2003 documentary film directed by James Cameron
Ghosts of the Abyss
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![](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/5/5e/Ghosts_of_the_abyss.jpg/220px-Ghosts_of_the_abyss.jpg) Theatrical release poster
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Directed by
| James Cameron
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Produced by
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Starring
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- Bill Paxton
- James Cameron
- Dr. John Broadwater
- Dr. Lori Johnston
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Cinematography
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Edited by
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Music by
| Joel McNeely
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Production
companies
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Distributed by
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Release dates
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- March 31, 2003
(
2003-03-31
)
(premiere)
- April 11, 2003
(
2003-04-11
)
(limited)
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Running time
| 61 minutes
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Country
| United States
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Language
| English
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Budget
| $13 million
[2]
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Box office
| $28.7 million
[3]
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Ghosts of the Abyss
(also known as
Titanic 3D: Ghosts of the Abyss
[4]
[5]
) is a 2003 American documentary film produced by
Walden Media
. It was directed by
James Cameron
after his 1997 film
Titanic
. During August and September 2001, Cameron and a group of scientists staged an expedition to the
wreck of the RMS
Titanic
and dived in Russian deep-submersibles to obtain more detailed images than anyone had before. Using two small, purpose-built
remotely operated vehicles
, the documentary offers glimpses into the
Titanic
wreck and, with
CGI
, superimposes the ship's original appearance on the deep-dive images.
The film is narrated by actor
Bill Paxton
, who joined Cameron on the expedition and previously played Brock Lovett in the
1997 film
. The film premiered for
IMAX
3D and was nominated for a
BFCA
award for Best Documentary. The submersibles
Mir 1
and
Mir 2
carried the filming team on 12 dives.
[6]
Plot
[
edit
]
Director
James Cameron
returns to the site of the 1912 wreck of the
RMS
Titanic
, aboard the Russian research vessel
Akademik Mstislav Keldysh
with a team of history and marine experts, and his friend
Bill Paxton
.
[5]
Cameron and the crew document the interiors and exteriors of the wreckage using 3D technology designed for the documentary. While diving on September 11, 2001, the filming crew hears about the
9/11 attacks
on the
World Trade Center
and the Pentagon. Afterward, they compare and reflect on the tragedy of 9/11 with the tragedy of the
Titanic.
Cast
[
edit
]
Throughout the movie, there are re-enactments of events that are discussed that use CGI recreations of the interior of the
Titanic
.
Release
[
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]
The film was screened out of competition at the
2003 Cannes Film Festival
.
[7]
Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
handled distribution of the film in the United States and Canada with sister company
Buena Vista International
handling UK distribution, both under the
Walt Disney Pictures
banner.
Summit Entertainment
handled international sales of the film.
[8]
Home media
[
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]
The feature film on the DVD is 90 minutes long and is available in a two-disc edition and as the fifth disc in the
Titanic
five-Disc Deluxe Limited Edition.
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment
released the film on a three-disc
Blu-ray 3D
,
Blu-ray
and DVD edition on September 11, 2012.
[9]
[10]
Rolling Stone
included the documentary in its 2012 list of the best 3D movies.
[11]
Reception
[
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]
Box office
[
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]
The film grossed $17.1 million from a maximum release of 97 theaters in the United States. It also grossed $11.7 million internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $28.8 million.
[3]
Critical response
[
edit
]
![[icon]](//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1c/Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg/20px-Wiki_letter_w_cropped.svg.png) | This section
needs expansion
. You can help by
adding to it
.
(
March 2021
)
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Review aggregator
Rotten Tomatoes
reports that the documentary earned 80% positive reviews based on 102 reviews and an average score of 7.10/10. The website's critical consensus reads: "The underwater footage is both beautiful and awe-inspiring."
[12]
On
Metacritic
, the film has an average score of 67 out of 100 from 24 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".
[13]
Soundtrack
[
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]
The official soundtrack's score was composed and conducted by Joel McNeely, and the orchestrations were conducted by David Brown, Marshall Bowen, and Frank Macchia. The album was also recorded and mixed by Rich Breen, edited by Craig Pettigrew, and mastered by Pat Sullivan. The album was ultimately produced by
James Cameron
, Randy Gerston and Joel McNeely and released by Disney's
Hollywood Records
label. Part of the film was filmed in
St. John's, Newfoundland
, Canada.
Toad the Wet Sprocket
lead singer and songwriter Glen Phillips contributed the opening track, "Departure". James Cameron loved the band's 1991 track "Nightingale Song" but found Columbia Records' licensing fee too high (it wanted over $5,000 for the use of the one minute he wanted to use) so he contacted the band's management hoping they could re-record it for his film, only to find they had broken up in 1998 and could not. However, during the negotiations Cameron asked if Phillips would be interested in writing a new track in the spirit of the older song and "Departure" was created. it was produced, mixed, and all instruments played by Phillips in his garage studio though this was not credited in the CD booklet.
The closing track is
Darkness, Darkness
by Lisa Torban.
References
[
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External links
[
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]
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Films directed
| Feature
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Short
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Documentaries
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Films written
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Produced only
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TV series produced
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Related articles
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