Titanic

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GeorgeC

Titanic

Post by GeorgeC » February 11th, 2005, 12:56 am

From the 2/10/2005 log of TheDigitalBits.com:


The 1950s War of the Worlds film is getting a deluxe treatment courtesy of Paramount Home Video later this year.

Don't bother buying the no-frills DVD out on shelves new. The newer version will have a better video transfer and extras.

Time will tell if Spielberg made a better adaptation of Welles' most famous story, but don't count on it. The 1950s adaptation is still far superior to later adaptations including ID4 (Independence Day) which liberally borrowed from the 1950s movie.

Also, on the domestic Paramount Video front comes news that the long-awaited (James Cameron, 1997) Titanic deluxe edition is finally happening this year. Expect extras including deleted footage and a possible director's cut on this multi-disc set.

The current Titanic (1997) DVD is no-frills and widescreen non-anamorphic. The new DVD edition WILL be widescreen anamorphic in addition to having all the goodies that moviephiles demand on DVD.

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Post by Ben » February 12th, 2005, 12:24 pm

Can't wait!

A title I've LONG wanted to pick up on DVD, I've held off on WOTW simply because I thought that it HAD to get better presentation some day.

Cool that El Spielberg's latest means it gets the go-ahead to be revisited on DVD...sounds good!

Likewise with Titanic, a film that often gets slated but that I feel really creates the feeling of being in that situation (whether or not it is true to the situation those souls faced at the time is another thing, but at the end, when those flares go up, you're ON that ship).

I hope the original theatrical cut is included. Despite an awesome transfer, the current DVD is non-anamorphic, though I would be tempted to pick it up should the deluxe edition not include the version we know.

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Post by GeorgeC » February 13th, 2005, 4:10 am

Ben,

There's a lot of footage Cameron shot that didn't make it into the theatrical cut of Titanic. The film could easily be over 4 hours long if he wanted it to be. There's still no word about whether the deluxe set is the theatrical cut, extended, or both.

I've seen some of this footage in the CD-ROM set, "Titanic Explorer." It was a multimedia set put out about a year or two after Titanic that included some footage of survivors scrambling onto an overturned collapsible lifeboat as well as video of Cameron's dives on the Titanic wreck.

I'll definitely get both DVDs when they come out.

I'd also like to get Ghost of the Abyss because that's yet more footage from Cameron of the Titanic wreck and hopefully it's a better film than Titanica was. I've got Titanica on LD but was very disappointed that there was not as much footage of the actual wreck. As much as I liked hearing Eva Hart's story (AGAIN), I really wanted to see more footage of the wreck as it is now (or was in 1995).

And yes, I definitely agree that the best thing about Titanic (1997) was that it recreated the sense that you were on the ship, that it hadn't gone down yet and been disintegrating for almost 100 years. As good as some of the other Titanic movies were (A Night to Remember is probably #2 in my book), Cameron's film was really the first that DIDN'T feel like it was shot on a backlot or used miniatures filmed in a bathtub.

(Okay, the model in Raise the Titanic looked cool, but other than the raising of the ship in that movie and the musical score, the film itself stunk.)

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Post by Ben » February 13th, 2005, 10:05 am

You mean "sunk"?! ;)

Yeah, I've seen a five and a half hour bootleg of Titanic, with amazingly different scenes and an entirely different ending (where old Rose comes close to showing the Paxton character the diamond before she throws it in as a memory for Jack).

All these scenes were completed digitally, since there was early talk of an extended version doing the TV circuit.

Looking forward to it, whatever the case may be!

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From the Digital Bits Rumor Mill: Titanic Expanded Edition!

Post by GeorgeC » February 24th, 2005, 12:20 pm

From this link - http://www.thedigitalbits.com/rumormill.html#0224

The Digital Bits reports in the 2/24/05 Rumor Mill:

"Finally today, let's talk about the BIG Fox title you probably want to know about. No, not Episode III (although you can likely expect that to hit DVD in time for the holidays). We're talking about James Cameron's Titanic. Our industry sources have confirmed that a SERIOUS special edition is currently being worked on by Fox. You can expect it to follow a similar pattern to New Line's Lord of the Rings films on DVD - a 2-disc version and a more elaborate 4-disc edition. Both will feature a sparkling new anamorphic widescreen transfer of the film. Among the many extras you can expect are lots of deleted scenes and tons of "behind-the-scenes" material. Watch for it to be announced later this year for release in the 4th Quarter. As expected, it'll be released by Paramount here in the States, and Fox internationally."


This is BIG news for Cameron/Titanic fans!

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Post by PatrickvD » February 24th, 2005, 1:10 pm

I liked the movie... no masterpiece but definitely enjoyable. I wonder if it will be a director's cut? I mean... even longer?? :P

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Post by Ben » February 26th, 2005, 4:35 pm

Word is that the four-disc will contain an extended, close to five-hour version (basically the deleted scenes inserted back into the movie).

GeorgeC

More news on Titanic: SE from The Digital Bits

Post by GeorgeC » March 9th, 2005, 8:19 pm

According to today's update on The Digital Bits, Titanic: Special Edition will hit DVD later this year.

Current plans, according to the latest rumors, are to release the film in two editions like The Lord of the Rings series.

