Is there another case of a director not just being embarrassed of a huge hit but actively limiting its availability? THE ABYSS appears pretty regularly at retro houses, but I can't recall ever having a chance to see this in the last 15 years or so!
Spielberg's principled ambivalence about TEMPLE OF DOOM, of course, is belied by the fact that they were literally giving that shit away on VHS at McDonalds in like 1990
Cameron has supposedly overseen 4K restorations of both THE ABYSS (my favorite movie of all time, as long as it's the Special Edition) and TRUE LIES, but he's been too busy with the AVATAR sequels to approve them for release on physical media (THE ABYSS theatrical version recently popped up in HD on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video for a few months). I admit that I got tired of waiting and recently purchased a bootleg Blu-ray of TRUE LIES, I think sourced from a European Blu-ray release, and it actually looked pretty good (I also purchased bootlegs of the also-unavailable-in-the-US Blu-rays of Kathryn Bigelow's STRANGE DAYS and NEAR DARK). They used to have annual midnight screenings of THE ABYSS: SPECIAL EDITION in 70mm here in Los Angeles, but those stopped about 20 years ago.
I don't know the finer points of The Business as well as others, but I think it's justifiably rare for a director such as James Cameron to have the clout and, frankly, ownership of the prints to decide if, when and which of their own films will get a reissue or else convert to streaming. I think a lot of filmmakers out there wish their work could get a transfer and a chance at a wider audience today, but are unable to shake the trees in order to do so. Conversely, I'm sure some of them also regret that their biggest hits will continue to have an extended "life" in the public consciousness.
is any current director as uninterested in preserving their legacy as Cameron seems to be? Why aren't the Abyss and the T2 extras from the laserdiscs available? heck, is the Abyss even available? (to answer my own question: possibly Peter Greenaway, but it's likely the funding for his films makes rerelease far more complicated)
Making a Bond/80s action film mashup is a good instinct and Cameron does that extremely well. but the whole sequence after he finds out about Simon.....sheesh. not only is it really offensive, it derails the plot for no good reason.
I have this on DVD, but don't think I've ever watched it in disc form - some films should only ever be watched on VHS, and here fast-forwarding through the middle section feels an essential part of the viewing experience. Chapter skipping would just feel like cheating.
I’ve long been of the minority opinion that Cameron is a hack at best and I remember after watching “True Lies” my reaction was: “That was his true masterpiece.” What I meant was that it’s the most accurate representation of who he is: an essentially rudderless director when not hiding behind incredibly expensive smokescreens of technological “innovation.” “True Lies” is monumentally stupid, but then so are all of his movies; “Lies” just happens to be the most up front, honest and unevasive about Cameron’s clunky impulses.
P.S. The usage (and coinage?) of the term “Flintstonian” here is just perfection. Chef’s kiss, as they say.
A hat tip on "Flintstonian" to our editor Alan, who mentioned The Flintstones, and to Anthony Bourdain, who used "Flintstonian" to describe a starch-loaded Thanksgiving-themed dish once while he was a judge on Top Chef.
I admire Cameron as a craftsman and as someone who really devotes himself to showing the audience something new every time out, but his shortcomings are pretty clear, and are exposed more in True Lies than anything else he's done IMO.
Is there another case of a director not just being embarrassed of a huge hit but actively limiting its availability? THE ABYSS appears pretty regularly at retro houses, but I can't recall ever having a chance to see this in the last 15 years or so!
Spielberg's principled ambivalence about TEMPLE OF DOOM, of course, is belied by the fact that they were literally giving that shit away on VHS at McDonalds in like 1990
Cameron has supposedly overseen 4K restorations of both THE ABYSS (my favorite movie of all time, as long as it's the Special Edition) and TRUE LIES, but he's been too busy with the AVATAR sequels to approve them for release on physical media (THE ABYSS theatrical version recently popped up in HD on HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video for a few months). I admit that I got tired of waiting and recently purchased a bootleg Blu-ray of TRUE LIES, I think sourced from a European Blu-ray release, and it actually looked pretty good (I also purchased bootlegs of the also-unavailable-in-the-US Blu-rays of Kathryn Bigelow's STRANGE DAYS and NEAR DARK). They used to have annual midnight screenings of THE ABYSS: SPECIAL EDITION in 70mm here in Los Angeles, but those stopped about 20 years ago.
I don't know the finer points of The Business as well as others, but I think it's justifiably rare for a director such as James Cameron to have the clout and, frankly, ownership of the prints to decide if, when and which of their own films will get a reissue or else convert to streaming. I think a lot of filmmakers out there wish their work could get a transfer and a chance at a wider audience today, but are unable to shake the trees in order to do so. Conversely, I'm sure some of them also regret that their biggest hits will continue to have an extended "life" in the public consciousness.
is any current director as uninterested in preserving their legacy as Cameron seems to be? Why aren't the Abyss and the T2 extras from the laserdiscs available? heck, is the Abyss even available? (to answer my own question: possibly Peter Greenaway, but it's likely the funding for his films makes rerelease far more complicated)
Making a Bond/80s action film mashup is a good instinct and Cameron does that extremely well. but the whole sequence after he finds out about Simon.....sheesh. not only is it really offensive, it derails the plot for no good reason.
The Terminator (1984)Aliens (1986)The Abyss (1989)Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)True Lies (1994)Titanic (1997)
what a run
I have this on DVD, but don't think I've ever watched it in disc form - some films should only ever be watched on VHS, and here fast-forwarding through the middle section feels an essential part of the viewing experience. Chapter skipping would just feel like cheating.
Is it wrong to say that I loved Tom Arnold in this movie?
Not a fan of this movie but definitely a fan of Tom Arnold’s performance in it.
I’ve long been of the minority opinion that Cameron is a hack at best and I remember after watching “True Lies” my reaction was: “That was his true masterpiece.” What I meant was that it’s the most accurate representation of who he is: an essentially rudderless director when not hiding behind incredibly expensive smokescreens of technological “innovation.” “True Lies” is monumentally stupid, but then so are all of his movies; “Lies” just happens to be the most up front, honest and unevasive about Cameron’s clunky impulses.
P.S. The usage (and coinage?) of the term “Flintstonian” here is just perfection. Chef’s kiss, as they say.
A hat tip on "Flintstonian" to our editor Alan, who mentioned The Flintstones, and to Anthony Bourdain, who used "Flintstonian" to describe a starch-loaded Thanksgiving-themed dish once while he was a judge on Top Chef.
I admire Cameron as a craftsman and as someone who really devotes himself to showing the audience something new every time out, but his shortcomings are pretty clear, and are exposed more in True Lies than anything else he's done IMO.
"His name is Jaaames Cameron,
The bravest pioneer,
No budget to steep, no sea too deep,
Who's that? It's him! James Cam-er-on!"