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60 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A truly special film - extra features don't do it justice, 20 Oct 2006
I'm sure you have already formed your own opinions about Titanic as a film. I personally think it is an excellent and beautiful film, despite its flaws. And if you are looking at this "Definitive Collectors Edition" and considering purchasing it, I assume you would agree with me. Therefore I will go straight onto reviewing the extra features included in this edition of the film.
So, onto the actual product. The first two discs are the theatrical version of the feature. As promised on the box, the film comes with superior sound and picture quality (I'm no expert but I know it plays seamlessly and magnificently on my 42" plasma screen). There are four commentaries on both discs by James Cameron, the cast (not including Leo DiCaprio or Billy Zane), a crew commentary and a historical commentary by a couple of Titanic history buffs. All are worth listening to if you have the time, but James Cameron's commentary is by far the most insightful to the whole filming process of the Titanic, providing many titbits and points of interest. Both discs also include several action "pods". These are short clips that give more detail about how a particular sequence was filmed. You can watch them all together or one by one, or you can choose to watch them integrated with the film itself. The second disc also includes an extended ending, with Brock playing a bigger part. I believe they were right to cut this out of the theatrical edition but it is interesting to see anyway. An obligatory music video of Celine Dion's famous song is there as well.
Disc 3 has quite a few deleted scenes which are extremely interesting to watch for any Titanic fan, as not only is the relationship between Jack and Rose further explored, we also get deeper insights into the other characters. However, I agree with the film-makers about their decisions to cut these scenes as including them would have affected the pace of the film and would have killed the momentum, especially towards the end of the film. The disc also contains three Titanic parodies, none of which are ESPECIALLY funny, but hey, the disc needed a filler.
Disc 4 has many a documentary about the making of Titanic. A few of the TV publicity documentaries are a bit repetitive. I think they all used clips from the same interviews with the cast and James Cameron, which is why you hear the same comments being repeated through the different documentaries. This can be annoying so I wouldn't suggest watching them all at once. Other documentaries include detailed explanations of effects, filming processes etc. Obligatory trailers, TV spots and publicity poster galleries also included. There's also a gallery of images from design through to filming. Overall, I feel this disc is a bit of a let-down in terms of the limited interviews conducted with cast and crew members. I am susprised how little we saw of the actual people involved in the film-making in the documentaries since they are the people most knowledgeable about it. The majority of the documentaries are about the building of the set, the techniques used for filming and camerawork and the construction of visual effects.
So, do I think it's worth you spending your hard-earned cash on? Well, if you're not a die-hard fan of the film, what's the point? You're not going to want to spend hours of your time exploring the extra features anyway. However, for the Titanic enthusiast, this is a great edition. There's plenty of interesting behind-the-scenes info and you can immerse yourself ever deeper into the legacy of the great ship. The commentaries of the film are enlightening and interesting and the deleted scenes also give the film even more depth. The tragedy of the sinking of the Titanic really does hit home. And the thought that you will go away with after having watched and listened to everything on these DVDs is the amount of hard work that went into making this truly unforgettable piece of cinematic history.
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41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Titanic: 4-disc definitive collectors edition - the ultimate box set for the ultimate Titanic movie, 5 Mar 2006
Before I begin this review, I would just like to take a few moments to comment on the excellent service Amazon provide. When I purchased this DVD only months ago, I was absolutely gob smacked about the service that came with my purchase! After I ordered it on-line, it arrived just two days later, two days!!! I was over the moon!!! Although I used the 1st class delivery service, the time it took for the DVD to arrive blew me away!
