Titanic

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Post by Ben » April 11th, 2005, 10:39 am

I went to the Titanic exhibition at the Science Museum here in London last year, where they recreated parts of the ship, had an actual section of an ice berg where the participants could feel exactly how cold that water was, plus much more information on the ship itself.

Best of all, they had salvaged many items from the shop and had them on display, which was truly haunting and fascinating at the same time. There was also a section of the hull that had been brought up to the surface, and visitors could "touch history", which was mind blowing. It's still weird to be able to say that I've touched Titanic! Awesome.

The event included/ended with a screening of Ghosts Of The Abyss in Imax 3D, which was fantastic. You were THERE on that ship with Cameron and Paxton, and like James, I grabbed the DVD when it came out. As he says, this is a film anyone can enjoy, as it's about an exploration of its own, with its own drama (though the rather convoluted Jake and Elwood "saga" was played out and squeezed for all its worth).

The 90-minute cut was the actual original version, but "logic" dictates that people won't be able to sit still long enough for a full-length Imax 3D presentation, hence why they are all under an hour and why this was cut back.

Being a Titanic nut, this is all fascinating anyway, but I haven't caught the "follow up" underwater animal one that he's just done.

GeorgeC

New release date for George Pal's 1953 War of the Worlds DVD

Post by GeorgeC » June 2nd, 2005, 12:59 pm

New release date for George Pal's 1953 War of the Worlds DVD

According to the Rumor Mill at TheDigitalBits.com,


The new 2-disc edition of George Pal's classic (and to date, STILL the best version of), War of the Worlds, has been rescheduled for 11/1/2005.

The shift in release was made from summer to fall on the request of Steven Spielberg who is releasing his own version of War of the Worlds this summer.

I guess Mr. Spielberg can't hack the competition?

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Post by Ben » June 2nd, 2005, 1:36 pm

...or maybe the date holds something else in store as well?

11/1/2005 would be about the time the new version hits disc, would it not?


And what's the betting that this isn;t one of the first HD-DVD titles out there, if the launch goes ahead as planned by the end of the year?

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Post by ShyViolet » June 3rd, 2005, 12:40 pm

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.

A long time ago I saw The Original Screenplay for sale at a bookstore, with all the stuff that was either cut out, altered, or never included in the film.

What I remember:

1.) At the end, Rose tosses out the Heart of the Ocean necklace right in front of the Titanic deep-sea crew. The nerdy annoying guy is like: "Man lady, that really sucks!" (I swear that was in there.)

2.) Fabrizio (Leo's best friend) has a whole romance going with the blonde Swedish girl you see from time to time. (He dances with her at the party). That's why at the very end when Rose and Jack are clinging to the ship as it turns 90 degrees, there's a close-up as Rose notices she's there too. But they had to cut most of it to save time and focus on the Jack/Rose romance.

3.) More stuff between Rose and Cal in the begining.

4.) A lot more stuff between Suzy Amis's character (Rose's granddaughter) and Bill Paxton, (the head of the deep-sea diver crew) both in the begining in the end. Originally, Amis was pretty mad at Paxton for "exploiting" her grandmother and her tradgedy.

I can't really remember more but there was a lot more, can't wait to get the DVD!!
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

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Post by Ben » June 3rd, 2005, 2:10 pm

There was more on the boat as well as it was sinking. More on the passengers and their fates, and some in the lifeboats as they washed away from what was happening.

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Post by ShyViolet » June 3rd, 2005, 2:38 pm

This is a bit off topic so my apologies. Isn't there also a longer bootleg version of the 1990 Dick Tracy?

Was there ever a Special Edition released??

BTW, will James Cameron ever direct or produce anything that doesn't have something to do with the Titanic? He kind of reminds me of George Lucas in his reclusiveness, somewhat demanding nature and insistence that he's a "serious artist" even though it's bubblegum/fantasy pictures he got famous on..... :roll:
Just my humble opinon.
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

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Post by Ben » June 4th, 2005, 11:16 am

Never an SE for Dick Tracy, though it was rumored for ages as part of Disney's "Vista Series" of special releases.

Don't know that it ever made a bootleg, but Dick Tracy was longer before it was released and there was a rumor that Beatty would be going back to that cut for a DVD release, but so far nothing. Wouldn't be surprised if something came out next year though, for a belated 15th Anniversary edition. I know there are deleted scenes and at least two TV specials that could be included.

James Cameron's next is Battle Angel, set for release in 2007. Taking its cue from Yukito Kishiro's graphic manga books, the story is the first in a proposed trilogy. Most interestingly, the epic sci-fi (nothing to do with Titanic at all!) will be groundbreaking in that the lead character will be completely created in CG animation, using the 3D stereo optical system that Cameron developed for the Imax documentaries.

Apparently, it wasn't until Cameron saw Lord Of The Rings: Return Of The King that he became excited by filmmaking again and wanted to get back into storytelling with cutting edge effects. Apparently, Battle Angel will have around 2000 VFX shots!

GeorgeC

Post by GeorgeC » July 2nd, 2005, 12:09 am

Twists upon twists -- UPDATE on Titanic SE

TheDigitalBits.com has the covers for the 2-disc and 4-disc of Titanic SE up on the site now!

The ship looks kinda weird on the cover art. It's missing a lot of rigging, the masts aren't pictured, and the crow's next is missing, too. From the angle and lack of masting and rigging, the Titanic looks TOO modern and really not at all like the real ship did...


