Page 1 of The Abyss - only available in Letterbox version ?

The Abyss is one of my favorite films, but as far as I can tell it`s only available in Letterbox version .

Has there ever been an Anamorphic version of this film ?

Nope.

It`s a favourite of mine too. I`m surprised it`s not down for an update - it`s been years since the big 2 disc special edition. I wonder if the rat scene would be re-instated if the BBFC were to reclassify it today???

Unlikely as the rat sequence (in both cuts of the movie and the making-of) will always be cut at the insistence of the RSPCA. There`s a specific Act in law about the treatment of animals in movies dating back to the 1930s, and that rather than BBFC regs are why the movie is cut for the UK.

All current versions of the movie are non-anamorphic, but to get the uncut version, buy either the R1 or the R4 editions.

J Mark Oates

http://www.dvdcompare.net/comparisons/film.php?fid=21

dvd compare.net v useful for answering these questions, in this case it says is that they`re all Non-Anamorphic, and R1 is pretty much one to get.

as for the infmaous rat scene:
Quote:

# R2 United Kingdom - (Fox) - Includes both Theatrical and SE cuts: 0m 45s - at the request of the British Veterinary Association. The scene where the rat is put into liquid oxygen was reframed and trimmed, as it appears to show an animal in distress.

This item was edited on Friday, 16th March 2007, 19:58

The rat scene was shown uncut by C4 the first time the film was aired on there.

They said it was a mistake and its been cut ever since.

However,out of interest I recorded the movie off Sky Movies a few weeks ago and the rat scene was left in ,and the presentation was anamorphic.

However,I cant remember if their version was 5.1,not that it would make any difference as its still not possible to archive those 5.1 recordings yet.

The low bitrates that Sky use also make their anamorphic version only slightly better than the dvd L/B copy

This item was edited on Friday, 16th March 2007, 21:07

New version seems to be coming soon as part of Fox`s Cinema Reserve series.

Here

No details yet but I can`t imagine them putting a non-anamorphic transfer on one of their Cinema Reserve releases!

As for the rat scene, we`ll have to wait and see, I`ve got the uncut R1 but it`s non-anamorphic and the 5.1 track is one of Fox`s early underwhelming drop-out-tastic abortions, so an upgrade would be nice.

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This item was edited on Friday, 16th March 2007, 23:51

Well so far,all the Cinema Reserve releases have been old versions in fancy packaging,often double the price of the older disc.

I would be this new release of the film wont be anamorphic

Well some of their new "Definitive Editions" have new transfers and they seem very similar to the Cinema Reserve series.

Just have to wait and see I suppose.

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