Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1457 in DVD
• Released on: 2004-03-01
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Full Screen, PAL, Widescreen
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Portuguese, Swedish, Danish, Hungarian, Polish, Icelandic, Dutch, Finnish, Czech, Greek
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 189 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
When the theatrical release of James Cameron's Titanic was delayed from July to December of 1997, media pundits speculated that Cameron's $200 million disaster epic would cause the director's downfall, signal the end of the blockbuster era and sink Paramount Studios as quickly as the ill-fated luxury liner had sunk on that fateful night of April 14, 1912. Some studio executives were confident, others horrified, but the clarity of hindsight turned Cameron into an Oscar-winning genius, a shrewd businessman and one of the most successful directors in the history of motion pictures. Titanic would surpass the $1 billion mark in global box-office receipts (largely due to multiple viewings, the majority by teenage girls), win 11 Academy Awards including best picture and director, produce the bestselling movie soundtrack of all time and make a global superstar of Leonardo DiCaprio. A bona fide pop-cultural phenomenon, the film has all the ingredients of a blockbuster (romance, passion, luxury, grand scale, a snidely villain and an epic, life-threatening crisis), but Cameron's alchemy of these ingredients proved more popular than anyone could have predicted. His stroke of genius was to combine absolute authenticity with a pair of fictional lovers whose tragic fate would draw viewers into the heart-wrenching reality of the Titanic disaster. As starving artist Jack Dawson and soon-to-be-married socialite Rose DeWitt Bukater, DiCaprio and Kate Winslet won the hearts of viewers around the world and their brief but never-forgotten love affair provides the humanity that Cameron needed to turn Titanic into an emotional experience. Present-day framing scenes (featuring Gloria Stuart as the 101-year-old Rose) add additional resonance to the story and, although some viewers proved vehemently immune to Cameron's manipulations, few can deny the production's impressive achievements. Although some of the computer-generated visual effects look artificial, others--such as the sunset silhouette of Titanic during its first evening at sea, or the climactic splitting of the ship's sinking hull--are state-of-the-art marvels. In terms of sets and costumes alone, the film is never less than astounding. More than anything else, however, the film's overwhelming popularity speaks for itself. Titanic is an event film and a monument to Cameron's risk-taking audacity, blending the tragic irony of the Titanic disaster with just enough narrative invention to give the historical event its fullest and most timeless dramatic impact. Titanic is an epic love story on par with Gone with the Wind, and, like that earlier box-office phenomenon, it's a film for the ages. --Jeff Shannon

Video Description
DVD Special Features

Interactive Menus
Scene Access
Multiple Language Subtitles
Original Theatrical Trailer
Language: English
Subtitles: Swedish/Norwegian/Danish/Finnish/Iberian Portuguese/Hebrew/Polish/Czech/Hungarian/Icelandic/Dutch/Greek/English for the Hearing Impaired
Ratio: 2.30:1

Synopsis
TITANIC, James Cameron's massive blockbuster, stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet as young lovers aboard the ill-fated voyage. A mysterious nude sketch found in the wreckage of the Titanic leads to the tale of its subject, the now-elderly Rose DeWitt Bukater (Winslet). As her story begins, Rose is 17 and vacationing aboard the "unsinkable" ship with her unctuous, moneyed fiance (Billy Zane). However, she soon falls for Jack Dawson (DiCaprio), a free-spirited artist and third-class passenger. Their romance moves quickly--until the huge luxury liner slams into an iceberg. Soon Rose, Jack, and everyone onboard the sinking ship are all struggling to stay alive.
TITANIC had the potential to be the biggest bomb in film history, but, as everyone knows, the movie became the highest-grossing motion picture ever and a worldwide phenomenon. Perhaps it's the spectacular special effects or the chemistry of its attractive stars or the romantic heart of the story. Regardless of what makes it work, the film is big budget entertainment with an undeniable appeal for just about anyone.

Customer Reviews

An incredibly moving motion picture experience
I write this review principally for those who have vowed to never watch Titanic. No fan of Leonardo DiCaprio, I used to be one of those people; then, on the spur of the moment, I felt compelled to buy it and watch it. I am so thankful I responded to that sudden urge because this is truly the most moving motion picture I have ever seen. I immediately fell in love with every single thing about it, even the love story of Jack and Rose. I know this film cost a fortune and took forever to make, but every cent James Cameron spent was worth it. Titanic is incredible. There were really no Jack and Rose onboard the ship on the night it went down, but their story opens our hearts to the real story of that great tragedy, the fact that hundreds and hundreds of very real people from all walks of life suffered and died in the frigid waters of the North Atlantic. When we think of some of the lives that were lost, we too often see them not as people but as myths-the unsinkable Molly Brown, Captain Smith, the scoundrel Ismay, John Jacob Astor, the Guggenheims, the musicians on deck, etc. In this epic, we see the humanity of everyone on board, from the first class passengers to the third class folks below deck to the hard-working men in the pits of the ship who bravely kept the lights on for so long in the face of certain death. This motion picture reinforces the humanity of every soul lost, for that is where the real tragedy lies.