UPDATE: Battle Angel

Jim Cameron supposedly has the rights to the Battle Angel anime OVA series. Thank goodness I got my copy years ago while it was still in print!

Battle Angel has been out-of-print since about a month after it was released on DVD. It's been nearly 5 years since it was out on DVD in R1. How much longer for a re-release depends on how fast Cameron gets the film made. It may be longer because with his ADD it seems Cameron wants to do something else first.

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Post by Ben » July 2nd, 2005, 3:52 pm

For those who visit the page in the next few days before this images moves down, here is the DVD artwork George is talking about:
http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents



And HERE (for all those who are moaning here and on all kinds of threads about the cover art and the image used)...

...is an ORIGINAL THEATRICAL POSTER:
http://www.impawards.com/1997/titanic_ver3.html


This poster was actually the originally intended image for the film! It was superceeded by the one we all know, which was actually a re-issue poster from early '98, after the big success of the film prompted a second marketing campaign.

The second image (which was the original DVD cover art) was also used as the main poster internationally, and has been the "face" of Titanic ever since.

I, for one, am happy to see the ORIGINAL original back front and center, where it should be. :)

GeorgeC

Post by GeorgeC » July 25th, 2005, 6:03 pm

The latest news from the Digital Bits http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents


Titanic: SE will supposedly only be offered in a 3-disc set to reduce confusion. There's talk of a 4-disc set but it's thought to be the same 3-disc set plus the film's soundtrack CD.

On the same update page is also news of a 30th Anniversary Edition of The Rocky Horror Picture Show. Now, I really don't like musicals that much, but there's enough weirdness in this film and skewering of science fiction/horror themes that I might get THIS version instead of the 1-disc platter already out in R1!

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Post by Ben » July 26th, 2005, 7:09 am

George - please post updates in here, thanks. :)

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Post by ShyViolet » July 30th, 2005, 4:20 pm

I, for one, am happy to see the ORIGINAL original back front and center, where it should be.
OMG that's so funny, as I originally saw that poster (Jack and Rose from the waist up and the ship in montage) in the New York Times when they were talking about the reactions other countries were having to Titanic. They had that exact picture with Japanese letters.

Then when we rented Titanic from Blockbuster for the first time, they gave you two free posters with the rental, and one of them was that picture. I had it on my bedroom wall for a long time.
You can’t just have your characters announce how they feel! That makes me feel angry!

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Post by Ben » July 31st, 2005, 5:58 pm

Yeah... it was the original theatrical art, before the re-issue one took over as the "image" for the movie.

GeorgeC

Post by GeorgeC » September 6th, 2005, 1:26 pm

Latest update from http://www.thedigitalbits.com/#mytwocents

"Well... we've received an official update from Paramount and 20th Century Fox with details about the forthcoming special edition DVD re-issue of Titanic, set for release on 10/25 in the U.S. (with international release dates to follow). Some of you will be happy, while others will likely be less so. We've confirmed now that there will be THREE different DVD versions available... but not to everyone. All three versions will include anamorphic widescreen video mastered from a new high-definition transfer, along with both Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and DTS 6.1 ES audio options. Here's the breakdown of the three versions, along with specific details on the extras set to be included with each:

The Titanic: 2-Disc Special Edition will be available in Europe, Australia and Latin America (from 20th Century Fox). This set will include the film itself, along with a 9-minute alternate ending, some 50 minutes of behind-the-scenes footage and featurettes accessible via a branched viewing option during the film, and 3 newly-recorded audio commentary tracks featuring director James Cameron, members of the cast and crew, and historians talking about the actual events.

The Titanic: 3-Disc Special Collector's Edition will be available in the U.S., Japan and Korea (from Paramount in the U.S. and 20th Century Fox elsewhere). It will include the film itself and ALL of the 2-Disc Special Edition's bonus features, along with over 45 minutes of "newly-finished" deleted scenes (complete with final, feature-quality visual effects), several production and special effects featurettes looking at various aspects of the making of the film, and the complete 43-minute Titanic: Breaking New Ground TV special on the making of the film.

Finally, the Titanic: 4-Disc Deluxe Collector's Edition will be available in Europe, Australia and Latin America (from 20th Century Fox). It will include the film itself and ALL of the extras in the 2-Disc Special Edition and 3-Disc Special Collector's Edition, along with HBO's First Look special on the making of the film (entitled Titanic: The Heart of the Ocean), 3 short Titanic parodies and a gallery of trailers for the film (including some never before seen).

Unfortunately, we're very sorry to say that Ed Marsh's highly-anticipated, feature-length documentary on the making of the film, which was announced at Paramount and Fox's original press event for the DVD release, will NOT be included on any version. This is unofficial, but we've learned from our sources that it was apparently killed by none other than Cameron himself. We can only presume that some of it at least will survive in the form of the behind-the-scenes featurettes now confirmed for the 3 and 4-disc sets, but the exact number of (and details about) these featurettes is unfortunately still to be announced. There's also no confirmation yet on whether Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio have recorded audio commentary for the DVD release (although at the time of the original press conference, both had reportedly expressed a willingness to participate if their scheduled permitted). We SUSPECT (but this is not official) that this means either or both are still yet to be recorded (our experience is that when such details are left out of official announcements, it's generally because they're still up in the air)."

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Post by Ben » September 8th, 2005, 7:14 am

Well, that's a dissapointment.

Maybe I'll buy the R1 three disc (for correct speed, time and audio pitch) and rent the Europe four disc to catch a glimpse of the extra promotional fluff.

Then again, isn't Latin America an NTSC country? That would be the answer :)

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