended Version with Unseen Footage (91:44 minutes)
1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
THX-certified Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound
Disc Two:
“Reflections From The Deep” – Look back on the challenges of creating this groundbreaking cinematic experience. Includes unseen footage from their risky dives to the ocean floor and revealing interviews with Director James Cameron, star Bill Paxton, and the entire crew.
“The ROV Experience” – An innovative multi-angle feature. Choose from different cameras as you dive to the floor of the ocean’s floor, and ultimately see the grand staircase any way you want.
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