James Cameron’s 1997 mega hit “Titanic” was an early childhood movie experience for me. Along with “Star Wars,” “The Shining,” “Night of the Living Dead” (yes, I realize I watched scary and gory horror films as a child — don’t judge me) and others, “Titanic” was a film I remembered watching frequently.
It wasn’t like I was really invested in the storyline or characters, but more because the ship sank. Oftentimes I would fast-forward through the first hour or so to get to the sinking part.
I was a fan of “Titanic” (one way or another) like I was a fan of “Star Wars.” It made me check out books about it — as well as other famous shipwrecks — from the library. When there was a Titanic exhibit featuring various artifacts from the real ship in town, I made my parents take me to it. I even bought a Titanic bathtub toy that would fill up with water and eventually crack in half and sink, exactly like it supposedly did in real life.
So, when the digitally remastered, high-definition Blu-ray/DVD/Digital-Copy Combo pack came in the mail, I figured it would be a great opportunity to revisit the No. 2 highest-grossing film of all time (behind Cameron’s own “Avatar”) after all these years.
And to my surprise and pleasure, I enjoyed it quite a bit. It’s an old Hollywood, historical epic in the same vein as “Gone with the Wind” or “Ben Hur.” It’s immensely exciting, amusing and emotional.
There were certain scenes I remember watching and enjoying as a kid that I still found just as stunning and entertaining. The scene where the ship hits the iceberg is, to me, the best scene in the entire movie — a perfect combination of action, tension, emotion and, above all, music.
Speaking of music, James Horner’s Oscar winning score still remains one of the most powerful movie soundtracks out there that mirrors the various emotions of the movie perfectly. Hearing it again, a few songs gave me chills.
Not cinematic art
I think we can all agree that “Titanic” isn’t a profound work of cinematic art. Its central story is a fairly typical romance between the rich, but miserable, and restless Rose (Kate Winslett) and the poor, but happy, Jack (Leonardo Dicaprio).
When Cameron originally pitched the film, he called it, “Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic.” But that doesn’t make the overall film bad; there are plenty of well-regarded movies (“Gone With The Wind” and “Ben Hur” for example) that aren’t profound or considered “high art.”
Like most epics, the most fascinating thing about “Titanic” is the shear size of the project and how much work and time went in to making it. Cameron and his crew built an entire ship set almost as big as the actual ship.
And Cameron wanted things to be as historically accurate as possible, so each room or section of the ship featured in the movie was faithfully recreated from old photographs. Not to mention, the thousands and thousands of extras and props used. If that isn’t an epic, I don’t know what is.
However, like many epics, “Titanic” also isn’t flawless. The film can be cheesy and overdramatic at times. Cameron’s screenplay isn’t airtight. There are plot holes here and there, namely the overall framing device for the movie, involving 101-year-old Rose (Gloria Stewart) telling the entire Titanic story vocally, from memory.
It’s amazing that, even at such an old age, she can still recall every single detail, as well as every bit of small talk between people she wasn’t even around to see or hear.
In fact, you could argue that the whole, modern-day hook is a little bit too much, especially with all of the other characters and side plots.
Did “Titanic” deserve to win the Oscar for Best Picture, especially over a movie like “L.A. Confidential”? I’m not entirely sure, but what I do know is that “Titanic” was, by far, the most accessible movie of that year. It has romance, action, suspense and tragedy, along with a modern-day mystery story. And even if it does have flaws, it’s still a hugely entertaining, spectacle movie.
Special features
As far as special features are concerned, this new addition has a total of six hours of bonus material (and two hours of new material, exclusive to this release).
First off, there are two new documentaries; one is “Reflections on Titanic,” an in-depth feature on all of the major aspects of the movie: the conception, the lengthy and costly production, the postproduction, the release and instant box-office success and the influence it had on culture. And, finally, the 2012 3-D rerelease.
The other is “Titanic: The Final Word,” with James Cameron, an hour-and-a-half-long documentary for which Cameron has gathered a number of scientists, Naval architects, painters, etc., and they try to come to a conclusion on how the ship actually sank, as well as some of the other mysteries of the wreckage on the ocean floor.
This is, no doubt, interesting, and it’s fun to see these guys argue, but Cameron has a tendency to dominate the conversation. I would have liked to see the other experts talk more.
Next up, there are three separate commentary tracks: one with just Cameron, the second with various members of the cast and crew and the third with historical consultants Don Lynch and Ken Marschall. I chose Cameron’s track because he’s the writer/director and, therefore, he should know the most about it. And he definitely knows the movie inside and out.
Most of the time, he points out how historically accurate something is and where CGI is used, and where sets and stunt doubles are used. He does pat himself on the back an awful lot, but I figure he’s earned that right.
Then there are a total of 30 deleted scenes, with optional commentary by Cameron. None of them would have made the final movie any better; in fact, in some cases, I think they would have made it too cluttered and neat, ultimately making it worse. But they are interesting to look at and listen with Cameron’s commentary to find out why they didn’t make the cut.
Next up, there are 60 behind-the-scenes featurettes. They’re brief, lasting about 40 seconds to one minute, and they cover a different part of the overall production — from the makeup to the costumes to the use of CGI. They’re all informative, but they only scratch the surface.
‘Titanic’ parodies and still more
The best one is the 1998 MTV Movie Award skit, featuring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller pitching “Titanic 2” to Cameron. The second is from “Saturday Night Live” (“SNL”), which is also funny, but like all “SNL” stunts, it runs out of steam toward the end. And, finally, an animated spoof called “Titanic in 30 seconds,” reenacted all with bunnies.
And to round things off, there is a “construction time lapse” showing the mammoth Titanic set being built; “A Deep Dive Presentation,” narrated by James Cameron; “$200,000,001: A Ships Odyssey (the TITANIC Crew Video),” a 17-minute, light-hearted feature showing behind-the-scenes footage shot on set; Videomatic and visual-effects demonstrations; the original music video for the song “My Heart Will Go On,” used in the end credits, sung by Celine Dion; and, trailers, TV spots and still galleries. Sigh!
“Titanic” is a movie that was destined to make loads of money because it has something for everyone. Even though the special and visual effects may look dated nowadays, the movie itself still holds up remarkably well.
For those who love “Titanic,” this release is worth buying, not only because of the treasure chest of special features but also because this is the first time it’s on Blu-ray: The sound is sharp, and the picture is crisp and clear, with no noticeable problems.
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