Aliens of the Deep

Aliens of the Deep
Promotional poster
Directed by	James Cameron Steven Quale
Produced by	James Cameron Andrew Wight
Starring	Dr. Anatoly M. Sagalevitch Genya Chernaiev Victor Nischeta Dr. Pamela G. Conrad Dr. Jim Childress
Music by	Jeehun Hwang
Cinematography	James Cameron Vince Pace Ron Allum
Editing by	Matthew Kregor Fiona Wight
Studio	Walt Disney Pictures Walden Media Earthship Productions
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)	January 28, 2005
Running time	47 min
Language	English
Box office	$8,968,684

Aliens of the Deep is a 2005 documentary film, directed in part by James Cameron alongside fellow cameraman and friend Steven Quale, who would go on to direct Final Destination 5 six years later, and filmed in the IMAX 3D format. It was produced by Walden Media and Walt Disney Pictures. Cameron teams with NASA scientists to explore the Mid-Ocean Ridges, submerged chains of mountains in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans that are home to some of the planet's more unusual forms of life.

Synopsis

Cameron joins up aboard the Russian research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh with a group of NASA scientists, as well as some American marine biologists, to investigate ten hydrothermal vents in both the Atlantic and Pacific. The vents have their own unique ecosystem, which support diverse organisms such as giant tube worms, swarms of blind white crabs, and vast amounts of shrimp which are capable of "seeing" water that is heated by the vents. These creatures do not require sunlight like other organisms, and instead obtain their energy from the vents. They are able to survive in the superheated and sulfurous water. Because of this, the documentary suggests that this is what life beyond Earth might look like. As some alien ecosystems are likely to be a lot harsher than a typical terrestrial ecosystem, these exotic vents provide an insight into some of the forms that alien life might take.

The documentary shows Cameron's passion for exploring the oceans, as well as his interest in extraterrestrial life. It also showcases the technology employed to reach such depths.

The film is similar to Cameron's earlier documentary, Ghosts of the Abyss (2003), which involves him journeying to the wreck of the RMS Titanic. It too was filmed in the 3-D IMAX format.

See also

• List of 3D films
• MIR (submersible)

References

• MacInnis, Joseph (2004). James Cameron's Aliens of the Deep. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society. ISBN 0-7922-9343-6.  The companion book to the film.
• Reed, Christina (February 2005). "Into the Abyss". Scientific American: pp. 24–25. 

External links

• Official website
• Aliens of the Deep at the Internet Movie Database
• Aliens of the Deep at AllRovi
• Aliens of the Deep at Rotten Tomatoes
• Aliens of the Deep at Metacritic
• Aliens of the Deep at Box Office Mojo