Reviewer's Rating
User Rating
Titanic: Definitive Collector's Edition
DVD (1997)
Reviewed by Stella Papamichael
http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/11/02/titanic_2005_dvd_review.shtml
If you've never seen Titanic you probably live under a rock and have a
pathological fear of water. On its release in 1997 this $200m movie
behemoth defied early rumblings of Jim Cameron gone mental to
become the highest grossing movie of all time. Even The Lord Of The
Rings trilogy lags miles behind in the box office stakes. For its "sheer
grandeur" it scooped eleven Oscars and prompted JC's infamous "King
Of The World" acceptance speech. Subtle...
The Ship Of Dreams
Titanic was to blame for a global epidemic of Leo-mania, so Mr
DiCaprio is perhaps wise to keep a low profile in this four-disc Definitive
Edition DVD. Still, hormonal fans can feast their eyes on the fresh-faced
actor as he bounds about the set with Kate Winslet in an epic series of
behind-the-scenes featurettes. There are 61 of these so-called pods in
total, which like the film, are spread across the first two discs (also
available in a Special Edition package).
Each pod refers directly to a scene in the film and reveals fascinating
insights into the maddening logistics of production, eg sinking sections
of an almost life-size replica ship, tilting the poop deck to 90 degrees for
the finale, and layering CGI and live action for those sweeping overhead
shots. It all begins with a deep dive to the real Titanic led by Cameron,
1 who says, "It was a mission to shoot film in the most extreme
environment a motion picture has ever been shot in."
Splitting the making of the movie into bite-size pieces not only makes it
easier to digest but also provides a great counterpoint to three audio
commentaries. Cameron hosts the first track with an eloquent flood of
information on research, development and final execution. Producers
Jon Landau and Rae Sanchini do most of the talking in the cast and
crew commentary although the occasional star does drop in. "I had
absolutely no idea how big it was in conception," Winslet remembers. "I
was very young and I'm grateful that I didn't know because I would've
been very freaked out." (Don't hold your breath for DiCaprio - no pun
intended - who doesn't contribute.) In the final track, technical advisors
Don Lynch and Ken Marschall discuss historical accuracy.
Tip Of The Iceberg
An alternative ending is presented on disc two. It ties all the loose ends
in the present day scenes featuring Bill Paxton, but in an optional
commentary Cameron admits, it was rather too neat and broke the
"emotional aura" created by the Jack and Rose love story. Disc three
packs in another 29 deleted scenes, again with word from the director.
Among them is footage of the dining room slowly sinking as Jack and
Rose hide under a table to escape the villainous Lovejoy (David
Warner). It cost a shipload of money to shoot and in the end, Cameron
confesses, "It was the biggest miscalculation of the production." Test
audiences felt it was superfluous and after a couple of re-edits, the
director eventually cut it completely.
Disc four brings wicked comic relief in a skit starring Vince Vaughn and
Ben Stiller as bumbling movie execs who pitch an up ending to
Cameron. The folks at Saturday Night Live also have a joke at his
expense and there's a 30-second version played out with animated
bunnies. Even the crew of the film put together a very funny Making Of
2 mockumentary that was shot between takes and is spliced with footage
from The Poseidon Adventure! You'll also catch a naughty DiCaprio
doing mean impressions of the grousing 1st Assistant Director...
Full coverage of Cameron's dive to the real Titanic and a fabricated
newsreel lend a sobering edge to disc four. A selection of videomatics
(pre-visualising major shots with models and storyboards) and CGI
deconstructions fill out the menu along with five behind-the-scenes
galleries and the 482-page script. Naturally the package wouldn't be
complete without that Celine Dion music video (on disc two). Like the
ship itself, this array of extras is very big and very bold. Unlike the ship,
it's pretty much airtight.
EXTRA FEATURES
Special Edition (Discs One & Two)
Audio commentary by writer-director James Cameron
Audio commentary by assorted cast and crew
Audio commentary by historians/technical advisors Don Lynch and Ken
Marschall
Alternative ending with optional director's commentary
Behind-the-scenes documentary (divided into 61 featurettes)
Celine Dion music video
Definitive Edition (Discs Three & Four)
29 deleted and extended scenes (45mins approx)
Saturday Night Live parody
MTV skit
Animated bunnies parody
Fabricated 1912 newsreel
Construction time-lapse featurette
Deep Dive footage
Titanic Crew Alternative 'Making Of' featurette
Ship's Tour featurette
Two videomatic demos with intro
Four visual effects breakdowns
482-page 'scriptment'
Five behind-the-scenes galleries
Bibliography of sources
Technical Information
REGION
2
SOUND
M ENUS
RATIO
Dolby Digital 5.1 EX, Dolby Animated,
2.35:1
Digital 2.0, Digital 6.1 DTS with music (anamorphic)
CHAPTERS
SUBTITLES
AUDIO
TRACKS
66
English, Danish, Finnish, Swedish,
English
3 Icelandic, Norwegian, Greek,
Portuguese
CAPTIONS
EXTRAS SUBTITLES
English
The special features are subtitled.
CERTIFICAT
E
End Credits
Director: James Cameron
Genre: Action, Drama, Romance
Writer: James Cameron
Length: 187 minutes
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio,
Cinema: 1997
Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy
Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria DVD: 07 November 2005
Stuart, Bill Paxton, Bernard Hill,
Country: USA
David Warner
Reviewed by Stella Papamichael 4