The Abyss Special Edition DVD (2000)

Nobody does special editions like James Cameron. Granted, many of the extensive extras in this two-disc package will be familiar to longtime videophiles who have the laserdisc boxed set of this underwater thriller (in fact, many of the text-based supplements still boast the laserdisc chapter headings), but it's the new presentation that will stun. Fully animated CGI menus place you on board the Deepcore diving rig, and by navigating through hatches and windows you can view Cameron's original treatment, the complete shooting script, all 773 storyboards, design essays, schematics and concept illustrations, a delightfully candid making-of documentary, trailers and marketing materials, how-they-did-it effects footage, and much more. As for the film itself, you get both versions — the theatrical cut and the more satisfying ''special edition,'' which restores 28 minutes of footage, including the infamous killer-wave sequences — vividly remastered to look and sound far better than ever. This is the kind of set that illustrates the truly staggering potential of DVD. A

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