One version of the SE will be a 4-disc set that maximizes video quality over 4 DVDs and has tons of extras. A regular 2-disc set will also be offered.

More details about the Titanic: SE will be released next week on Tuesday...

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Titanic: SE update at DigitalBits.com

Post by GeorgeC » March 16th, 2005, 3:59 pm

Here's the link:
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents

Basically, a repeat of what I posted earlier with one caveat --

The reasons why this release wasn't done earlier are A) Cameron was tired and needed a break from the film; B) the current DVD release was still selling well; C) it took a lot of time to round an edit the extras for the SE release.

It's the theatrical release, folks, but with higher-quality video and sound AND anamorphic widescreen. Save your money for this release and DON'T get the Titanic release currently on shelves.

However, you will be able to use alternate angles and look at deleted scenes in the area of the film where they were intended to be. (I know it's crazy, but that's how they're handling it!) There are around 58 minutes of deleted that will be on this release.

You can Titanic: SE as a 2-disc release (movie only) or 4-disc release like the Lord of the Rings specials!

Titanic fans will get hit by the best kind of iceberg later this year!

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Post by Ben » March 16th, 2005, 5:10 pm

I like the seamless branching idea.

It's basically like an extended cut, but rather than finish off effects shots and the like, I expect they will be a little rougher round the edges, such as Die Hard's extra scene was, and how the Alien series offered "alternate cuts" (all Fox DVDs with seamless branching).

I'm glad it's the theatrical cut - I'd have gone out and bought the current DVD so that I had a copy of that if this had turned out to be just new version. But we get both, so that's cool!

GeorgeC

Jaws: 30th Anniversary Ed and War of tee Worlds: SCE

Post by GeorgeC » March 27th, 2005, 2:35 am

For fans of classic films, be prepared for two of the best to receive better editions this summer.

Jaws is getting a 2-disc 30th anniversary edition this summer (June, I think). It'll be a new anamorphic transfer with hopefully more of the old LD extras plus new extras on the second disc. Sound is also supposed to be a 5.1 mix... Drat, and after I got the earlier widescreen single-disc edition last Christmas! :lol:

War of the Worlds: SCE is coming out in June from Paramount. It's another 2-disc set. Avoid the current single-disc release. The 2-disc set is the one worth getting.

Not mentioned in my headline is the fact that Martin Scorsese's The Aviator gets its DVD release on May 24th... Hopefully, it'll sell plenty of copies and assure Marty that plenty of people still like him even if the Academy is clueless... :evil:

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Post by Christian » March 27th, 2005, 2:37 am

I'm glad I didn't get the earlier edition of Jaws. BTW, there's a theater here that plays it every summer. I got a group of about 30 people to go last June and everyone was reacting as though it was the first time they'd ever seen it. One guy in our group who looks like a hardened convict screamed like a little girl when Richard Dreyfuss sees the head under water. Great movie.

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Post by Ben » March 28th, 2005, 3:36 pm

That LD box was great. Didn't get the frist disc, as it wasn't up to the LD standards.

I'll see if this new one is worth it, or whether I'll wait for the HD edition...

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Ghosts of the Abyss

Post by GeorgeC » April 11th, 2005, 3:13 am

Best. Titanic. Shipwreck. Exploration. Film. Ever!

It's way better than the disappointing Titanica IMAX DVD and far higher visual quality than National Geographic's VHS-quality Secrets of the Titanic.

I guess if you want the story of a shipwreck told well -- as well as GREAT photography of said wreck -- you have to get an excellent camera director to do an expedition!

Thank goodness Jim Cameron and his crew were up to the job!

I've only seen the original theatrical cut on Disc 1 of the 2-disc set (borrowed from a public library) but I swear I've seen more of the shipwreck in that 60 minutes than on all the other specials I've seen with wreck footage combined! When Cameron's crew boasts they're exploring uncharted areas of the wreck, they're NOT kidding.

As if the 60-minute original theatrical cut wasn't enough, Cameron put together an extended 90-minute cut for the DVD release! As of yet, I haven't had a chance to watch the added footage, but I'm making it a point before I return the DVD.

Disc 2 of the set is all extras including dive footage that is not in either cut of Ghosts of the Abyss.

Yes, the photography is ultimately what makes or breaks this film, BUT Cameron gave it a personal human touch by compositing actors playing the roles of Titanic personalities superimposed upon actual footage of spots on the wreck where they acted out their lives. Believe me, it looks and plays far better than I can describe it. The superimposed live-action is given a ghostly ethereal glow that suggests we are either looking into the past OR seeing spirits re-enact events of a voyage that never reached its intended destination.

For serious Titanic afficionados, I'd think you'd have to buy this DVD release along with the new Titanic (1997) Special Edition DVD out later this year...

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Post by James » April 11th, 2005, 9:32 am

I saw this in theatres in 3D, and bought the DVD the day it came out last year. It is a great film. I'd disagree that this is only for serious Titanic aficionados - even people who don't care about this part of history would probably like this film. More than anything else I've ever seen, this film brings out the tragedy that was Titanic. Sometimes we seem to forget or take that part for granted.

The greatness of Ghosts of the Abyss is what makes Aliens of the Deep so disappointing. The filmmakers knew how to make a great underwater documentary, but just didn't do it for some reason.

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