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List Price: $14.98 | | Label: Paramount
Salesrank: 1167
Released: August 31, 1999 |
| Our Price: $7.87 |
| Used Price: $3.75 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Nothing on Earth can rival the epic spectacle and breathtaking grandeur of Titanic the sweeping love story that sailed into the hearts of moviegoers around the world ultimately emerging as the most popular motion picture of all time.Leonardo DiCaprio and Oscar-nominee Kate Winslet light up the screen as Jack and Rose the young lovers who find one another on the maiden voyage of the "unsinkable" R.M.S. Titanic. But when the doomed luxury liner collides with an iceberg in the frigid North Atlantic their passionate love affair becomes a thrilling race for survival.From acclaimed filmmaker James Cameron comes a tale of forbidden love and courage in the face of disaster that triumphs as a true cinematic masterpiece.System Requirements:Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Directed By: James Cameron. Running Time: 194 Min. Color. This film is presented in "Widescreen" format. Copyright 2002 Paramount Pictures.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: DRAMA Rating: PG-13 UPC: 097361552248 Manufacturer No: 155224
Description of Titanic:
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 best-selling 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
Titanic Reviews:
Romance, Targedy, History, + Horror 
2008-10-06 - It's hard to believe its been 10 years since this movie came out. Moving right along, what makes this movie interesting is that while there are some fictional elements, they are mixed with historical elements as well. (So to some extent, we are permitted to accept the fictional elements such as the Calvin, Rose, Jack soap opera as real.) It is interesting how we are told the story from a survivor (the 100 year old Rose). Obviously, we know Rose will somehow survive. But that doesn't mean Rose won't lose someone she loves. The scenery and outfits are beautiful, and although the movie is over 3 hours, somehow it never seems to drag. The story seems to move at a realistic pace (rather than everything being crammed to fit inside a 2 hour slot). While Rose and Jack are the stars, other characters make good use of their screen time. (The unsinkable Molly Brown who comes into money, but never sacrificed herself or her moral values, and kept her redneckish charm, the virtuous and honorable Thomas Andrews, to name 2.)
While Calvin is not seen in a favorable light often, his character is at least a tad grayer than we would like to admit. (I actually find Rose's mother to be more repulsive.) Basically, Rose's mother (now broke) wants Calvin to marry Rose to reestablish themselves financially; Calvin, despite his faults is willing to do so; in all honesty, Calvin STARTS OFF no worse than anyone else in his position would probably be. Rose then begins her relationship with Jack, and Calvin starts to get abusive, to the point where he nearly kills her. I'm not trying to defend his abuse of Rose, or for that matter firing several gunshots in a rage. But if we wish to throw 'a small tad' of understanding on the table, (at least before he gets abusive) Rose's mother was asking Calvin to rescue them financially, and then Rose runs around with Jack. A whiter Calvin may have decided he shouldn't waste any more time here.
Moving on, there is some generous time of just getting to know everyone, but this also provides a creepy suspense. (Obviously, we already know the ship is going to sink.) A conversation between Rose and Thomas Andrews (at about the 1/2 way point) reminds us that there are only enough life boats for 1/2 the passengers. We can also see that Thomas Andrews wanted enough for everyone, but 'certain powers' didn't take his concerns seriously.
There are some romantic moments between Jack and Rose, and then the Titanic crashes. (While some people would pick and find someone to blame, the movie seems to not point the blame to any one party. Not even 100 % towards Mr. Ismay who came out with splattered with mud the most.) In the event we forgot the conversation between Rose and Thomas Andrews, Thomas faces Rose again and reminds us.
One phenomenal thing about this movie is that it shows us the true horror of people dying. (Unlike many movies that glorify people getting killed.) Interestingly, the ship sinks for (an actual hour or so). This is great in that we get to see the panic, tragedy, and horror of the crew knowing that less than half of them are going to survive. Rose finds herself in not only this situation, but the climax of her situation with her mother and Calvin. (There is a predictable, but still shaking moment when Rose simply says: "Goodbye mother" which infers they will probably never see each other again.)
Moving on, we are permitted sympathy for even characters we never met as they face their probably inevitable death. Their different ways of facing it are interesting. (Story telling, playing music, simply waiting, or in one case having a brandy.)
Most of you probably already know the personal tragedy Rose faces. But moving back to present, it is interesting how the Bill Paxton character suddenly realizes that there is more to life than ourselves. Overall, it's a phenomenal romance (in a historical setting) that reminds us not only of the true horror of people dying, but that there is more to life than our own existence.
Modern day classic by a modern day film genius
2008-09-23 - I was one of the few who knew this was going to be good.
The hype before the film came out was mostly negative. Plagued by delays the film quickly became the most expensive film ever made. But I was steadfast on seeing it, because I liked all of James Cameron's films, and I was certain to go see this one regardless of what the story was.
And then the film came out and it was great. May not have been the best picture of the year, but it is one of the few films that have won best picture that weren't the best pictures of their year, that I believed earned the title because of the struggle the filmmakers went through to make this movie.
Now, watching and listening to James Cameron's commentary, ten years after the film's release, I like it even more, for he explains in this feature length commentary, how things he was doing in Titanic were revolutionary, but have now become the norm. The green screen compositing to transition from one sceen to the next, used ad-nausea in Speed Racer was pioneered in Titanic. The computer generated extensions of backgrounds and sets that were used in films such as Garden State was in the infancy stage when Cameron used it on this film. Cameron is big on research, and you can tell by the detail he goes into the story and each character that appears on the screen. His very insightful and thorough commentary and I strongly recommend it for anybody who wants to be a filmmaker.
Great Item
2008-09-23 - Titanic DVD was sent in super time and it was great. Thank you very much :)
Amazing Titanic edition!
2008-09-15 - This three disc special edition is a great set for all collectors to have. The special features on this edition are amazing and to see how James Cameron was able to make the movie look like you were on the Titanic itself back in 1912 is outstanding. Even the fine details that they put into the set is excellent. Along with that, the acting was done well by all the actors which showed this dramatic event which occured 96 years ago. This movie allows people to see the true events which occurred on that cold night on April 15, 1912 and helps to remind everyone of the tragedy of the amazing ship Titanic.
MORE THAN A POPULAR ROMANTIC MOVIE...
2008-09-10 - Everyone knows this film for being a multi-million-dollar epic as well as a definitive love story (with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet); less mentioned (but more of the film's actual concern) is its uplifting portrayal of a woman's liberation out of repression, set within a real historical time and setting used to create a symbolic fable.
The point is hammered home in its scene of the young Rose viewing a little girl folding her napkin on her lap (a girl she remembers in horror as herself) and its final scene of the elderly Rose happily drifting off with photos of her full life around her. The Jack in her life (even if fleeting) has given her wings. Looking at this being the main theme of the story, the film is not a tragedy but a triumph in a woman finding herself (through Jack) and living a full life without letting others dictate who she will become.
On this level, even as its deceptive surface emphasizes its tragic love story, it's a masterpiece that Joseph Campbell would have venerated using a real-life tragic event to tell a positive, life-affirming story of a woman finding herself utilizing the iconography of Freudian dream symbolism.
