Aliens of the Deep

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Aliens of the Deep
Promotional poster for Aliens of the Deep
Directed by	James Cameron Steven Quale
Produced by	James Cameron
Starring	Dr. Anatoly M. Sagalevitch Genya Chernaiev Victor Nischeta Pamela Conrad Dr. Jim Childress
Music by	Jeehun Hwang
Cinematography	James Cameron Vince Pace
Editing by	Matthew Kregor
Distributed by	Walt Disney Pictures
Release date(s)	January 28, 2005
Running time	47 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

Aliens of the Deep is a 2005 documentary film, directed by Academy Award winner James Cameron and Steven Quale and filmed in the 3-D IMAX format. It shows footage from 40 deep sea dives in both the Atlantic Ocean and Pacific Ocean.

Cameron joins up aboard the Russian research vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh with a group of NASA scientists, as well as some Russian 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.

Tagline: The search for life beyond begins below.