This Tuesday, new editions of James Cameron’s “Aliens,” “True Lies,” “The Abyss,” “Avatar” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” will arrive digitally wherever you buy your movies. This is hugely exciting — not just because the movies will come fully remastered and with new special features, but for a long time “The Abyss” and “True Lies” were hard to come by, sporadically popping up on assorted streaming services before disappearing again. What’s even more exciting is that we have a clip from a new documentary on the “True Lies” release, which you can watch above.
The clip comes from the documentary “Fear is Not an Option: A Look Back at ‘True Lies.’” It features Jamie Lee Curtis and James Cameron talking about the film’s famed helicopter stunt.
If it’s been a while since you’ve seen it, it involves Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character of Curtis’ husband grabbing hold of her as her limousine falls off a destroyed bridge. And, to be sure, it remains as thrilling today as it was in 1994.
“Donna Keegan, my stuntwoman, does the pull out at the end of the bridge — the actual stunt, which is insane,” Curtis said.
Cameron said that he had asked where he should abort if Keegan wasn’t in place, but that he couldn’t really see the cones from where he was in a nearby camera helicopter.
“Finally, at the last minute, she gets into position and the thing goes off the end of the bridge,” Cameron explained. This is accompanied by behind-the-scenes footage of the stunt, which is perhaps even more harrowing than what made it into the movie.
But there was still some movie magic, as John Bruno, the visual effects supervisor for Digital Domain, notes.
“As it went off, the car literally fell away from her, which makes it look like she’s being pulled out,” Bruno said.
The stunt was, in Cameron’s words, “One and done.” “It really was magical to be a part of something like that,” Curtis said. “I will never have that opportunity ever again.”
“The Abyss,” “Aliens” and “True Lies” will be available in 4K Ultra UHD for the first time ever on Dec. 12 at digital retailers and on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray disc on March 12, 2024. “Avatar” and “Avatar: The Way of Water” Collector’s Editions will also be available at digital retailers Dec. 12 and on Blu-ray Dec. 19.
