Titanic – Special
Collector’s Edition (1997/3 DVD
Version)
Picture: B
Sound: B+ Extras: B+ Film: B+
When it first went into production, everyone thought it
was interesting that James Cameron would do a film based on a historical event
instead of his usual oeuvre of Action genre work. What began as a different project turned out to be one of the
most interesting and fascinating before it got to the screen than anything
since Michael Cimino’s Heaven’s Gate back in 1980, a film that had
caused Hollywood to scale back on ambitious projects that were not tied to toys
and franchises. Titanic was
finally issued in 1997, after delays and what turned out to be the biggest
budget a film ever had to date (give or take a few decades before in adjusted dollars)
and we all now know it remains the largest grossing film to date. So what happened?
As had been the case in previous Cameron films, inspired
by Hollywood’s desire for technical innovation, much money was allocated for
groundbreaking visual effects to bring the accident to life like never
before. If anyone was worth betting
such money on, it was Cameron.
Unfortunately, some technical problems ensued among other complications
and the resulting delays caused a deal to form where Paramount paid a big fee
for United States domestic distribution of the film helping Fox pay for the
film overall. Cameron even gave up his
paycheck to get what he thought was the cut of the film out there that would
work, though he got paid later when he was right. When Fox saw this cut, they tried to buy those domestic rights
back from Paramount, who luckily and promptly declined.
When I first saw the film, I thought it was great and
still feel just about the same as I did then.
A good friend of mine had seen it at the time and agreed, though he said
there was no way it was going to make its money back. Length alone was part of the problem by his math. I thought it was so good that if it were
pushed properly and people had the patience to see what Cameron had pulled off,
it could at least break even. It opened
well, if not spectacularly, but then like Barry Levinson’s Rain Man
(1988), good word of mouth caught on and it hit big. The result was a critical and commercial triumph that proved once
again that it is not myth but fact that it is the good director that makes the
film, and makes it best.
As you may have heard, the film involves Jack Dawson
(Leonardo DiCaprio) and how he wins a ticket on the maiden (and of course,
only) voyage of the newly built super luxury liner Titanic, the latest marvel
of the White Star fleet. Also on the
ship is a young lady named Rose (Kate Winslet, in a role Claire Danes turned
down to go to school) who is trapped in an arranged marriage with a rich Steel
Industry oaf (the very underrated Billy Zane in a thankless role as one of the
underrated screen villains of late) Cal Hockley, pushed further into this by
her bad situation and family. We hear
this story in flashback from the elder Rose (industry legend Gloria Stewart,
from the original Universal Invisible Man) telling the story to a group
of divers looking for that diamond headed by the ambitious Brock Lovett (Bill
Paxton, hitting it on the head with humor to boot) resulting in a compelling
narrative that lies somewhere between the readerly and the complex.
The film manages to mix the past & present, drama
& comedy, fact & some fiction and a lush production by persons
seriously committed for a change to make a great film. Well, everything comes together, including
an ending that makes a point that millions (especially Britney Spears in a
Music Video of the time that dares reference the conclusion in what amounts to
the single most idiotic moment in the history of Videos; leave it to Britney!)
still miss and more than a few would prefer you do. There has actually been a campaign against the film as a result
since, especially as extremist ideology has wanted to ignore its better
points. Maybe a bit of melodrama is
hard to dismiss, but the film has the goods and knows how to deliver them.
As I watched again, I realized how much Michael Cimino’s
epics The Deer Hunter (1978, reviewed elsewhere on this site) and Heaven’s
Gate had influenced the film. Even
if it is not as complex a narrative, or always as bold, the film understands
many aspects of what made those films the classics they are today. Kathy Bates, Francis Fisher, Danny Nucci,
David Warner, Bernard Hill, Ioan Gruffold and Eric Braeden are among the more
familiar names in a supporting cast that works seamlessly from beginning got
end. This is one of the few great epics
we have seen in recent years and before you criticize, think of some of the
recent big epics dramas that bombed commercially and critically. That includes big name directors who just
could not get their projects to click.
It is not as easy to pull off such a film, as many would have you
believe or con you into thinking.
However, Cameron is one of a small handful of filmmakers from his
generation that could have done it and he did.
No one will ever be able to take that away from him and that this set
even exists is testimony to his success.
Only more time will vindicate him as this film will continue to endure
decades and even centuries down the line.
The anamorphically enhanced 2.35 X 1 image was shot in Super
35 and unfortunately, that means a slight lack of detail that has haunted every
video transfer of this film to date.
This is easily the nicest transfer of the material to date, yet on top
of simple details that should be sharper (writing on signs, detail in the
architecture, and yes, that matters) and that the digital work holds up
as well as it could for its age, there are the nighttime ocean sequences. They seemed a little more blue in older
presentations and pleasantly so. That
look and feel is gone in the scenes here, which I thought worked very
well. The film had even been issued in
2.20 X 1 70mm blow-ups that, like the 35mm prints, are still the best ways to
see the film. Russell Carpenter,
A.S.C., uses the look of Luchino Visconti’s Death In Venice (1971) along
with the fine production design by the great Peter Lamont is so vivid as to
make this all seem fresh and of the moment.
