Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)

Wow! What can I, say about this movie that it won't say about itself half way thru? Starting at the end and working back the first thing I, take issue with is the dedication at the end credits "To Walter Lord" the one human who strove to explore and find the truth about the wreck of the Titanic and all things related to it (his uncle was captain of the California, the ships captain charged with not coming to the aide of the Titanic, finally cleared of the charges after his death).From the horrible computer generated graphics that are supposed to be the rovers inside the Titanic, to the stupid computer generated portholes showing the actors inside the diving equipment this work of fiction, sprinkled with just enough facts to make it try to appear genuine is overworked overacted and not very truthful. At the very least its not very accurate. The most humane thing I, can do is to tell anyone reading this that if you want a more accurate and truthful representation of the events of that night simply go to the store and get a copy of Walter Lords "A night to remember" it may be black and white but it does get to the truth of the matter. If you want to find out about what happened to the ship since it sank I, would suggest the A&E movie "Titanic: Death of a dream" with Dr. Robert Ballard, Walter Lord, The living (at the time) survivors of the shipwreck and narrated by David McCallum. Since i'm spouting off about this movie and making recommendations about other movies your probably asking what do I, know about it? Simple, I've studied this ship and dreamed of raising it since I, was a child in the 1960's of course these dreams were dashed when Dr. Ballard found the wreck in pieces. I, never gave up reading and researching this and other shipwrecks.

Experiencing the ship firsthand and her mysteries, histories, details respected and moralities still teaching, it's a love, an awe inspiring and sad tale of Bibilical proportions.The mystery and history of the Titanic is fascinating and evocative; nearly Biblical. The largest liner, the ignorance to think it could never sink and the arrogance of not putting on enough lifeboats due to aesthetics, I'm just glad in this day and age we have life rafts which take up so much less space we will never run into a shortage of life rafts problem ever again.Paxton is great as always, and a documentary setting brings out the explorer within, and is respectfully and well made. Learning about the stairway floating out allowing for easier access to the interior of the ship for example I did not know about.Good movie.QUESTION: Anyone know why they were not supposed to go into C deck? They seemed to have a very good, albeit unspoken reason for this.I see nothing wrong with Cameron's love for the Titanic story, it's a near mythical experience and I find it truly a learning experience and a marvel.Soon the sea will claim the ship utterly, and the Titanic is a teacher of morality, of a past, and the failings of modern man, and the mystery of history in heart of exploration and awe.The Titanic will always have something to teach us, and that is important.The museum pieces are important because it allows for the memory to be respected and a teacher to future generations.That we can put a name to artifacts assures their memory lives on.There was no disrespect, in fact quite the opposite.

One should see this film in an IMAX theater to get a real sense of scale. Other than Titanica no one has ever witnessed the the scale of the ship short of diving on the wreck. Its a magical experience.As a movie its odd. First off it was shot not on IMAX film but 35mm and blown up so the film is very grainy. Much of the non-Titanic stuff was shot badly for the IMAX screen. We see close ups that are too close and the camera moves much too fast. There is also the over use of multiple images which give us too much to look at, frankly its too much to take in. Cameron is a great filmmaker who needs to rethink his use of the format.There seems little point to the film other than being a 3D Imax exploration of the wreck. This isn't a bad thing, but seeing it as a 2D Imax film it kind of loses its reason for being.(I understand that the DVD has more material)That said if you have the chance see this IMAX. Its over powering to see the scale of the ship and to understand that people walked and died in this very spot.As an awesome IMAX experience 7 out of 10, though try for 3D rather than 2D.

This movie is quite good, but it's not for everybody. The main story line is "going to see the Titanic". If that doesn't interest you, don't see it. If that would bore you after ten minutes, don't see it.On the other hand, if watching incredible visually stunning footage of the Titanic does interest you, then this is your movie. The occasional overlay of old photographs is very helpful for understanding what we're looking it. I wanted this movie to go on longer.My only criticism is that I disagree with some of Cameron's interpretations of historical events.(WARNING, MINOR SPOILER AHEAD)For example it is a fact that one single passenger reported overhearing a conversation between Captain Smith and Bruce Ismay in which Ismay insisted that the ship go faster. But does that mean the conversation actually took place? Cameron describes the conversation as fact. In reality, we don't know.In summary, I highly recommend this movie to anyone interested in simply viewing the Titanic in its underwater grave.