Continuity mistake: Early in the film Bud throws his wedding ring down the latrine and then retrieves it with his right hand so it is covered with the blue disinfectant. In a (much) later scene, Bud has a blue right hand, despite not having had one in the intervening period. (01:44:48)
The Abyss (1989)
Directed by: James Cameron
Starring: Ed Harris, Michael Biehn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Leo Burmester
Visible crew/equipment: During Bud and Coffey's fight in the lab, we see a lightbulb swinging from side to side between the two men. If you look closely, you can see a hand (belonging to a third person) pushing the lightbulb. The only people in the room are Bud and Coffey. (01:44:16)
Factual error: [Special Edition] The Statue of Liberty is incorrectly shown to be facing the Narrows bridge.
Trivia: The dead sailor harbouring a live crab, spooking Jammer out of his wits in the sunk submarine, is director James Cameron's younger brother Mike. The scene had to be shot several times to get it right, forcing Mike to hold the live crabs in his mouth, until the cry for "action", before releasing them. At one point he had to crush one with his teeth, as it gave him quite a bit of grief. Brotherly love immortalized.
Trivia: The fictional company that owns and operates the undersea drilling rig is called Benthic Petroleum. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day (also directed by James Cameron) after the escape from the mental hospital, our heroes hide out at a gas station. The pumps at the station feature the Benthic Petroleum logo.
Trivia: The water tube that floats about was partially created with Adobe Photoshop, which was unheard of at that time. Adobe Photoshop had not been released to the public at that point.
Bud Brigman: The guy is on his own, he's cut off from his chain of command, he's showing signs of pressure-induced psychosis, and he has a nuclear weapon. So as a personal favour to me, could you put your tongue in neutral for a while?!
Question: What was Lindsey referring to when she called Coffey "Roger Ramjet"?
Answer: She's comparing the overzealous, gung-ho Coffey to the 1960s cartoon character, Roger Ramjet, a frenetic, extremely patriotic, though not particularly bright American-hero guy. He worked for the U.S. government and routinely saved the world, using energy pills that gave him brief increased strength.
Answer: Dudley Do-right, Inspector Clouseau or Maxwell Smart, only in a '50's space cartoon, that's Roger Ramjet (I imagine Buzz Lightyear is the nearest pop cultural successor).
Question: Is there any truth to the breathing fluid used in the high pressure suit? Is that a technology actually used and is it really possible to breath and survive like that?
Answer: The technology does exist, yes. Read http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluid_breathing for details.
Question: In the extended version, when Bud Brigman is met by the aliens, what were the images they were showing him?
Answer: Most of it was television news coverage about the increasing tensions between the US and USSR as it was playing out earlier in the movie. Additional archival footage from previous years' wars implied that the NTIs had been on Earth for quite a long time.
Join the mailing list
Separate from membership, this is to get updates about mistakes in recent releases. Addresses are not passed on to any third party, and are used solely for direct communication from this site. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Check out the mistake & trivia books, on Kindle and in paperback.
Answer: Roger Ramjet was a 1960's American cartoon character who was extremely patriotic, but dimwitted.
BaconIsMyBFF