Tagline: The search for life beyond begins below.
“Aliens of the Deep” is the result of several dramatic and visually stunning deep-sea expeditions to hydrothermal vent sites in the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. These vent sites are violent volcanic regions where the interaction between ocean and molten rock create plumes of super-heated, chemically-charged water that serve as unimaginable oases for animals unlike anything ever discovered.
Six-foot tall stomach-less worms with blood-red plumes, blind white crabs, and an inconceivable biomass of shrimp capable of “seeing” heat all compete to find just the right location in the flow of the super-heated, life-giving water that surrounds these vents. Unlike all other life on Earth, these creatures are not dependent on sunlight and their ecosystems are as close to alien as anything ever imagined. They provide one possible blueprint for the life that might exist beyond our world.
Cameron is joined on his search for the strange and alien creatures that live in the hydrothermal vent sites by a team of young NASA scientists and marine biologists. They share his interests as they consider how these life forms represent life we may one day find in outer space, not only on faraway planets orbiting distant stars, but also within our own solar system.
Stretching imagination from the depths of the sea into the far reaches of our universe, “Aliens of the Deep” takes audiences on a journey to encounter alien life, face to face, and to inspire a new generation of exploration.
Academy Award-winning director James Cameron combines his talents as a filmmaker with his passion for exploration in all forms in “Aliens of the Deep,” an Earthship Production presented in IMAX 3-D by Walt Disney Pictures and Walden Media. Inspired by concepts from the field of astrobiology — the study of life on other worlds — Cameron explores the idea that the bizarre creatures living in the extreme environments found on the ocean floor might provide a blueprint for what life is like elsewhere in the universe. The director is joined in the journey by a team of young marine biologists and NASA researchers who share his interests and excitement as they consider the correlation between life under water and the life we may one day find in outer space.
“Aliens of the Deep” presents the dramatic and visually-stunning highlights of a series of expeditions to deep-ocean hydrothermal vents, where super-heated, mineral-charged water gives life to some of the strangest animals on earth — 6-foot tall worms with blood-red plumes, blind white crabs, and an astonishing biomass of white shrimp, all competing to find just the right location in the flow of near-boiling water. This adventure brings the audience face to face with what it might be like to travel far into space and encounter life on other worlds.
Production notes provided by Walt Disney Pictures.
Aliens of the Deep
Starring: James Cameron
Directed by: James Cameron, Steven Quale
Screenplay by: James Cameron
Release Date: January 28th, 2005 (large format).
Running Time: 47 minutes
MPAA Rating: G for general audiences.
Studio: Walt Disney Pictures
Box Office Totals
Domestic: $8,968,684 (70.2%)
Foreign: $3,801,953 (29.8%)
Total: $12,770,637 (Worldwide)