Aliens of the Deep (2005)

Starring James Cameron, Dijanna Figueroa, Kevin Hand, and Mike Cameron.  Cinematography by Vince Pace and James Cameron.  Edited by Ed W. Marsh, Matthew Kregor, Fiona Wight, and Bernie Laramie. Produced by Andrew Wight and James Cameron.  Directed by Steven Quale and James Cameron.

The ocean floors have long been a mystery to mankind.  Only recently has the technology been developed that can give us an idea of what goes on far below the surface.  In areas once thought to be completely devoid of life are entire ecosystems that thrive on the very conditions that would destroy us.

These creatures, referred to as “extremophiles”, flourish in the drastically changing temperatures, intense pressures, and toxic chemicals that make up the bottom of our seas.  The discovery of life in the most seemingly inhospitable of locations has not only excited marine biologists, but has also sparked the imaginations of space researchers searching for life on other planets. If organisms on our planet can exist beyond the reach of the sun, then the possibilities beyond our world are limitless.

Since finding unprecedented success in 1997 with his über-blockbuster Titanic, James Cameron has dedicated himself to sharing his love of deep sea diving with the world. What started with a handful of underwater sequences in Titanic later evolved into Ghosts of the Abyss; a feature length film exploring the ship’s wreckage. Cameron also used his submersible filmmaking talents for a Discovery Channel documentary titled “Expedition: Bismarck” that examined the famous battleship’s final resting place.

But for his next experiment he set out to capture something dramatically different.  Along with two ships, two Mir submarines, two submersible “Deep Rovers”, one remote-operated vehicle named Jake, and a small crew of some of the world’s leading experts in both marine biology and space research, Cameron was back at sea hoping to capture images of creatures and natural formations that no one had ever seen before.

Over the two months it took to shoot Aliens of the Deep, Cameron and his team of scientists performed over forty dives at ten sites in both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The information captured on the dives was later reviewed by NASA scientists who used it for their own research on extraplanetary exploration.  Scientists aboard the expedition have gained deeper insight into the kind of environments that could potentially nurture life. 

This gives them a distinct advantage when deciding where in our solar system to explore and what kind of equipment they will need to do it. Aliens of the Deep is successful in portraying the symbiosis between the two fields of research and uses computer generated imagery to fill in the visual gaps. The film was originally presented in the IMAX format, which gave a brilliant life to Cameron’s high definition 3-D picture. It was later fleshed out into a ninety nine minute version for the DVD release.  Aliens of the Deep is a fascinating documentary and should be equally satisfying to both space and ocean enthusiasts alike.

Budget: $???

Total US Gross: $7,418,324

Genre: Documentary

Runtime: 47 Minutes (99 Minutes for the DVD Extended Version)

US Release Date: 1/28/05

Aspect Ratio:  1.78:1

Awards: none

Tagline: The Search For Life Beyond Begins Below.

Quote: “If these animals didn’t exist, we could not have imagined them.”