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Hard as it may be to believe in hindsight, but there was once
a time when Titanic was being pegged as one of the greatest boondoggles
in cinematic history. With a budget spiraling upwards of $200
million, rumors of a megalomaniacal director abusing his cast
and crew, and a last-minute postponement of its release
date, Titanic the production was on the verge of sinking just
as fast as the ship itself. But if I need to tell you how it eventually
turned out, you've obviously been living under a rock for the
last couple of years...
Harking back to the classical moviemaking style of yesteryear,
Titanic was a film many claimed "they just don't make anymore."
Unabashedly old-fashioned, free from irony and full of grand Hollywood
spectacle, the film captured the hearts of moviegoers the world
over, and whether you love the film or hate it, you have to give
it credit for pulling it off. It touched people profoundly and
with the kind of force often called "magic." Let's face
it, if you could bottle this formula, everyone in Hollywood would
be rich. Hack filmmaking or inspired popular art notwithstanding,
the film clicked.
There is certainly no use in discussing the plot of the film.
Just about everyone young and old knows the story of the Titanic,
the ill-fated luxury liner and "unsinkable ship" that
ended up doing just that, ranking it as one of the most well known
man-made catastrophes in history. There have certainly been many,
many retellings of the Titanic story, and countless documentaries
and investigative reports. Just about all have something of value
to offer, and probably the best-known cinematic version prior
to Titanic was the classic A Night To Remember. However, what
Titanic managed to pull off was a mix of classic cinematic storytelling
and values with modern technology and special effects magic, all
while somehow avoiding a cynical 90's tone.
Regardless of what one thinks of the film, writer, director,
editor and producer James Cameron certainly mounted an impressive
visual spectacle. There was some controversy when the film was
not nominated in the Best Original Screenplay category at the
Academy Awards (though it did snag Best Picture and Best Director,
amongst other Oscars), and the most oft-criticized aspect of the
film was what many considered to be the weak dialogue. Admittedly,
there was obviously much effort expended in realizing the ship,
props, sets, costumes, etc., and making them as authentic to the
period as possible, while the dialogue sometimes sounds awfully
modern and out of place in the milieu. To be fair, Cameron has
been quoted as saying he intentionally wrote the dialogue to be
more universal to broaden the appeal. Of course, this was after
the Oscar snub...
So, what did I think? Well, I'll admit it, I fell for it. Though
I didn't see it a zillion times like most people, I thought Cameron
mounted an impressive and largely successful voyage that was epic
in scope and ambition. Sure, an effect here or there looked a
bit digital, and there was some hokey dialogue. But, I'll
say it, I cried...a lot. (Although in my defense, it was often
due to having to hear that damn Celine Dion song reworked on the
soundtrack like 100 times.) But, let's change the subject before
I'm laughed at on message forums for the next month or so...
Now, the DVD has finally arrived. A year after the VHS and Laserdisc
debuts, Paramount, Fox Home Entertainment (the overseas distributor
and co-financer of the film) and Lightstorm Entertainment have
decided to finally release the film on our beloved digital disc
format. Certainly, it has been a long wait, and some cried foul
at the delay. Further complaints arose that when the disc was
finally announced, there were no special features and the disc
lacked 16x9 enhancement. So, does the big disc sail away with
top honors, or is it gonna drop without an anchor?
Video: How Does The Disc Look?
The visual presentation of Titanic on this DVD is one of those
efforts that almost makes it. This is one of the better
non-anamorphic presentations I've seen on DVD, but it still should
have been so much more. Going far beyond the generally poor and
washed-out laserdisc, the 2.35:1 transfer is downconverted from
a new high-definition master (unlike all previous video version,
which were not) and is very good in nearly all respects. Black
level is perfect and the colors incredibly clean. The print is
near-pristine save for a little grain, and the slightest bit of
edge enhancement.
However, here is where things become debatable. Since this is
a 2.35:1 image, which results in about 40% or so of the 4:3 frame
being lost to the letterbox bars, this disc just cries out for
the increased resolution (nearly 33%) that a anamorphic transfer
would have provided. So, though it looks very good on a 4:3 set,
I also viewed the disc on five different other monitors. On the
three 16x9 sets I viewed it on (just a few scenes in all), the
line structure due to the 4:3 blowup was unfortunately noticeable.
Thus, even on a 4:3 direct view set, shadow delineation and detail
was a bit wanting. To be honest, this would simply have been the
reference standard disc had it been anamorphic.
Audio: How Does the Disc Sound?
The audio, however, is without a doubt reference quality. I think
this is going to be the disc on showroom floors for the foreseeable
future. When that boat sinks, watch out! The low end is amazing!
The discreet surrounds are wonderful, and thankfully dialogue
is not overpowered the majority of the time by the sound effects
(which is really a pet peeve of mine). Spatiality is sweet, and
it is obvious great care and concern went into the 5.1 Dolby Digital
mix. Frequency response is very wide, and the soundtrack overall
has a very warm and full-bodied feel, which is somewhat surprising,
as all the big spectacular destruction could have been overly
harsh and "cranked up." Ironic as though it may seem,
there is actually some subtle use of the surrounds here. The music
is also very well presented. I just loved this soundtrack.
There are also English and French 2.0 Surround mixes provided.
Since my current 5.1 setup is in the shop, so to speak, I had
to drag this disc over to a friend's place and check out all the
soundtracks. So, I only got a half an hour to listen to these,
and as expected (I listened to the boat crash bits and a couple
of dialogue scenes) the surrounds were much more muted and limited.
But, it is nice of Paramount to provide these, as for some the
5.1 downconversion sounds far worse than the straight 2.0 mix.
Supplements: What Goodies Are There?
Of course, one of the big talking points with this disc is that
the supplements are few and far between. There is a theatrical
trailer, and a very classy fold-out booklet with some rather
self-congratulatory notes on the film. The motions menus are perhaps
the most elegant and graceful I have seen, and set the mood nicely.
But that's it.
DVD-ROM Exclusives: What do you get when you pop
the disc in your PC?
No ROM extras have been included.
Parting Thoughts
When all is said and done, the film speaks for itself and is
certainly a much desired title. The disc, unfortunately, when
judged by the standards of current Paramount releases, falls a
little short. Priced at their usual $29.95 retail, the absence
of an anamorphic ransfer is the key detriment here. The extras
are slim, which is fine enough, but if one can buy other Paramount
titles like Friday The 13th and that dreadful King Kong remake
in anamorphic for the same price, one wonders if charging the
same amount for "the biggest movie of all time" is fair
to consumers?
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