Titanic: Special Collector’s Edition DVD Follow-up
Director James Cameron (Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, Aliens) brought us a film that would forever change the face of Hollywood epics. His stunning vision of fear, love, honor, kindness, and devotion in the face of death and destruction created a whirlwind of emotions that lured audiences back, time and time again. It would beat Steven Spielberg’s E.T. The Extraterrestrial, and George Lucas’s Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope as the biggest box-office success in history. Then, to top it all off James Cameron and his crew of talented actors, editors, makeup artists, costume designers, etc. went to the Oscars, and swept up a record-tying 11 Academy Award out of a record-tying 14 nominations.
When the ship sinks, our hearts were with Jack Dawson (DiCaprio) and Rose DeWitt Bukator (Winslet). Not only was this huge scene stunning to watch but it felt as if we were actually on the ship, and we were among the many terrified clamoring people sinking with it. The magic of the film was James Cameron’s ability to put us there – a time in which none of us in that theater had ever experienced, and kept us in our seats until the final credits started rolling.
The scope of Titanic may be compromised on your TV screens – even on those huge $2,000-plus LCDs and the amazing some systems available to go with it. But the magic has never been lost. It’s details, authenticity and the beautiful tale of love and devotion in which it is all wrapped around makes this masterpiece worthy of its acclaim.
Titanic was predicted to sink just like the ill-fated luxury liner in 1912. James Cameron had spent millions upon millions of two studio’s money. Being a subject that had been done countless times before – including the made-for-TV mini-series starring Peter Gallagher and George C. Scott the year before, Titanic did not look like it had the best odds of success. Then on the 19th of December, James Cameron’s masterpiece proved all of the critics wrong.
Audiences adored the tale of two star-crossed lovers meeting on the ship under unusual circumstances and sticking together through incredible odds. Combining these characters’ story with James Cameron tireless efforts to make the ship look and feel as possible drew audiences onto the ship. At times a person would be able to imagine he or she felt the vibrating of the ship’s engines under their feet. Then when that iceberg was first sighted, the audiences wanted to push those crewmen to move faster to keep the ship from colliding with destiny.
The size of the film is compressed into a TV screen or computer monitor, but the overall effect isn’t the least diminished. Against Cameron’s initial wishes Titanic is divided into two parts, keeping the picture from losing quality in its DVD transfer. The clarity of this release is so brilliant and sharp that you can actually see the details for which James Cameron strived. The DVD release comes with 5.1 Surround EX enhanced audio and 6.1 DTS ES, making every little sound in the film all the clearer.
Titanic: Special Collector’s Edition comes in three discs. The first and second discs include the film itself. The film comes with branching behind-the-scenes featurettes. Special audio features include cast and crew commentary by James Cameron, Kate Winslet, Globia Stuart, and producers Jon Landau and Rae Sanchini. The second disc not only includes the second half of the film with all of the commentary and branching therein, but it also offers an alternate ending: “Brock’s Epiphany” and the popular music video: “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion. Then the third disc offers 45 minutes of never-before-seen deleted scenes with optional commentary, a Fox Special: “Breaking New Ground”, press kit featurettes, a 1912 newsreel created just for this release, construction timelapses, and more.
What’s stopping you from going to Wal-Mart or your local video retailer – or even going to Amazon.com right now, and picking up your copy of this wonderful film? Prices should be under $25.00. Availability is high. For what you’re getting, it’s a steal.
