Titanic
20th Century Fox / 1997 / 187 Mins / Rated M15+


MOVIE
There's not much more I can say about Titanic since I reviewed it on Laserdisc, so the following text about the movie is taken my my review of the Laserdisc.

James Cameron was going to sink or swim with this movie and oh boy did he swim, not only is it one of the best crafted movies of the last few years, he also made more than a bucket load in cash in the process. 

The movie itself is so rich in detail you really think you are on the real ship and are watching the last few days of it's life. Cameron has added to this famous story two characters Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) & Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet) Jack is the poor guy of the story and Rose is the Rich girl of the movie. 

Now as the story goes they fall in love much to the behest of Rose's rich family. So now the love affair they have is scorned upon by everyone that Rose knows, but to Jack & Rose they know no one will come between there love for each other. Of course they didn't tell a hug iceberg that. 

As we all know the Titanic hits the darn thing and it goes down, that's a bit of a dampener on their whole voyage to say the least. Now I won't say what happens for those people that haven't seen this movie (All 2 of you) But I can say that Cameron's work in this movie, the absolute detail, the scope and everything else in this movie is a true testament to this last fateful voyage of a great ship. 

You really do feel for the characters in the movie. Wonderful. 

VIDEO
This disc was the first for 20th Century Fox's international DVD releases. While it is good, I wouldn't consider it a WOW release, the DVD format is capable of so much more!

Titanic's transfer isn't the sharpest, in fact it would be softer than most of today's newer releases, although over a year has passed since it's release.

Shadow detail is acceptable without being anything special. It gets the job done.

Color's vary between over saturation to under saturation and were never stable through the transfer.

There were no MPEG or film artifacts present.

Titanic is framed at 2:35:1 and is not 16:9 enhanced.

This is a dual-sided, single layer disc. The layer change occurs at 104:00 exactly.

AUDIO

Stunning is a word to use on this track. Titanic is presented with a Dolby Digital 5.1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack for people not possessing 5.1 equipment. 

Titanic features one of the most immersive 5.1 mixes around. Looking at the movie I found that sound designed Gary Rydstrom was one of the men responsible for this soundtrack, it shows. No matter what movie this guy touches, it turns to pure aural gold! Just look at Saving Private Ryan, Toy Story 2, A Bug's Life and Jurassic Park for examples!

Surround channels beautifully integrated into the track and do not draw attention to themselves, especially during the ships demise. Wonderful.

The .1 channel was well integrated into the mix to underscore the sound track throughout.

Dialog was always easy to hear.

EXTRAS

Only one extra adorns this disc.

Theatrical Trailer: Good trailer of average quality. 1:85:1, Dolby Digital 2.0

Subtitles: Closed Captioned, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Greek, Hebrew, Hungarian, Icelandic, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Swedish

FINAL THOUGHTS
An slow, wandering movie chucked onto a featureless DVD. Please Buena Vista, all your DVD's deserve better treatment!

16:9 ENHANCEMENT DISC RATING

VIDEO:
AUDIO:
EXTRAS:

PLOT:
OVERALL:

REVIEW EQUIPMENT

Display: 48" Sony RPTV.
DVD Player:
Panasonic A350 Player using S-Video Cables.
Receiver:
Pioneer VSX-D508 Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround.
Speakers:
Accusound speaker system.

Copyright © 2000 by [Roger Ward].
Revised: 16 Nov 2000 11:03:07 +1000 .

DVD INFORMATION
Region Coding: Region 4
No of Discs: 1
OFLC Rating M15+
Running Time: 187 Mins
Case Type: Black Amaray
Release Date: 1/9/1999
Catalog Number: 0421SDV
List Price: $44.95
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
DISC SPECIFICATIONS
Disc Format: PAL
Disc Type: Picture Disc
Disc Format: RSDL
Chapters: 30
Macrovision: Yes
Manufacturer: WAMO
VIDEO SPECIFICATIONS
Aspect Ratio: 2:35:1
Anamorphic: None
Film Format: 35mm
SOUND SPECIFICATIONS
Dolby Digital:

5.1 Surround

DTS: None
PCM Stereo: None
Other: None
Languages: English
Subtitles: Yes
SPECIAL FEATURES
Audio Commentary: None
Theatrical Trailer: Yes & THX Trailer
Teaser Trailer: None
TV Spots: None
Dolby Trailer: None
Documentary: None
Cast & Crew Bios: None
Deleted Scenes: None
Music Videos: None
DVD Rom Content: None
Collectable Booklet: None
Scene Access: Yes
Animated Menus: Yes
Production Notes: None
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