The film Text copyright Filmverdict 2006-2007. Any film stills are copyright of their respective owners. Used without permission, sorry!
Titanic's unprecedented global success (and the negative side effects of it) tend to obscure the film itself. It seems normal, especially in Hollywood, for anything that costs a lot of money to be unfairly criticised from the outset. It's true that the budget of Titanic and many modern blockbusters verges on the obscene, but at least in Titanic's case it's undeniable that the expenditure shows on screen. The recreation of the famous ocean liner is amazing and seemingly accurate to the finest detail. The CGI was also groundbreaking for its time and remains pretty convincing today on the whole. Ignoring the sumptuous visuals of the film, though, the crux of the narrative is a love story and I would contend that it's due to this aspect that the film generated such huge numbers. The Titanic obviously has an alluring mystique about it but there is only a limited number of people who will go to the cinema just to see a ship sink, as proven by 2006's Poseidon. The romance is not very original (poor guy falls for rich girl, problems ensue) but it's surprisingly well-handled by the usually action-obsessed director, James Cameron. Cameron also penned the script, and litters the dialogue with a few clangers but mostly succeeds at creating the desired impact. Kate Winslet in particular creates a likeable character, showing some of the star quality that would lead to her present career (Titanic was her first Hollywood film). Most of the roles are painted in pretty broad strokes, with Billy Zane, for example, playing a rather stereotypically stuck-up fiance, but he is still quite effective. The film can be divided into two distinct halves, the first being the romance and the second being the sinking, the latter of which feels slightly overlong despite its impressive staging. The effect of depicting the sinking in almost-real-time, however, is that the audience feels like they have been through the experience with the characters, and makes the story's outcome all the more powerful. Further extending the film are several present-day sections which pile on the sentiment rather thickly, although they do also allow for the stunning shots where the real wreck at the bottom of the Atlantic morphs into the brand new ship in 1912. Titanic (the film) may have its problems but the scorn heaped on it since its release is mostly unwarranted. I don't quite understand how it's so far ahead of everything else in terms of box office figures, but it is a good film nonetheless.
The extras
For a four-disc edition, this set is actually fairly underwhelming. The 186-minute feature spans two discs and is accompanied by three commentaries (director, cast, and historical). Also on these discs are multiple making-of 'pods' which can be watched branched into the film at relevant points. That option sounded rather annoying to me, though, so luckily there is a 'play all' choice provided enabling you to watch them separately. Individually they're generally about a minute long but there are lots of them, and they total roughly an hour over the two discs, providing quite a good picture of the production. Disc 2 is also home to an alternative ending (which is not very different, truth be told) and the Celine Dion "My Heart Will Go On" music video.
Disc 3 is where the set seems lacking to me, because it only contains about an hour of material. 45 minutes of deleted scenes are provided, several of which are actually really interesting, although the film is already long enough! One scene in particular involving the butler pursuing Jack and Rose through the submerging dining room was very suspenseful and seems a surprising omission. The only other features on the disc are three parodies. The two-hour hole in the disc would have been perfect for a new feature-length documentary, and apparently there was originally meant to be one, which was removed at the last minute. At least Disc 4 is fairly packed, including two TV Making Ofs, trailers and numerous short technical featurettes. The 'Breaking New Ground' documentary in particular is quite insightful for its 40 minute runtime, illustrating the film's historical accuracy. I have to admit I hadn't quite realised just how much of the ship was built and therefore how little CGI (compared to today's blockbusters) was needed to artificially extend it. The film quite probably was the last time such epic sets were built in their entirety. The package is fairly thorough, although it concentrates only on the shooting and effects and neglects to mention any of the film's infamous production problems.
The summary
Titanic is an effective, well-made melodrama whose main character happens to be an enormous ship. This DVD set is similarly substantial in terms of size, but does seem slightly lacking in content. It still outdoes pretty much any two-disc edition, but I expected more from four discs. Despite this, it's definitely worth buying at the bargain prices it is now available for.