Some people don't like the love story in the film, but I found it magical. DiCaprio, as much as I hate to admit it, is an incredibly talented actor, but it is really Kate Winslet who shines the brightest in my eyes. The complexity of Rose, engaged to wealth and status but yearning for something real that cannot be bought, calls out to the humanity in all of us, and we delight in her forbidden romance with the poor and socially inferior Jack Dawson, ready to take up arms ourselves against her rogue of a fiancé and his dastardly henchman. Some of the purity of this love was lost for me inside the car in the storage room, but no one can deny the power of Rose's love for Jack when she sacrifices her own survival to stay by his side. This is the kind of all-encompassing love we all seek but a rare few of us ever find.

Equally powerful is the extraordinary presentation of the Titanic's final hour. One feels as if he is actually there feeling the shudders as the iceberg rips through the great ship's hull, detecting the list of the decks as the front section begins to settle under water, watching with fascinating unbelief the water as it begins its climb from the lower to upper decks, getting a sense of the complete and utter panic that ensues once Titanic's fate becomes clear to all onboard, and watching numbly from afar as the smokestacks break off, the hull splits, and the fractured ship dives beneath the waves en route to its eternal resting place. The surreal aspect of it all, with the music playing in the background while brave men say a final goodbye to their wives and children in the lifeboats and less fortunate men, women, and children stop to embrace death in whatever way they can, is truly magical and tugs at the heart-strings of anyone professing to be human.

The incredible music accompanying this film is also intensely moving, whether it is reinforcing the passion of true love newly found or lamenting the tragedy of souls lost. If the love story and tragedy do not bring tears to your eyes, the extraordinary music will. I wonder how many men in particular sat through all of the closing credits in the theatre hoping their tears would dry before the lights came back on. The ending is to my eyes absolutely perfect and truly beautiful. This movie affects me greatly no matter how many times I have already watched it. I hope that some of those individuals vowing never to watch Titanic will reconsider their decision; I feel sure that many unbelievers would find themselves as captivated and completely in love with this motion picture as I am upon experiencing it.

Grandiose schmaltz skillfully presented
This is much better than word of mouth led me to believe. Of course the script is corny and full of simplistic sentiment and it panders shamelessly to mid-brow sensitivities, and there's no question that the main intent is to jerk mass tears (but we could have guessed that from the subject). Still the cinematography is wonderful, Kate Winslet is captivating, and the plot clever. This is an old time Hollywood movie made not only to seduce the audience, but the Academy as well. And it succeeds.

Billy Zane is perfectly one-dimensional and completely familiar as the conceited and selfish, immoral heir to a Gilded Age fortune. Kate Winslet as his intended is a ravishing beauty with oomph and a mind of her own. Leonardo DiCaprio as the wily and clever sketch artist who seduces her while twice saving her life comes across curiously as part Huck Finn and part John Boy. His romantic bravado in the freezing water, saying he was so lucky to have won the steamship ticket because it allowed him to meet her, was enough to embarrass even the most hardened Harlequin novelist.

Most of the action before the bow scene was almost painful because just about every line was written so that a ten-year-old could understand what he was supposed to feel about whom. Evil, decadent rich people. Good, clever, hard working poor people. (They even party better.) Cliché followed cliché. But the romantic bow scene was artfully staged, and after that Kate came to life. It was strange to see her in the early scenes. She seemed almost a bad actress, as though the mediocrity of the direction had reduced her. But her part was so big and she had so much to do that her natural talent overcame the early junior high school text and the later schmaltz.

Since the audience knows the ending, Director James Cameron knew he had a fine opportunity for dramatic irony, but his touch was a bit heavy handed . Since the audience knows eighty-five years of history unknown to the Titanic passengers, we get these further heavy bits of irony (Check the heads of the midbrow audience nodding knowingly.)