We’ll see if future digital High Definition presentations regain that
detail.
The sound design on the film was state of the art upon
release and like all Cameron films since the first monophonic Terminator
(1984) have exceptional character.
Every film has had state of the art sound since, including the amazing
70mm 4.1 Dolby magnetic stereo in blow-ups of Aliens (1986) that you can
still hear in the solid 5.1 DVD (reviewed elsewhere on this site), the 4.1
Dolby SR and 70mm blow-up 6-track Dolby magnetic sound on The Abyss
(1989), the early classic 5.1 digital mix on Terminator 2 (1992, best in
the out of print DTS DVD) and still-impressive 5.1 digital mix on True Lies
(1994) that all enhance the narrative and involve the audience. Titanic is another 5.1 digital sound
classic, serving Cameron’s richest narrative to date in what is still his most
recent dramatic feature film. The best
release of the film on video for sound has been the old 12” DTS LaserDisc with
20 Bit, 1,509 (kbps) kilobits-per-second encoding that matches the DTS for the
35mm and 70mm film presentations. The
first DVD had lame Dolby 5.1, but this new version has Dolby upgraded to an EX
6.1 mix, while DTS is added for the first time in its ES form.
The DTS is the better of the two tracks, offered here in a
24 Bit, 754 kbps configuration. It is
nice, smooth, better than the Dolby mix; yet it is a slight disappointment
because that is just not enough kbps-es to really convey the depth and richness
of this film’s sound design. The result
is that the sound is slightly held back throughout until action sequences happen,
which has a sort of strange imbalance.
Having three audio commentary tracks, the Dolby and the DTS did
not help, as good as the extras are. To
compare, there is one DVD that did have the DTS from this film at the 20 Bit,
1,509 kbps rate. It is a 1,536 kbps DTS
trailer for the film from a special demonstration DVD the DTS Company sent to
the press and select audiophile and DTS fans.
Demonstration DVD No. 3 was issued after a coding was agreed upon for
DTS to work on DVD and showed early on that DTS was the ultimate home theater
sound for DVD as it had been for LaserDisc.
Though there may be some very slight background noise and it is not
absolutely refined or as smooth as it would be on the film, a quick comparison
reveals more bass, richness and depth than even this new DTS ES mix. This is still impressive and superior to the
previous DVD, but those lucky few with the 12” LaserDisc (which was not
produced in the numbers of other DTS LDs) will want to hold on to their copies
until a DTS HD version arrives and Paramount will be supporting both HD disc
formats, so you’ll have a greater chance of seeing that happen.
Extras are many, including three commentaries for the fill
across the two DVDs that hold it. The
producers/cast commentary recalls the ups and downs of getting the film made,
something fans will remember. Kate
Winslet, Gloria Stewart, Lewis Abernathy, Jon Landau and Rae Sanchini are the
participants. Cameron himself delivers
an exceptional track about the film that shows just how skillful a filmmaker he
really is and is a must-hear. The final
commentary is by to fans and historians Ken Marshall and Don Lynch, which
allows you to get into the history of the ship itself in uncanny ways. Special interactive links to a
behind-the-scenes segment are especially accessible throughout the viewing of
the film if you decide to activate them.
DVD 2 has the Celine Dion Music Video for the hit My Heart Will Go On
and the longer alternate ending that Cameron and company rightly thought would
not fit or work. Ironically, it is the
hit song Cameron was not for that has dated the quickest of all the aspects of
this production.
DVD 3 has a bunch of featurettes, including 29 deleted
scenes that shows at every moment, the money was going up in the screen all the
time. They are both revelation and
vindication of Cameron and company was trying to do, including extended
versions of what already exists. There
is some serious craftsmanship throughout this film and these extras scenes show
they were no letting up. You also get
some great additional acting moments.
They are a great plus here. The
many featurettes include seven press kit featurettes, a stills section for
posters/one sheets & another for general stills, the Breaking New Ground
Fox Special, faux 1912 newsreel and construction time-lapse with optional Ed
Marsh commentary, Cameron narrating Deep Dive Presentation, Titanic
Video Crew, Titanic Ship’s Tour with optional commentary by Andres Falk,
videomatics that show the digital video construction in two sections +
introduction, and visual effects in four parts. This is a great amount of information and all of it is
engrossing, though some fans are complaining that this set is missing a 4th
DVD being issued overseas with a great documentary on the film, et al. Ironically, no theatrical teasers or
trailers are here over 3 DVDs, which is a more obvious omission to those who
are fans and expect that from such an elaborate set. Otherwise, this is still plenty of special content, though some
fans with multi-region players will buy the import.
My advice: If it
does not have a better DTS track, wait until the Blu-Ray and HD-DVD editions
and settle for this set. If you liked
the film, you’ll definitely want to see this set. If you bash this film and have never honestly watched it, you
should give it a chance. If you have
never seen the film on film, this is your best chance for the next few
years. Titanic did live up to
its name, including in the way it honored those lost over 90 years ago. There are other films on the great ship like
A Night To Remember and they were not totally supplanted by this film,
nor should they be. However, this film
lives up to those works and should be seen as a vital work in the continuing
exploration and history of one of the most important events of the 20th
Century.
- Nicholas Sheffo
