Review of Titanic

Video

This DVD has finally been released but is not anamorphic. This has been a major criticism and although the picture quality is generally very good, if it was an anamorphic transfer, it would have looked better on widescreen TVs. The disc is also THX digitally mastered.

This gripe out of the way, the quality of picture is a pleasure to watch. I couldn`t wait to see this film on DVD having suffered my VHS copy for the last year, and I was not disappointed. The darker scenes revealed far more information on screen than the VHS version as you would have expect and colours are vibrant and not overly saturated.

28 chapters divide the film for easy scene navigation.

Audio

I was really looking forward to hearing this film in Dolby Digital, rather than the ProLogic from my VHS version. I was not disappointed. The soundtrack is punchy and a joy to experience. The louder action scenes such as the iceberg scene or the stern sinking sequence come across very well, and I had to turn my subwoofer down to ensure the sound didn`t `boom`.

Celia Diode`s dulcet tones burst out at the end with `My Heart Will Go On` as the credits roll, and the complete haunting music score is a pleasure to listen to. James Horner produced no less than two different soundtrack albums from this movie, and I have to say I bought both!

Features

Titanic features some nicely animated menus with accompanying music. There is only a trailer in the way of extras which is very disappointing. A film of this magnitude should have included more (compare this with the DVD of The Matrix) and it is very disappointing to see a non anamorphic disc with virtually nothing else. A `making of` documentary should have been included, along with cast and crew biographies. A director`s commentary by Cameron would have also made entertaining listening.

Conclusion

I have to say I love this film, having been fascinated by the Titanic and all the ensuing films since I first scuba dived on a real shipwreck several years ago. The movie was terribly hyped, but I didn`t care. I loved it the first time I saw it at the cinema in February 1998. The VHS release in October 1998 saw me buying it at the first opportunity, and so I was avidly looking forward to the DVD.

But wait! It`s not anamorphic! What? Why? There are also very little in the way of extras on this Region 1 release (the Region 2 is much the same and also grossly overpriced). It would appear that either Paramount (or Fox in the UK) just didn`t care about this DVD. Thinking that the film was so big that people would buy it in droves just because of the film, or, as seems more likely, that an all singing all dancing Special Edition version will be released six months later. They are doing the old trick of trying to sell the same film several times over - the VHS, the DVD, the DVD SE?

Well maybe the public don`t like being treated like this in getting substandard releases. It now seems clear that the newly released DVD of The Matrix, with all its extras crammed on the disk, has vastly outsold Titanic in the first two weeks of release than Titanic did in the first two months. Let`s hope the film companies get the message.

However the film is terrific, so if you`re not concerned about extras - it`s a `must have`. If you want more from this huge film, then it will be better to wait till early next year when the anticipated Special Edition version will no doubt be released.