Titanic

Trust me, these fingers do not really want to type out what is surely the most superfluous review I've ever written. Sailing into boxoffice history with some $600 million in ticket sales; decorated with 11 Oscars, including the Big Kahuna--Best Picture; launching the poster-boy career of Leonardo DiCaprio (who, let the record show, was already a fine, established actor before catching the eye and heart of every 13-year-old girl in America); Titanic is the historical tale of the 1912 maiden (and--I hate to give away a crucial plot point, but--fatal) voyage of the titular luxury liner. Director James Cameron's epic film is truly a moviemaking marvel, and while the dialogue is occasionally more annoying than Freddy Krueger's fingernails sliding down a blackboard, the film is far more than computer-generated special effects. Titanic works because it's built around simple, perdurable themes: young love, class struggle, and the best and worst that humans are capable of when faced with a tragic situation. Highly recommended. (R. Pitman)[DVD Review—Nov. 1, 2005—Fox, 3 discs, 194 min., PG-13, $29.99—Making its second appearance on DVD, 1997's Titanic: Special Collector's Edition comes with both widescreen and full screen editions in a handsome transfer with Dolby Digital 5.1 EX or DTS 6.1 ES soundtracks. DVD extras on the first two discs include three audio commentaries (the first by director James Cameron; second by costars—including Kate Winslet, Gloria Stuart, and Lewis Abernathy—producer Jon Landau, and executive producer Rae Sanchini; and third by historians Don Lynch and Ken Marschall), 61 behind-the-scenes featurettes with the branching option of playing them during the film (60 min.), an alternate ending (10 min.), and the music video “My Heart Will Go On” performed by Celine Dion (3 min.). The third disc features 29 deleted scenes with optional commentary (48 min.), a marketing section with a “Fox Special: Breaking New Ground” documentary (43 min.), seven press kit featurettes (19 min.), a Titanic crew video (18 min.), a “Deep Dive” presentation narrated by James Cameron (16 min.), a “Ship Tour” with optional commentary by documentary cinematographer Anders Falk (8 min.), four visual effects segments (8 min.), a construction time lapse with optional commentary by documentarian Ed Marsh (5 min.), three videomatics segments using tiny models for pre-visualization (4 min.), a 1912 news reel with optional commentary Marsh (3 min.), 62 concept poster and one sheets, and seven stills galleries. Bottom line: a “special collector's edition” worthy of the name, this is highly recommended.][Blu-ray Review—Sept. 11, 2012—Paramount, 4 discs, 194 min., PG-13, $39.99—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 1997's Titanic sports a stunning transfer with DTS-HD 5.1 sound. Bonus features new to this release include “Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron” roundtable discussion (96 min.), and the retrospective documentary “Reflections on Titanic” (64 min.). Carried over from the previous release are three audio commentaries (the first by director James Cameron; the second featuring costars—including Kate Winslet, Gloria Stuart, and Lewis Abernathy—producer Jon Landau, and executive producer Rae Sanchini; and the third by historians Don Lynch and Ken Marschall), a gallery of behind-the-scenes featurettes (64 min.), deleted scenes with optional commentary by Cameron (58 min.), a crew video (18 min.), parody skits (10 min.), a visual effects featurettes (8 min.), a time-lapse shot of the construction for the ship (4 min.), videomatics (3 min.), a collection of stills galleries (including storyboards, photos, and concept art), the music video “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion, trailers, and bonus DVD and digital copies of the film. Bottom line: Cameron's Oscar-winning classic epic makes a long-awaited and welcome debut on Blu-ray]