The Abyss Ever Going to Be Released?

Is there actually any evidence to suggest those effects shots were only done in low-res? Because every other James Cameron film released in extended form was a restoration of the original cut, before studio-dictated edits were made. All the effects in the extended cut of Terminator 2 were done at the same time as the rest - for example the added T1000 glitching shots towards the end - so I see no reason why The Abyss wasn't done the same way.

The only example of low-res CGI of this nature that I can think of is in the home-release version of Devil's Advocate, which had alterations made to a sculpture after copyright issues prevented them showing it for most of the film. Has Cameron actually stated that the effects in the extended cut of The Abyss were done specifically for VHS?

The other major film I can think of that's languishing in the no-BD void right now is Bad Boys II. The first one has been out for years but this one seems to have slipped under the radar. Strange because it would doubtlessly be a big seller.

I'm pretty sure it has to do with 20th Century Fox who also owns the rights to Cameron's other film not on Bluray: True Lies.

True Lies is a much trickier one than The Abyss. It's been released on DVD in various countries by Columbia and Universal, so the distribution arrangements for any BD release would probably be quite complicated.

Ermagurd: There's no evidence, I can't find any anywhere else, and that's why I'm here, trying to find some!

The only similar situation I can think of that might be evidence that leads me to believe The Abyss might be the same thing is the Robert Wise Director's Edition of Star Trek-The Motion Picture released on DVD in the year 2000. The revised digital visual-effects were only done in standard DVD resolution, since the Director's Edition of ST-MP was only going to DVD, there was no theatrical release of ST-MP The Director's Edition planned, and a high-def disc format like blu-ray was yet to be introduced, so CBS figured why spend the extra money to do the FX in 4k film resolution? ST-MP was originally released by Paramount, but CBS owns the Star Trek TV series and apparently bought the rights to do this revision.

What is the deal with Fox? Ever since they became "A News Corporation", owned by cable news networks...

Well, I know it's not reknowned as a source of reliable information but according to the Wikipedia page for The Abyss, the wave sequence was cut from the final edit after Cameron was told he had to cut down the runtime. However the wave sequence was completed in 1992 by ILM, so possibly it was done in standard definition. It doesn't say either way, but I honestly can't see ILM half-assing that sort of thing. Plus the extended cut did have a limited theatrical run, unlike the Star Trek special edition.

The closest thing we have to the Blu-ray is the remastered HDTV version of the theatrical cut that premiered on HBO and Cinemax last year.

http://s8.postimg.org/ginrz37r9/The_Abyss_Screencap_Comparison_3.png
http://s8.postimg.org/coubpxqf9/The_Abyss_Screencap_Comparison_5.png
http://s8.postimg.org/ijnibeio5/The_Abyss_Screencap_Comparison_6.png
http://s8.postimg.org/eotb0be9x/The_Abyss_Screencap_Comparison_7.png
http://s8.postimg.org/5v2ej7rb9/The_Abyss_Screencap_Comparison_8.png
http://s8.postimg.org/fojlw0tfp/The_Abyss_Screencap_Comparison_9.png
http://s8.postimg.org/8qfhq2vb9/The_Abyss_Screencap_Comparison_10.png

Thanks, ck, for the screenshots.

persent, I so agree. The end scene in the Special Edition with the tidal waves reared up all over the world and then receded by the NTIs, as a warning to us to get our act together, is truly monumental. The characters are much more fleshed out also in the Special Edition. It's a much deeper and more emotionally resonant movie. The theatrical cut is still a tight, claustrophobic movie, but without that immense ending, it's a rather quaint, cutesy "hello" from E.T. It's an avalanche turned into a whisper. Obviously in '89, Cameron was urged by Fox to keep the film's running time under 2 hrs. 20 mins., so he had to cut a lot of stuff out and couldn't realize his true vision for the massive ending in the initial theatrical cut.