Search - Titanica (Large Format) on DVD

A New Re-Edited Updated and SHORTER Version of TITANICA

Robert Morris | Sydney, Australia | 02/20/2000

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I have seen 3 versions of this Imax film. The first was the 90 min long videotape version. The second was the 45 minute theatre version, (as it was shown in Australia), which was basically a cut down version of the video, concentrating on the ocean floor and looking at the wreck, and this newly re-edited 67 minute DVD version. When I purchased the DVD I thought I was getting a DVD copy of the 90 min videotape version. This DVD is a completely re-edited and updated and DIFFERENT version of both the video and the theatrical versions I saw. The video of Titanica is a complete Imax film. The DVD contains numerous new interviews, all shot on video(! ), lots of old photos and film footage from the era, and while it contains Imax film footage, it doesn't end up looking and feeling and sounding like an Imax film. (And some of the Imax film included on this DVD is quiet scartchy in parts). All that said, it is a good update and does tell the story of the Titanic quiet well. Which is the main diffence between this DVD and the video. The video tells the story of the Titanic from the point of view of the Russian/Americam/Imax expedition sent in to film it, and spends a lot of time on the ocean floor, the DVD is more an overall account of the Titanic with the expedition included in the story. Its a great supplement to the video version, but not really as good. If you can afford it, try to get both, if not, go for the 90 minute videotape version, its far more intersting, the comparsion of the Russian and American attitudes to the Titanic site far more revealing and it has a lot more of that incredible Imax footage which gives you more of the feeling of actually being at the bottom of the Atlantic. I would have preferred to see the new footage either added to the original cut of the 90 minute video version or as an additional feature included on the DVD or perhaps BOTH versions could have been included on the DVD. And nothing against Mr.Leonard Nimoy but why was he allowed to say "In Search Of ..."; and why did this DVD version need to have its narration re-recorded; Cedric Smith did a fine job on the video version."

10% substance - 90% pure boredom!

Christopher Fry | Ft. Worth, TX | 04/12/2002

(2 out of 5 stars)

"When I bought the VHS version of Titanica I was 99% certain that when I got it home and played it from start to finish there would be only a small fraction of the running time of the video actually on the ocean floor showing shots of the ship... Why do I always have to be so right? I knew, obviously, that the images would be very small compared with those on the big screen, but that alone would not have bothered me that much. It was the fact that about 90% of the tape showed things that occurred ON TOP OF THE WATER (getting prepared for the dive, meeting the different characters and their backgrounds, etc.), and the other 10% or so showing actual images of the Titanic below on the ocean floor that really deflated me. Can't SOMEONE, SOMEWHERE simply take cameras down to the ship and for a solid hour or hour-and-a-half keep the cameras rolling, surveying the entire ship for those of us who yearn to just take a slow, thorough observational tour of the ship in its entirety as it lies in the eerie depths of the North Atlantic? The scenes unfolding could be accompanied by occasional commentary/narration as to what specific points are being shown as the camera moves VERY SLOWLY about. Is this asking too much? Personally, I think the best video I've come across so far (can anyone recommend any other?) of the entire Titanic story, including shots of her where she lies on the ocean floor, is the National Geographic/Robert Ballard - "Secrets of the Titanic." I think this video has achieved the right balance of the building, voyage, and discovery of the Titanic, and the awesome photos the video has of her down at the bottom of the ocean. What do you all think?"

I agree with the others, save your money

Tim Edmonson | Pittsburgh, PA | 05/21/2002

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Seeing as I normally ignore reviews and form my own opnion, I got burned bad here buying this DVD. Its watchable, but nothing special. The vaunted IMAX pictures really look nothing different than what we've seen before, and in fact spends more time above the surface or just in the debris field than actually pictures of the ship. If there was any footage of inside the ship, I must have blinked and missed it.
About the only new thing I observed from this was how much a ghoul Ralph White is, and his comments as he wants to pillage the ship I'm amazed they didnt edit out.
Its almost worth buying this DVD to hear his Russian divemate chide him for wanting to open lugguage on the ocean floor "But zat does not belong to you!""

More than Cameron's epic ever hoped for

J. K. Grence | Superstition Mountain, AZ | 03/01/1999

(4 out of 5 stars)

"So what if Leonardo diCaprio proclaimed "I'm the king of the world!" on the bow of a simulated Titanic? With Titanica, you can see the ill-fated ship in her final resting place. One of the most incredible cinematic shots I have ever seen is your first view of the bow itself; on the large IMAX screen, you suddenly feel your equilibrium go out as your brain tells you that you're truly flying; I can guarantee Claire Danes knew her feet were still on the deck. While an Imax movie inevitably loses something by getting scaled down to the small screen, Titanica is a voyage you won't soon forget."