MovieChat Forums > The Abyss (1989) Discussion > Why the wave ending had to be cut

Why the wave ending had to be cut

posted 6 years ago by grhqofb5 (327)
18 replies | jump to latest

So in the theatrical version, the oil rig guys are nice to the aliens, bud goes down a huge hole to save them, they find him and as a thank you they take him and the rest of the crew back up to the surface. Pretty simple.

In the director's cut, the oil rig guys are nice to the aliens, bud goes down a big hole to save them. They find him lying down and bring him aboard and save him. Then they tell him him that they like to watch TV, have formed a wretched opinion of mankind based on TV, and have decided to kill everyone with a series of waves. But at the last minute they change their minds because Bud showed them that man can love too? Sounds to me like a strech. It takes about 30 seconds for them to reverse course because of a couple of dopey text messages?

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

I guess Bud's actions spoke louder than words, although the other guy dropping a nuke on the aliens would have canceled that out you'd think , even if it didnt go off.

[–] huwdj (4562) 5 years ago

Just watched a version with the waves and to be honest thought the film better without them - also, compared with the rest of the special effects in the film, the looked rubbish.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

I agee. Good idea, bad execution

[–] Catbookss (13664) 5 years ago

Text messages??

[–] grhqofb5 (327) 5 years ago

The thing on his armband.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12255) 5 years ago

They actually left it in the Director's Cut. It was because of Bud showing that he still loved his wife, despite them having problems and being separated that moved the aliens.

[–] R_Kane (15828) 5 years ago

It’s good to see someone who gets it, my friend. Cameron is a tremendously emotional and, yes, even sentimental, director; one of the reasons why he’s one of my favorites. He implies here that affective intelligence is universal. I like his implication.

I completely prefer the director’s cut, and my disc lets me choose the theatrical cut as well. Ah!: THX Mastered.

[–] AmeriGirl26 (12255) 5 years ago

I still love the music. It is epic!

[–] R_Kane (15828) 5 years ago

Look: it’s got Ed Harris (and lots of other good stuff). Ed Harris is like a cinematic rack of lamb. If a recipe has rack of lamb in it, it’s going to be wonderful. You can’t go wrong with rack of lamb.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

he didnt do much for that magic bank robbery thing except show what a guy looks like at 200 years old

[–] MikeCable (1658) 5 years ago

I also got the impression that the aliens believed Bud was the right kind of individual able to convey their feelings about mankind for them, to help open up the discussion to stop the wars.

[–] TylakSpacejam (2) 4 years ago

I do not believe that the aliens (NTIs) changed their minds because of the text messages. Sure, that is what is directly depicted in the movie, but are we not capable of imagination? What makes the most sense to me is that the NTIs used the waves as an existential threat
to mankind to reveal themselves and to warn us to not nuke each other... OR ELSE!

Anybody else with me on this?

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Well if it was they were wasting their time. We'd probly just put it down to global warming and start nuking each other to commandeer the high ground.

[–] PaladinNJ (20308) 4 years ago

The theatrical cut works better. Seriously though, the wave version just makes them seem omnipotent rather than just minding their own business.

[–] [deleted] 3 years ago

I liked the wave scene, but the way the aliens went about to convey to Bud why they were doing it was silly with all the quick edits of the Vietnam War, marching Nazis, etc., and then calling it off because of Bud's texts to his wife. It comes off looking like something a little kid would come up if they wrote the screenplay.

[–] moviechatterer (13226) 3 years ago

I cant think of any other way to convey all that faily quickly though , thats probly why they dumped it