Review of Titanic

Video

Ok, I confess. I am a movie fan and must have been one of the few people in the world who didn’t see Titanic at the cinema. To make matters worse I didn’t watch it when it was released on VHS rental. To further compound my sins I have had Titanic on DVD for nearly 3 months now and have only just got around to watching it. In an effort to atone for my sins I had better review it just to prove that I have now seen the movie . . . at last!

A big fuss was made about this DVD as it could have been the killer disc that sold Region 2 players to the UK public however, for reasons unknown to everyone, the DVD release was delayed to a point where nearly everyone had already bought it on VHS anyway. However, me being a staunch Region 1 supporter I opted for the American disc.

Picture quality is clear and sharp, pretty much what you would expect from a THX certified disc. The sharpness of the image does cause a problem though as far too many of the shots of The Titanic look blatantly computer generated. This film cost bucket loads of cash to make and the director (James Cameron) has tried to make sure that we see as much of this money on screen as possible. This leads to many gratuitously long camera passes of The Titanic as you might expect however I found myself thinking that they could have done better. I don’t usually comment on computer generated effects but I can’t ever remember them being so obvious. The ship just looks too clean and too sharp for it to be realistic. It was an odd situation to be in as here we have a picture that is maybe too sharp.

On from the actual picture quality, and forgetting the previously mentioned flaw with the ship passes looking too sharp, we are treated to some top class visuals. The shots of the actual wreck are fascinating and the way the film makers blend from the wreck to The Titanic in all it’s glory is very well done indeed. The entire sequence from striking the iceberg and the subsequent sinking is flawless. The budget was titanic and so are the visuals!

Audio

The sound is presented in glorious Dolby Digital 5.1 and really is glorious. This movie isn’t about loud explosions, not unsurprisingly, but is all about ambience. We are talking about creating a seamless sound environment where each spot effect and ambient sound blends to form a believable sound experience. To give you an idea just how believable the sound stage is I was actually chilled to hear the cries of the survivors in the sea towards the end. They can be heard screaming in the distance and you get a shiver down your spine as you realise that their plight is helpless. A great soundtrack is all about atmosphere and this one works a treat.

Along with the Dolby Digital 5.1 sound you have a very moving orchestral score from James Horner. This is one of the best scores I have heard and I highly recommend buying the 2 soundtrack CDs. Along with this we have Celine Dion’s excellent song as well. I loved this song and it plays out the film excellently.

Features

Uh oh. A film like this demands extras and this has simply the trailer. A real disappointment. I guess it all comes down to why you buy DVDs. Personally I love the extras that you get on many discs nowadays however, were I to be brutally honest, I buy DVDs because of the films themselves so this lack of extras would never put me off buying a DVD. After the huge delay in getting this DVD released it should have had allot more content, a directors commentary would have been superb as would some more footage from the wreck of The Titanic. Here’s hoping for a special edition!

Conclusion

I wasn’t overly keen to see this film. The last thing I wanted to see was a slushy love story featuring one of my least favourite actors (Leonardo DiCaprio). I am glad to report that the romance side was handled perfectly. It wasn’t too much and did enough to make you care about the key characters.

Ok, so I still don’t like Leonardo DiCaprio but he was allot better than I expected. Kate Winslet Does well however I can’t help but see a cockney gal underneath the posh period clothing. For me there were two stars of this movie. The first is Billy Zane. He is simply superb as Caledon ‘Cal’ Hockley, the evil ‘husband to be’ of Kate Winslet. This guy plays the villain brilliantly. A totally evil bastard who uses someone else’s child as a human shield, class stuff. He plays the bastard character so well that he is either a great actor or a total w***er in real life as well :)

The other star of the film is the human tragedy. How can I class this as a star of the movie? Well I don’t know how else to word it to be honest. It is the human tragedy that you will remember long after the DVD has finished. I will admit that I never really knew too much about the actual event but this has really given me something to think about it. It explores the flaws of human nature in a way that you probably don’t want to think about. 1500 people entered the water and only 6 survived . . . chilling stuff. This tragedy offsets the romance aspect beautifully and made it al the more watchable.

The end of the film is very touching as well and I would be lying if I said that it didn’t bring a tear to my eye (but please don’t tell my wife :) ).

Overall we have a 3 hour movie that passes so quickly you will wonder what happened. This is always the sign of a great movie and I can wholeheartedly say that this is one superb film. Highly recommended as the best film I have seen this year even if the DVD could, and should, have been a special edition.