Titanic - Collector's Edition (Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray) [1997]

If you are a Titanic fan, you must have this DVD set. Order it, and then clear your schedule for a weekend because you won't be leaving the house for a while. Here are some of the highlights:The cast and crew commentary is certainly varied, with producers Jon Landau and Rae Sanchini commenting throughout and then Kate Winslet, Gloria Stuart, various supporting characters and even extras and stunt people chiming in with behind the scenes stories. Interesting to find out about the scene where Jack and Rose are taking their first daylight walk on the deck and Jack confronts Rose by asking her if she loves Cal. That wasn't in the original script and was only added at the insistence of Kate and Leo that there be something more than hearts and flowers in the Jack - Rose relationship.The historical commentary with Don Lynch & Ken Marschall was fun. Cal and Rose may be arguing on screen - but Don and Ken are talking about the historically accurate White Start Line ashtrays on the dresser. Of course, sometimes we are back on a set they've already dissected, so they are reduced to watching the movie and saying things like "I love that line!", just like any fan.Motor-mouth James Cameron gets his own directors track where he tries to give background on every shot: "This is on the set, and then now we cut to models with CGI water; now this is back on the set with green screen and now we're in the tank with models and the boats in the background are CGI, and now we're..." It may be more than most can take for the length of this movie. Still, Jim actually gives more historical background that Don and Ken - he obviously knows his stuff and is very passionate.Breaking New Ground - The Making Of Titanic Tv Special is a good behind the scenes feature, particularly for people who want some of the backstage story but won't be taking the time to get into the commentaries and "pods" where much of this is explored in even more detail. Titanic Crew Video is a hoot - one of the AD's took home video footage of the shoot and then edited it together with some of the movie scenes (along with a few shots from Poseidon Adventure and other old films) for comic effect. Low brow - but funny. (I particularly liked the shot of Titanic pulling out of the harbor with a big "Sink Me" Post-It digitally slapped on to the stern.)Then, of course, there's always The Movie:I realize that there are a lot of people who disagree about this - but I think Titanic is an incredible screenplay. Yes, some of the dialog is inane, and yes, Cal does everything but twirl his moustache (if he had one). But screenplays are not built on dialog. (Case in point - Star Wars. Some of the worst dialog ever written - but still a compelling and entertaining movie.) Screenplays are about structure and visual storytelling. And it's here that Titanic excels.The first problem in writing a screenplay of the Titanic story is this: how do you get beyond the tragic numbers (1500 people dead) make people care about these long forgotten people? Enter Rose, Cal, and Jack - a cross-class love triangle. Their story will show the audience the ship as well as the social structure of the day. (And you can't understand Titanic without grasping the social underpinnings.)The second issue the screenwriter has to overcome is the Apollo 13 problem: everyone already knows how the tale ends. Enter Brock and his modern-day crew. What I love about the opening of Titanic is that you are expecting to see this 1912 story with Kate and Leo, but for the first 20 minutes you are firmly in the present. This tells the audience that, like Brock the treasure hunter, they don't know this story the way they think they do. They need Rose to take them back to Titanic and paint the triumph and tragedy of the great ship.The film is visually audacious - the angles are dramatic and unimaginable. Where previous Titanic movies have shot scenes tightly to disguise the fact that the real ship isn't there - Cameron boldly goes for big helicopter views. Even the close shots have deep detailed backgrounds.Finally, the themes of the film acted out by the characters, are the drawn from the lessons of Titanic as well. Rose begins the story corseted into a beautiful, but narrow existence with limited possibilities. She leaves all that behind in the North Atlantic, and embarks on a life with no security - but unlimited possibilities. On a larger scale, Titanic was that beautiful but strictly controlled society. But, passengers and crew found out that you can't control everything, and the grand world broke apart and sank into chaos. Two years after these events, The Great War would scuttle most of the upper classes of Europe and kill or wound 30 million more. At the same time the rights of workers, women, and minorities were ascendant, so that today it is hard to imagine living under the Edwardian social conventions. Titanic foreshadowed the violent demise of the old order. We can roll our eyes at their arrogance, but we also can't help but be a little nostalgic for the lovely world they created.This exquisite DVD set will be treasured by anyone who wants to immerse themselves in the craft of the actors and technicians, or in the great ship itself.

Loved it

For the product itself, that is, the DVD, it was perfect, BOTH of them! I ordered a used one, and it took too long so I ordered a new one. They both came, and so far I've played only the used one! That a DVD is good is not much of an issue. The bigger issue is the movie, that is, the story. I got interested in the movie because of some YouTube videos of James Cameron going to the wreck of the Titanic and elsewhere to the bottom of the ocean, especially the Challenger Deep, about 7 miles down, the deepest part of the ocean. Then I decided to watch his movie 'Titanic' again! Well, the movie had enough in it on the actual ship, the weaknesses in its design, and the mistakes in its operation. Okay, got that, but it took only maybe 10% of the time of the movie. Next the movie was a story about the strong class differences between first and third class. Okay, the first class eats rare lamb with mint sauce for lunch and caviar with champagne for dinner! Next, get to see something of the style and mannerisms of rich/royal people then. The few times I've been in a yacht club dinning room, the style and mannerisms are still in force. Next the movie is a love story between a surprisingly bright third class boy, Jack, and a gorgeous but scared, confused, and frustrated first class girl, Rose, already engaged to a son, Cal, of the wealthy owner of a Pittsburgh steel company. The first class sex role differences are really strong: The men are concerned with business and politics as it affects business, and the women are wildly over dressed, cared for, and limited to narrow, empty versions of social small talk and gossip. Rose is afraid, terrified, of the "inertia" of her life that is pushing her beyond her control into the emptiness of the first class female roles. In particular she is terrified of the power of her future husband Cal. He's actually a pretty nice guy, adores Rose, but has zero insight into her fears and other emotions. If she would just go along with the established wife's role, then he wouldn't need insight. She didn't have to be afraid: She COULD have played the empty role some times and done interesting things other times. And the story had a woman who punctured the role, Molly Brown, a new-rich woman from the US West, Rose could have used as an example and/or tutor. So, in a peak moment of fear and frustration, Rose decides to jump off the back of the ship. As she is outside the railing ready to jump, Jack sees her and talks her back. They have a friendship. He has some, not a lot, of good insight into Rose's problems, and that comforts her. They have a fast love affair. She decides that when the ship reaches NY, she will exit the ship with Jack. The ship sinks, and Jack dies of the cold water. Rose lives from being on top of some floating wood and being picked up by the rescue efforts pulled in by wireless SOS calls a little before the ship sank. Cal also lives, on the rescue ship looks for Rose. She sees him, ignores him, and he doesn't see her. She was REALLY afraid of the rich life style! Cal was really slow on the uptake! With her love affair with the boy, she was REALLY eager to give up financial security and jump into poverty. The love affair was a bit of a strain to believe, but I've seen some women that were that mixed up! But the costumes, sets, music, acting, directing, computer animation are all so good it is very good story telling!