Ghosts of the Abyss

**Ghosts of the Abyss** is a 2003 American documentary film directed by James Cameron.

It focuses on James Cameron and a group of scientists who staged an exhibition to the wreck of the RMS Titanic and dived in Russian deep-submersibles to obtain more detailed images than anyone had before.

The film premiered on March 31, 2003, and was released theatrically on April 11, 2003.

## Plot

Director James Cameron returns to the site of the 1912 wreck of the RMS Titanic, aboard the Russian research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh with a team of history and marine experts, and his friend Bill Paxton. Cameron and the crew document the interiors and exteriors of the wreckage using 3D technology designed for the documentary. While diving on September 11, 2001, the filming crew hears about the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Afterward, they all compare and reflect on the tragedy of 9/11 with the tragedy of the Titanic.

## Cast and Characters

* Don Lynch as Titanic's Designer Thomas Andrews
* Ken Marschall as White Star Line President J. Bruce Ismay
* Miguel Wilkins as Qm. Robert Hichens
* Federico Zambrano as John Jacob Astor IV
* Dale Ridge as Elizabeth Lines
* Judy Prestininzi as Molly Brown
* Adrianna Valdez as Helen Churchill Candee
* Justin Shaw as Wireless Officer Jack Phillips
* Thomas Kilroy as Poker Player
* Charlie Arneson as First Officer William Murdoch
* Piper Gunnarson as Madeleine Astor
* John Donovan as Captain Edward Smith
* Janace Tashjian as Edith Russell
* Jesse Baker as Second Officer Charles Lightoller
* Justin Baker as Junior Wireless Officer Harold Bride
* Aaron C. Fitzgerald as Lookout Frederick Fleet
* Bill Paxton as The Narrator

## Music

The official soundtrack's score were composed and conducted by Joel McNeely, and the orchestrations were conducted by David Brown, Marshall Bowen, and Frank Macchia. The album was also recorded and mixed by Rich Breen, edited by Craig Pettigrew, and mastered by Pat Sullivan. The album was ultimately produced by James Cameron, Randy Gerston and Joel McNeely and released by Disney's Hollywood Records label. Part of the film was filmed in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Toad the Wet Sprocket lead singer and songwriter Glen Phillips contributed the opening track, "Departure". James Cameron loved the band's 1991 track "Nightingale Song" but found Columbia Records' licensing fee too high (it wanted over $5,000 for the use of the one minute he wanted to use) so he contacted the band's management hoping they could re-record it for his film, only to find they had broken up in 1998 and could not. However, during the negotiations Cameron asked if Phillips would be interested in writing a new track in the spirit of the older song and "Departure" was created. it was produced, mixed, and all instruments played by Phillips in his garage studio though this was not credited in the CD booklet.

## Release

The film was screened out of competition at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival.

### Home Media

The feature film on the DVD is 90 minutes long and is available in a two-disc edition and as the fifth disc in the Titanic five-Disc Deluxe Limited Edition.

Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film on a three-disc Blu-ray 3D, Blu-ray and DVD edition on September 11, 2012.

Rolling Stone included the documentary in its list of the best 3D movies ever, in 2012.

## Reception

### Critical Response

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that the documentary earned 80% positive reviews based on 102 reviews and an average score of 7.10 out of 10. The website's critical consensus reads: "The underwater footage is both beautiful and awe-inspiring." On Metacritic, the film has an average score of 67 out of 100 from 24 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".

### Box Office

The film grossed $17.1 million from a maximum release of 97 theatres in the United States. It also grossed $11.7 million internationally, for a total worldwide gross of $28.8 million.