5.8 | / 10 |
Users | 3.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.4 |
An American special agent and group of experts embark upon an exciting and chilling underwater race against the Russians to salvage the Titanic and its vital defence cargo seventy years after the tragedy of its sinking. Adapted from Clive Cussler’s international best-selling novel.
Starring: Jason Robards, Richard Jordan, David Selby, Anne Archer, Alec GuinnessThriller | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Action | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
None
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (1 BD, 1 DVD)
DVD copy
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Hidden among the glitz and ersatz glamour of Las Vegas is a fascinating exhibit that is historically significant and very interesting, to boot. On the second floor of The Luxor (the “pyramid hotel”) is a museum of sorts dedicated to the Titanic. The exhibit has been very smartly arranged, with recreations of various rooms as well as a recreation of one of the decks that passengers might have walked upon that fateful night of April 15, 1912. But by far the most impressive thing (at least to me) in the presentation is a mindboggling room that features a tiny piece of one side of the Titanic, which was raised from the ocean floor by one of Robert Ballard’s expeditions. Now, I use the term “tiny” in an intentionally ironic way. This sheath of riveted metal rises probably two to three stories in the already gigantic room, and is probably at least several hundred feet wide. But here’s the amazing thing: next to this more or less intact piece of the doomed liner is an illustration showing the actual full breadth of the Titanic and where this piece fit, and it is, yes, a relatively tiny morsel of a humongous object. The scale of the Titanic simply can’t be easily realized, though this particular exhibit certainly helps to bring everything into sharper focus. Anyone who has ever stood next to a massive ocean liner or something like an aircraft carrier may know the feeling of being inconsequential in the shadow of such an immense structure, but somehow that same feeling is only magnified when one considers the awful fates of so many passengers who lost their lives in that horrific debacle.
Raise the Titanic is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Shout! Factory with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.35:1. This is a occasionally problematic looking high definition presentation that nonetheless is one of those middle of the quality scale releases that looks okay if you do a bit of figurative squinting. Colors have faded slightly, giving flesh tones a ruddy pink hue at times. A lot of the film is cast in browns and beiges anyway, which results in a visual experience that is substantially devoid of significant pop. While there has certainly been no egregious digital tweaking like grain removal done here, there are compression artifacts, relatively minor but noticeable nonetheless, that crop up throughout the presentation, especially in the darker sequences. Those darker sequences also have at least a few moments of noticeable crush—pay attention, for instance, when Pitt gives the lowdown on the plan to raise the Titanic to the other men on the yacht. The people standing in the background—including Seagram—who are wearing black jackets almost melt into the shadows, becoming disembodied heads. On the whole though, this is a solid effort from Shout!, which continues to unearth (and/or un-submerge) cult films from yesteryear with largely commendable results.
Raise the Titanic features both the original stereo mix of the film available via DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 as well as a quite well done surround repurposing, offered via DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. The 5.1 track has some nice immersion (no pun intended, considering the setting of the bulk of the film), with good use of panning effects in scenes like helicopters zooming over Seagram's home or, later, when the crew is aboard an aircraft carrier. A couple of sequences with dinghys that have powerful motors attached offer much the same sonic oomph. The underwater sequences sound appropriately cloistered and almost claustrophobic. Dialogue is always presented cleanly. The one aspect of this film that came in for almost universal acclaim was John Barry's score. I will be the heretic once again (as I often am when discussing Maurice Jarre's music) by saying this is not my favorite work of Barry's, but it does sound great in the 5.1 repurposing, where Barry's magisterial strings are nicely splayed over the surround channels.
To horribly paraphrase Scooby-Doo, Raise the Titanic might have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for that meddling Robert Ballard. At least the film's positing of an intact ship that could be brought topside might have withstood the actual tide of history. But nothing could have overcome this film's stilted dialogue and meandering pace. There are fans of this film, though, and they should be generally pleased by the look and especially sound of this release. The supplemental featurette is also excellent.
1997
2018
Collector's Edition
2002
2013
1968
2015
2017
Bølgen
2015
2016
1995
Limited Edition to 3000
1954
ITV Series
2012
1975
1979
2000
2006
1958
1996
2-Disc Commemorative Edition
2006
Reissue
1974