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Ghosts of the Abyss
review by
Elias Savada,
4 April 2003
James "King of the World" Cameron
is back on the big, big, big screen (i.e., wider, higher, deeper)
with his visually overwhelming, large-format 3-D IMAX presentation
Ghosts of the Abyss, an "unscripted" documentary that takes
us miles down in the Atlantic for a close-up glimpse of the wreck
that was once the glorious Titanic. That ghost-filled sea queen has
received the brunt of his attention for many years, particularly in
one helluva blockbuster, Academy Award winning film. You remember
that one, don'tcha? With Bill Paxton, one of the stars of Cameron's
1997 epic, a brainy group of technogeeks get to play with some
mighty impressive toys that allow the rest of us to briefly
(sixty-one minutes) marvel at one of the twentieth century's
greatest industrial undertakings and saddest moments.
The unfortunate part of this $13
million production (chump change compared to its theatrical cousin)
is that you may go cross-eyed watching it. Or toss your lunch. There
was a pre-screening announcement by a flight attendant, er, I mean
an employee of the Maryland Science Center in Baltimore, where the
film opens April 11, warning of possible side effects from this
"unique projection technology," including nausea and/or dizziness. I
had a vision she was motioning her hands skyward toward the side and
back exits for quick escape in the event of a crash. Then I checked
under my seat. There was no floatation device under it, or oxygen
mask overhead. The screening letter neglected to suggest I bring
along Dramamine.
In watching this digital
three-dimensional documentary, all viewers must wear glasses with
polarized lens. The naked eye will see horizontally overlapping
images on the screen. These cinematic phantoms, when properly viewed
through the slightly oversized polarized lens (they easily cover any
normal prescription spectacles) push the images out from the screen,
creating the 3-D illusion. The good news is that the glasses, made
of tempered plastic, are imported from Italy (whoa!). The bad news
is that no matter how you don them, those audience members
positioned close to the mammoth, multi-storied screen (hence the MAX
in the IMAX) will become disoriented when watching certain images,
particularly those pushed up to your face. Of course, the 3-D
impression can provide for some eerie trick photography, say of a
submersible's exterior claw mechanism snapping at your face.
Conversely, there are more than a few moments where Ghosts of the
Abyss will overload your brain when forcing the added
dimensional perspective. I was watching the film from half-way back
and even that was a chore. I recommend heading back as far as your
feet can take you. You'll be that much closer to the exit, too.
Of course, when it works -- and
it's a 50/50 proposition -- it's a marvel to watch. I particularly
liked the deep ocean background flaked with plankton, overlaid with
several inserts floating on multiple planes. There are quite a few
imaginative touches, particularly the juxtaposition between
old-fashioned stereopticon slides of the mighty ship and digital
recreations of the behemoth.
Basically starting from the bottom
of the technological ladder, Cameron, with his brother, Michael, an
engineer, took several years crafting two small cutting-edge
underwater bots, amusingly nicknamed Jake and Elwood, after the
characters made infamous by John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd and
collectively known as The Blues Brothers. (Otherwise the levity is
kept to a minimum.) By the time the excursion started in August
2001, the two small gadgets, attached to two Russian Academy of
Sciences submersibles by lengthy, but lightweight, fiber-optic
cabling, could maneuver through some of the more inaccessible areas
of the ship. The remote controls were handled by drivers in the two
mini-subs (one with Paxton, a nagging observer) that would spend
long days several miles below the ocean's surface, scouting out the
Titanic's hidden realm, including its elaborate dining room and
extensive engine area.
Paxton's "role" merely adds a
recognizable face. He's overanxious about the whole goings-on,
whether scripted or not. Perhaps the first part of the film's
tagline ("Unscripted. Groundbreaking. Historic.") is more a
marketing disclaimer than a come-on, that you shouldn't expect much
in the way of story. During purple-lipped Paxton's initial, annoying
descent, he's constantly peppering the sub's Russian commander with
concerns about oxygen, batteries, etc. Cameron would have been
better off jettisoning this dialogue instead of the crew's carbon
dioxide. At other extended moments throughout the hour, the camera
watches Paxton from the ocean depth as the actor stares through the
porthole in perpetual "gee whiz" awe. Consummate filmmaker that he
is, Cameron could have tightened up the film considerably when
Paxton's doing his thing, especially allowing for its short length.
In contrast, the ghostly cast -- taken from the more than 1,500
passengers and crew who perished when the "unsinkable" sank --
travel through time and dimension as digital ghosts overlaying the
rusting hulk and its CGI-restored original glory. Captain Edward
Smith, White Star Line Managing Director J. Bruce Ismay (who
occupied the ship's best suites), socialite Molly Brown, et al,
appear translucently in relation to ongoing revisionist historical
commentary based on discoveries show in the film. The only tension
derives from a segment in which Jake rescue's a battery-drained
Elwood from deep within the ocean liner.
Like its subject's fateful April
voyage ninety-one years ago, Ghosts of the Abyss makes it
about two-thirds of the way to its port before sinking. |
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