Ghosts of the Abyss

Ghosts of the Abyss is a 2003 American documentary film released by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media. It was directed by Academy Award-winning filmmaker James Cameron after his 1997 Oscar-winning 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. With the help of two small, purpose-built remotely operated vehicles, nicknamed "Jake" and "Elwood", the audience too can see inside the Titanic, and with the help of CGI, audiences can view the ship's original appearance superimposed on the deep-dive images.

Ghosts of the Abyss
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	James Cameron
Produced by	John Bruno James Cameron Chuck Comisky Janace Tashjian Andrew Wight
Starring	Bill Paxton James Cameron Dr. John Broadwater Dr. Lori Johnston
Music by	Joel McNeely
Cinematography	Vince Pace D. J. Roller
Edited by	David C. Cook Ed W. Marsh Sven Pape John Refoua
Production company	Walt Disney Pictures Walden Media Earthship Productions Ascot Elite Entertainment Group Golden Village Telepool UGC PH
Distributed by	Buena Vista Pictures
Release date	March 31, 2003 (2003-03-31) (premiere) April 11, 2003 (2003-04-11) (limited)
Running time	61 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$13 million[1]
Box office	$28.7 million[2]

Also along for the ride Cameron invited his friend, actor Bill Paxton, who played Brock Lovett in the 1997 film. Paxton narrates the event through his eyes. 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.[3]

The film is also known as Titanic 3D: Ghosts of the Abyss.[4][5]

Outline

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] he embarks on an adventure back to the final grave of 1,517 people killed in 1912.[4] Using technology developed for this expedition, Cameron and his crew are able to explore virtually all of the wreckage, inside and out, as never before. This documentary was made for IMAX 3D theatres and specially outfitted 35 mm 3D theaters. Cameron and his team bring audiences to sights not seen since the sinking and explore why the vessel continues to intrigue and fascinate the public.[6] While diving on September 11, 2001, the filming crew hears about the 9/11/2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Afterward, they all compare and reflect on the tragedy of 9/11 with the tragedy of the Titanic.

Cast

Throughout the movie, there are re-enactments of events that are discussed that use CGI recreations of the interior of the Titanic.

• Don Lynch as Titanic's designer Thomas Andrews
• Ken Marschall as White Star Line President J. Bruce Ismay
• Miguel Wilkins as Qm. Robert Hichens
• Federico Zambrano as John Jacob Astor IV
• Dale Ridge as Elizabeth Lines
• Judy Prestininzi as Molly Brown
• Adrianna Valdez as Helen Churchill Candee
• Justin Shaw as Wireless Officer Jack Phillips
• Thomas Kilroy as a person who plays poker
• Charlie Arneson as First Officer William Murdoch
• Piper Gunnarson as Madeleine Astor
• John Donovan as Captain Edward Smith
• Janace Tashjian as Edith Russell
• Jesse Baker as Second Officer Charles Lightoller
• Justin Baker as Junior Wireless Officer Harold Bride
• Aaron C. Fitzgerald as Lookout Frederick Fleet

Release

The film was screened out of competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.[7]

The film grossed $17,093,668 in the United States and $11,687,000 worldwide, for a total gross of $28,780,668.[2]

Home media

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.[8][9]

Rolling Stone included the documentary in its list of the best 3D movies ever, in 2012.[10]

Soundtrack

Ghosts of the Abyss
Soundtrack album by Joel Mcneely
Released	April 26, 2003
Genre	Soundtrack
Length	58:29
Label	Hollywood Records

The official soundtrack's score were 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 Halifax, Nova Scotia, 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.

Track listing

All music is composed by Joel McNeely, except where noted.

No.	Title	Music	Vocalist	Length
1.	"Departure"	Glen Phillips	Glen Phillips	2:33
2.	"Main Title"			1:16
3.	"Apprehension"			1:29
4.	"Getting Ready"			1:20
5.	"Titanic Revealed"			3:11
6.	"Floating Above the Deck"			3:01
7.	"Dangerous Recovery"			1:28
8.	"Valse Septembre"	Felix Godin		2:19
9.	"The Windows"			0:47
10.	"Jake and Elwood"			2:14
11.	"The Bots Go In"			1:33
12.	"Titsy Bitsy Girl"	Ivan Caryll and Lionel Monckton		1:52
13.	"The Grand Staircase"			1:33
14.	"Exploring the Staterooms"			1:51
15.	"Song Without Words"	Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky		2:26
16.	"Elegance Past"			2:10
17.	"Building the Ship"			1:28
18.	"I... I Had to Go"			1:54
19.	"The Ship's Engines"			1:42
20.	"Alexander's Ragtime Band"	Irving Berlin		1:53
21.	"The Final Day"			2:15
22.	"The End"			3:17
23.	"Memorials"			1:18
24.	"Go Toward the Light"			1:31
25.	"The Next Morning"			2:08
26.	"Nearer My God to Thee"	John B. Dykes		0:55
27.	"Saying Goodbye to Titanic"			1:55
28.	"Eternal Father, Strong to Save"	John B. Dykes and William Whiting		3:02
29.	"Darkness, Darkness"	Jesse Colin Young	Lisa Torban	4:05
Total length:				58:29

References

1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-01-12. Retrieved 2016-10-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. "Ghosts of the Abyss – Box Office Data". The Numbers. Retrieved 7 August 2011.
3. 47218_GotAEGv15_A
4. "Titanic director revisits ship's wreck with hi-tech help". New Zealand Herald. March 19, 2005.
5. "Titanic 3D: Ghosts Of The Abyss (2003)". Yahoo! Movies. 2012.
6. Anonymous Summary taken from IMDb
7. "Festival de Cannes: Ghosts of the Abyss". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 2011-08-21. Retrieved 2009-11-09.
8. "Ghost of the Abyss 3D Blu-ray". www.stereoscopynews.com. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
9. "James Cameron's Ghosts of the Abyss Blu-ray 3D Release Date and Details (Updated) – TheHDRoom". TheHDRoom. 2012-05-20. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
10. "The Best and Worst 3D Movies". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-05-06.

External links

• Official website
• "Ghosts of the Abyss Educator's Guide" (PDF). Walden Media.
• Ghosts of the Abyss on IMDb
• Ghosts of the Abyss at AllMovie
• Ghosts of the Abyss at Rotten Tomatoes
• Ghosts of the Abyss at Box Office Mojo