Monicaleoo

1. Avatar, 2009
2. Titanic, 1997
3. The Terminator, 1984
4. Aliens, 1986
5. The Abyss, 1989
6. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991
7. Deepsea Challenge 3D, 2014
8. Alita: Battle Angel, 2018
9. True Lies, 1994
10. Terminator Genisys, 2015

Mi||iê Måë

Thanks for this!

We also have threads for the films if you'd like to discuss them there.

Also, just going to edit the thread title to reflect that it's an appreciation thread for James Cameron rather than just a few listed films!

Crystal Clear

Great thread idea


James has made three of my all-time favorite movies - ALIENS, THE ABYSS and TITANIC.

I remember watching the hours-long documentary for the making of 'Titanic' and just being in awe of how dedicated he was to the craft of filmmaking to the point where he re-created the entire ship to its fullest glory on set

'The Abyss' has one of my favorite sequences in a movie, ever - where Ed Harris' character Bud revives his wife after drowning. James kept telling actress Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio to hold her breath for ages during takes, and she almost walked off set because it was such a grueling experience.

Mi||iê Måë

I remember seeing that too Gwen and I love "The Abyss"!

Crystal Clear

Oh, excellent! I think it's the smartest movie I've ever seen, it's just so visually stunning and the way it shows the aliens as water and then showing Bud awful images of humanity is just so relatable to divided society today.


Plus, the love story is one of my all-time movie favorites

Mi||iê Måë

I agree. I bought the special edition from iTunes a few years ago for like $6.99!

Jen's Herald

i'm a big fan of James Cameron films, love his attention to detail on everything, love his sci-fi films, love Titanic, and very impressed by his designing, building, testing, and taking his own deep-submergence research submersible to the bottom of the Mariana's Trench, earth's deepest spot at 7 miles down, and with 4K 3D cameras no less. as a former submariner myself, that is an insane feat of engineering and daring-do, color me impressed!

while i remain a big fan of the accomplishments and achievements of this legendary film director, writer, inventor, entrepreneur, and visionary artist, i do not necessarily agree or endorse a lot of his beliefs and opinions on other films, female icons, superheroes, and various other things he has pontificated on, but he has the right to his opinions/views, and i have the right to not watch his interviews or support him financially, if i so desire. that said, i am eagerly waiting on Avatar 2 in 2020!

Crystal Clear

The Extended version is the best version More detail of Bud and Lindsey's marriage, and a longer version of the climatic aliens scene.



I, too, hugely admire James' dedication to his craft Watching the documentary of how he re-built Titanic was remarkable; I was in awe.

Mi||iê Måë

All extended editions are better to watch of films. Always!

I loved seeing the documentaries on how Titanic was made. So incredible.

Crystal Clear

Both ALIENS and THE ABYSS work better as longer versions Specific relationship moments between Hicks/Ripley and Bud/Lindsey which would have added so much with just a few extended scenes.

Mi||iê Måë

And extended just add more to the story in general.

Whenever I re-watch a film, if I have the extended, that's the one I'll always choose to watch.

Crystal Clear

Agreed. I'll never understand fans who say that the extended versions make them more convoluted. All I've ever seen is that they add specific character moments which make all the difference to you understanding the nuances of personal relationships and their backstories

Mi||iê Måë

^^^ I agree. Like in LOTR: TTT, the scene with Eowyn and Aragorn where she gives him the stew and they talk of his age etc. I think that was important to show Aragorn's life history!

That's just one example of course on how extended editions add to a story!

Jen's Herald

there are 3 versions of the 2009 Avatar, the Theatrical Release, the Avatar SE Special Edition with three extra scenes, which also had a limited run in theaters, and the blu-ray/dvd Avatar CE Collectors Edition, which has the SE scenes, two more scenes, extended scenes, and 45 minutes of deleted scenes that were never fully cgi-rendered-finished. the Avatar CE is truthfully the only version i can watch, because it is so much more nuanced then the theater release, too many new details and cultural aspects to the Na'vi. i hope they fully render those 45 minutes of deleted scenes someday, and release a 4K Avatar UCE Ultimate Collected Edition. i would go nuts to see the finished DreamHunt, New Horizon scene, the Hunting Party Drinking scene with Grace, the Dance with Neytiri scene, so many others!

James Cameron Director Cuts are always the best!

Mi||iê Måë

Have you ever seen an extended film and watch it with commentary?

I've done commentary on a film once or twice but I also find it can get really annoying!