Ghosts of the Abyss (DVD)

The man that took you on the romantic disaster trip that was Paramount Pictures' Titanic is back again to explore the ship that consistently seems to attract attention, only this time it is all real and an experience that is much more than your average documentary.

Now I wasn't able to go and see Ghosts of the Abyss in IMAX 3-D as this documentary was intended to be seen and you can see just how much you are missing immediately from what must have been a wild trip underwater.

James Cameron and one of the stars of the Titanic film Bill Paxton go over 12,000 feet under the North Atlantic with state of the art equipment such as two Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVS), which you got a taste of in the movie, only this time they guide your entire way.

The ROVS are much smaller than anything ever used before and as they travel through the belly of Titanic the picture uses CGI and other technology to morph into the picture what the Titanic really looked like as well as a cast that was dressed for the part of ghosts to walk the decks.

When I first popped this disc in I expected to be under-whelmed due to the fact that this was originally intended to be a 3-D viewed film, but I was quickly proved wrong. The one benefit that this was intended for IMAX is that it can't waste any time getting to the point, since those IMAX 3-D glasses are so big and such a pain in the ass. Therefore, you are moved from place to place and you get a great idea of what it took to get this production made and how much they got to see under the Big Blue.

Whether you should watch the extended version or the theatrical version is completely up to you. I preferred the theatrical version to the other since the other version just seemed to add a few things that really weren't as much interest as was the actual heart of the production.

As for the special features, they are much more worth the trip than the extended version. They give you that extra insight without interrupting the flow of the picture that I much rather preferred; from showing you how the CGI was done and all the challenges that were faced along the way, such as riding the rough water after their dives, and losing their faithful bot Elwood.

Then there is the awesome feature of going underwater and browsing the grand staircase from multiple angles. You can get views from outside each of the MIR submersibles, Elwood and Jake, the two bots, and inside the two subs to see just how the crew is holding up. It is really cool and only about 8 or so minutes long, which makes it well worth the view.

Overall, this is much more than a documentary disc and the way it has been put together you actually venture on a story of the lives of the people who went down on the Titanic. It can actually be a bit freaky to think of just what you could possibly see around each corner.