That's for the service, on to the actual DVD... As soon as it arrived, as I do with any DVD, I immediately put it on. It was fantastic, it was even better than I was expecting - and I often expect a lot. Not only is the classic film there, there are also endless amounts of special features contained on two full discs (the movie is on the first two discs) - some of my favourites are the 29 deleted scenes - some excellent never before seen extra scenes that are a must see; the two documentaries on the making containing numerous facts and info' - another must see; the animated sinking presentation; the comedy feature documentaries; the commentaries - there are four options for these and they tell you everything you need to know from the director, the cast, the production/special effects teams as well as commentary from Titanic historians whilst the film is actually playing; additionally the similar little feature scenes ('action pods') - which when added in with the playing film, tell you everything about how certain parts were done and these a great feature; and last but not least - the 1912 news reel, this is a real short 'n' sweet little jewel and is a nice touch to the collection. Still, amongst all these features there are literally dozens more that really will amaze and astound you.
It's an excellent DVD set and I have spent days and days exploring its endless features. The movie itself is a masterful achievement in all areas and I very much like it for the huge amount of historical accuracy and authenticity of the whole ship and the whole event itself; the drama, the suspense and the emotions you feel whilst watching really make this an incredible piece of motion picture. And of course, you can't help feeling for Rose and Jack as they are both trapped in their own, so different worlds, and who finally break free in love to one (very short lived) glorious haven through a whirlpool of treacherous events.
I became addicted to the Titanic event (and the film), when we were doing an English project on the subject back in 2004 in Year Seven. I asked my parents if I could watch the movie and so one weekend we sat down to watch. I was stunned, the sound track was unfortunately a little distorted (it was a video), but I saw through that because the film was amazing. This launched me into wanting to find out exactly everything that happened to this, the world's most famous ship - which, of course, had had splendid movies made about it. I must admit I am now definitely a big Titanic geek, I know many things about the ship, and the whole event, right from the very first mentioning of this grand new ship (and her sisters), through to her sinking, and to modern day exploration. I know many, many details, and this is what makes this movie absolutely breathtaking. From a historian's point of view, this movie, this DVD box set, really does give us a huge picture of what the Titanic itself was like, and what happened to her crew and passengers on the ships' first and last journey. Every single minute detail, both in acting, and in the sets, is included, even down to the designs on the china used in the dining room. Something as realistic as this, is what Titanic buffs have been craving for years, although it must be considered that never, ever will there be anything that tells us about the event with complete 100% accuracy. From a film reviewers point of view this movie, even today has stunning visual effects, highly professional acting, a greatly immersing sound track, massively accurate historical authenticity, and overall comes out as a highly successful ambitious project, but the list could go on and on - the film did win 11 Oscars! To this day, I may still sit down on a rainy day and explore this DVD thoroughly. I am very proud to have this in my small but ever growing DVD collection. I give a huge thanks to James (`Jim') Cameron and the whole movie team for creating this masterful movie in 1998 and this masterful DVD-box set with it.
I would recommend this DVD set to anyone - especially Titanic enthusiasts, Titanic movie enthusiasts, and all movie enthusiasts... generally everyone who even takes a vague interest. If you're considering buying it - consider it no longer - just BUY IT!!! It is definitely a worthwhile purchase.
Titanic (4 disc deluxe edition) - A masterpiece for anyone and everyone to own - own it now!
Thank you for reading this review. I hope you found it useful and you'll buy this DVD - I did and I didn't regret it!
Michael J Rolph.
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well worth the money, 29 Oct 2005
This item was released in Sweden on October the 26th, and I bought it rightaway.
We all know the story of Rose and Jack, and their struggle for love in a world full of social boundaries, so let's just take a look at this edition of Titanic.
The film itself is on disc one and two, and bonus material is practically everywhere!
You can get a lot of interesting footage of rehersals, computer manipulation and behind-the-scenes DURING the movie by turning on the special feature Behing The Scenes Mode, which "automatically branches you out to related video "pods" about the making of the movie."
This adds a new dimension to the movie, and is very interesting.The deleted scenes are also interesting since they add some new information to the story. We find out what really happened to Lovejoy and Cora, for an example. Disc four is the cream of the cace, with documantaries, featurettes and trailers, among the goodies.
(My favourite part is the news reel from 1912...) What more can I say? Buy this box NOW! P.S. There is one little surprise during the end credits, don't miss it! D.S.
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