The Abyss: A Classic Sci-Fi Movie Showed How Humans Can Breathe Underwater

One of the most iconic moments in James Cameron’s The Abyss involves a scientifically plausible method of breathing underwater.

It’s been welcoming to see the re-evaluation of James Cameron’s 1989 underwater sci-fi opus The Abyss in the last few years. While sometimes lost in the shuffle alongside his other blockbuster credits (including the similarly aquatic megahits Titanic and Avatar), The Abyss has been undergoing something of a renaissance, fueled in part by a gorgeous 4K restoration and a director’s cut that adds new elements to the story. And while Cameron is known for insisting on a certain amount of verisimilitude in the technological workings of his films, The Abyss in particular utilizes one seemingly science fiction concept that is actually science fact to such an effective degree that they actually demonstrate it in the movie for real.

And that’s the science of breathing underwater. We don’t mean with scuba gear. We mean actually allowing your lungs to fill with liquid and extracting the oxygen and expelling the carbon dioxide. And if that sentence doesn’t make you nervous enough, we’re also going to get into what an elaborate and arduous experience filming The Abyss was for its cast and crew.

All this and more on the latest waterlogged episode of Does it Fly?…

SUGGESTED VIEWING 

Believe it or not, there are two versions of The Abyss. There’s the original theatrical cut which runs at about two hours and 15 minutes, and it’s the one that most of you are probably the most familiar with. But there’s also a director’s cut which came a little later that adds about a half hour of additional story and detail to the already packed film. Normally, we tend to find that theatrical cuts are edited the way they are with good reason, but when James Cameron decides he wants to get nerdier and more in-depth (sorry) with a story like this, we give him the benefit of the doubt.

Not only that, if you get a chance to watch that director’s cut in its 4K restoration, well, you’re really in for a truly immersive (sorry, sorry) experience. Never mind the additional story beats and background details about a world on the brink of war, The Abyss is just a stunning visual and technical achievement, and having this restoration lovingly overseen by Cameron makes it a must watch, even if you’re already familiar with the original.

FURTHER READING 

Do you want to delve a little deeper into the facts, concepts, and stories Hakeem and Tamara referenced in today’s episode? Of course you do! 

In With the Good Air…

To get your head around the science of breathing underwater, you first might want to have a better understanding of how your lungs function for their generally intended purpose.

Breath of Water

The science of “liquid ventilation” is indeed very real and there are scientific studies and practices surrounding it. You can read an overview of that here. In particular you might want to check out information on perfluorocarbon which is what they’re using and studying to make this happen. Even more info can be found here. (And yes, as you’ll see, the scene with the rat in The Abyss was absolutely real).

Filming The Abyss Was No Sea Cruise

Some details on the physically arduous process of filming an underwater movie of this scale can be found here.

About That Response

The folks making this movie took its science so seriously that they wouldn’t let a critic’s accusation that they were scientifically inaccurate stand. The fun response Tamara cites can be found here.

Dragonfly

Somehow, Hakeem seems to have undersold just how cool this space exploration program really is. More details here!

WANT MORE FROM DOES IT FLY?

This isn’t the first James Cameron movie we’ve covered here. Check out our episode on The Terminator for more fun!

Disney’s new take on Snow White is in theaters now and we took a look at the science behind that story’s most iconic moment. Watch it here!

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