Author dvdmike Time 16-Jan-2014 12:31PM Post link Bill Hunt of The Digital Bits has been following this story even longer than us, and his sources on the matter are better placed than ours too. But with the new Avatar film expected on disc this side of Easter, The Abyss may finally be on the verge of being announced. div>Fan-Edits & Preservations : Drsapirstein.blogspot.com
Author dvdmike Time 16-Jan-2014 12:51PM Post link E ver since James Cameron had adopted the use of the Super 35 format, he'd been framing for both widescreen and television safe, and there has been quite some discussion about how that sometimes compromises the compositions for one or the other more than if he just committed to framing specifically for one ratio. The pan-and-scan formatting often might improve a shot (e.g. the visibility of Jamie Lee Curtis' legs flailing as she hangs from the helicopter in a shot in True Lies , which adds an element of helplessness absent from the widescreen presentation). I would therefore be quite interested to see what this film looks like with a somewhat taller frame. The traditional hold-up to the release thus far, though, is James Cameron himself. That he has to personally approve the new transfers for both films, and the bottom line is that he simply hasn’t to our knowledge done that yet. In more recent times, he’s been focused heavily on his quartet of Avatar sequels, as well as his work on Terminator: Dark Fate and Alita: Battle Angel (and he was active on the promotional tour for the latter two).
bigrob, you know that I'm interesting in doing that one... if Doc could make an unapproved 2.70:1 version, who am I to NOT do an approved 1.90:1 version based on laserdisc? ( The Digital Bits is reporting that not only is Cameron’s first Avatar film set to arrive on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray along with its sequel in 2023, but that “our sources continue to report that Disney is likely to release … [the] long-awaited remaster of The Abyss on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray early next year”. Two different 1080p preservations of James Cameron’s The Abyss [extended cut aka “Special Edition”], which remains commercially unreleased in high-definition to this day. No idea as of yet which of the cuts of the film are set to appear when the disc does finally arrive. We can argue over that a bit later though. For now, here’s the original report too over at The Digital Bits…div> “Dr. Sapirstein delivers all the society babies. He’s one of the finest obstetricians in the country.” - Minnie Castevet
But where’s the incentive for Disney to pursue Blu-rays and 4Ks of True Lies and The Abyss? Granted, it may want to keep James Cameron happy, and there may be thinking that so much work has been done it’d be daft not to finish the discs off. Still, it’s hard to rule out that when Cameron does finally sign off the new releases of the movies, they end up on digital formats only. It’s little secret that the market for physical releases has contracted, after all. div>Fan-Edits & Preservations : Drsapirstein.blogspot.com
Author dvdmike Time 16-Jan-2014 2:52PM Post link The demand from fans isn’t likely to stop. But that’s hardly made much difference over the past decade and change. True Lies and The Abyss remain two of the most high profile films of the last few decades to still not have a Blu-ray release. The 14 months of silence since we last got word of either tells its own story.
Author dvdmike Time 16-Jan-2014 12:59PM Post link Furthermore, previously The Abyss has appeared on Netflix, and True Lies has popped up in HD on Sky in the UK. But neither are likely to be the Cameron-approved versions. There had been speculation that the movie would thus get a fresh disc release at the end of last year, to mark its 30 th birthday (interviews were reportedly conducted for a 20 year anniversary release of the film a decade ago, but that disc never came to fruition). 2019 also marked the 25 th birthday of True Lies. Not a further whiff of either film finally getting that fresh release followed, and more radio silence instead ensued. It’s curious that the existence of the grading was allowed to be out in the open – presumably with an eye on a 2019 release – and then nothing happened.Originally, it was all on James Cameron, whose commitment to the Avatar movies now runs until at least 2025 (and they’re going to monopolise he’s working time). Now, it’s on Disney too. And that leaves the likelihood that the best physical releases we’re getting for The Abyss and True Lies for the foreseeable future remain the DVDs (or that digital VHS in the case of True Lies) – unless an enterprising third party label can grease the wheels. As things stand, amongst the work of James Cameron, even Piranha II now has a decent Blu-ray release, courtesy of Shout Factory in America. But in the case of The Abyss, True Lies, Titanic and Avatar, these were all made under a deal with 20 th Century Fox. And as we understand it, that deal (and Fox is where he had his production deal for over 20 years) gives him final approval on the way those films are presented on disc, and what extra features are included. All were due to be released under the Fox Home Entertainment label. But now, Fox is part of the Disney empire. Blu-Ray B uses the only true HD source of the film available (a flawed Japanese HD broadcast with an erroneous color grading, which had to be slightly cropped to get rid of the network’s logo and the Japanese hardsubs), restored with a more coherent color grading and fully remastered. Join the dark side… and get a free cookie! Author StarThoughts Time 17-Jan-2014 8:06AM (Edited) Post link
*So you can easily identify outgoing links on our site, we've marked them with an "*" symbol. Links on our site are monetised, but this never affects which deals get posted. Find more info in our FAQs and About Us page.
Joined in 2023 
82 
63 
Great Deal 
New Comment