My sensitivities were most offended, however, when Cameron has the salvage crew smugly celebrate their good fortune before the safe they have hauled up is actually opened. That was the tip off for everybody in the audience to wisely know there would be little of value in the safe. Duh. In real life those guys don't celebrate until the gold is in the hand. Cameron's style is to flatter the audience, make them think they're smart, the usual pandering of a mediocre talent. Why did the Academy vote this best picture? Simply because it was a popular lavish production squarely in the Hollywood tradition, employing a whole bunch of movie folk, and it was a financial success, just what the industry craves. I should add that everything technical in the film was excellent, and Cameron's dramatic direction was a lot better than his dialogue. Also, because of the exquisite detail, watching the big ship sink was a whole lot of fun.

Hey, this is an epic
This film, probably the biggest blockbuster of all time, has the most mixed opinions you're likely to see. There are many arguments over it. The people who haven't yet seen it are those who have vowed not to see it because they can't cope with the idea of a tear-jerker blockbuster. You can't blame them. Most people have that opinion at first.
There are three types of attitudes when it comes to Titanic:
1. Leo Lovers
2. The Haters
3. Those who can take it seriously

It has to be admitted, Titanic is a masterpiece. For its time, the CGI was amazing and the sheer scale of the film was awesome. The film does not have a downfall, though when it comes to the plot. The Day After Tomorrow, one the same scale, had a hollow character story line. Titanic did not fall into that trap. It has been disputed that the script is hollow and some of it is but remember, this is a tear-jerker blockbuster that won 11 Oscars - you have to laugh though when you hear that James Cameron, director of Aliens and Terminator, wrote a love story.
Leonardo DiCaprio is a good actor, though he does overact on occasions. I think the people who hate him feel that way because he always plays a wishy-washy character. Jack Dawson, our star of the film, is a prime example and you do feel like throttling him as he stands on the bow and screams "I'm king of the world!" Shudder.
With the basic out of the way, the plot is simple if you don't know it which I'm sure you do. An old, 100 year-old-woman (Gloria Stuart) goes a ship to meet some bountry-hunters, led by Bill Paxton. She resites them her experience on the Titanic and how she fell in love. Her eventual lover, a young, penniless man, Jack Dawson wins a ticket onto the Titanic in a hand of poker. On his journey, he falls for engaged rich woman, Rose (Kate Winslet who is playing a young Gloria Stuart) and a love affair begins, abruptly shattered when the ship hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic. It shows their struggle to survive through the chaos of people.
If you take the film seriously, you should appreciate it. Kate Winslet is, although she became mega famous for the film, over shadowed by DiCaprio but certainly not out acted. I find her to be the most powerful character in the film, a character which is develops and is eventually unleashed. She plays the role with complexity and a form of arrogance. She is selfish and certainly not kind-hearted through being so spoilt by her snobbish mother (Frances Fisher). Once she has an interest, she focuses on it and becomes very passionate, as she portrays. It'd a shame that she did not win the Oscar for Best Actress.
The cast is grand but not an overly famous one, which, like with Lord of the Rings, is an advantage in respects. Billy Zane plays Rose's evil fiance, Cal, Bernard Hill plays the ill-fated Captain of the ship, Johnathan Hyde is the fame craving Ismay, builder of the ship and David Warner is Cal's bodyguard. What makes me laugh if Kathy Bates' character. For me, she is comic relief in the film because she's so pointless and again, wishy-washy. Don't get me wrong, she's a good actress but just her American style, almost macho character is hilarious.
The love story is not as bad as most think. It's a nice love story, rather than a great one. At first you see Rose and Jack to be playmates more than people who fancy each other. When they first kiss on the infamous bow scene, it's more of a passionate teenage romance. The drawing scene, however, when Rose asks Jack to draw a picture of her naked, is more serious and in a sense, dark. If you don't know the film, you might get a surprise to see nudity in a 12. Again, Kate Winslet did it extremely well, giving an impish shyness to it by trying to distract Jack. The scene when they make love in a car, whilst being chased by stewards is hard to take seriously. It wasn't romantic and it didn't really fit in - in the back of a cramped car, you wonder how they manage to undress.
The actual Titanic story is more entertaining than the future aspect. It's more of a resital and gives a form of support to the film, since you wonder what happened to the characters after the film. It probably would have been fine without the supporting storyline.
The soundtrack for the film is quite good, composed by James Horner (Troy, Braveheart) and, as we know, Celine Dion sings the finale. The song is true to the film because if you listen to the words, it makes subtle sense.
If you are prepared to watch this film with no aversions or grudges, this is a must see because, even if you don't enjoy the love story, it is an Oscar winning epic on a grand scale, standing in comparison with Ben-Hur and Return of the King so it is a DVD that should sit on your shelf; boy or girl.