8.3 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 5.0 | |
Overall | 4.8 |
A seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic.
Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances FisherAdventure | 100% |
Epic | 59% |
Period | 33% |
Melodrama | 28% |
History | 28% |
Romance | 26% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: HEVC / H.265
Video resolution: 4K (2160p)
Aspect ratio: 2.35:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: Dolby Atmos
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, French, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
Digital copy
4K Ultra HD
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 0.0 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 5.0 | |
Overall | 5.0 |
Paramount has released the epic 1997 masterpiece 'Titanic,' directed by James Cameron and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, to the UHD format. New specifications include 2160p/Dolby Vision video and Dolby Atmos audio. A new retrospective documentary is also included, but a few extras from the original 2012 Blu-ray are absent. Nevertheless, this is a comprehensive collection of extras paired with pristine video audio.
The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc.
It would certainly suffice to call Titanic's 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD presentation "perfect" and "flawless" and leave the review with those
words,
but to do so would rob the review, and the reader, of at least a brief description of the majesty that is on display in every frame. Really, it's hard to
express the excellence seen here beyond just saying "wow." This is a stellar, striking, and indeed perfect and flawless presentation, one of
those images that even years after the UHD format's debut still manages to delight even the most grizzled reviewer and faithful format and film fan.
The picture holds up to the tightest scrutiny. There is not a grain element astray, not a fiber out of place, not a spot or flaw to be found. The picture is
beautifully filmic and organic, with grain very fine and satisfying in every shot. It's evenly distributed and very flattering. Details are spectacular.
Facial
close-ups reveal a level of complexity that the old Blu-ray could not find, despite its excellence. It's a marvel to see with such clarity even the very
finest
hairs on Rose's face. The film is rich with tactile textures, from the spread of
luxurious clothes, regal appointments, rich woods, fine China, ornate appointments, and on and on. Even down in the boiler room, viewers will see
every
slather of grease and bead of sweat. No detail is left improved and increased over the Blu-ray and, indeed, it's hard to imagine that even at projection
upon the film's release that it could, or indeed, did, look much better than this.
The Dolby Vision grading is a revelation, yet it holds true to the film's natural color spectrum. The image holds to every lighting condition, whether
bright
natural sunlight or warm tones down below decks during the festive party about 67 minutes into the film. Colors are vivid and accurate, full, and
wonderfully nuanced. Grading is perfect across a spectrum of clothes, woods, skins, and everything else. Rose's red hair and lipstick are a delight of
depth and beauty, as is the famous purple hat. White balance is stunning, especially across various dress shirts and high-end attire. Black level depth
could not be more perfect,
and skin tones are the epitome of health and accuracy. What else is there to say? This image is perfect in every way.
Paramount's new Dolby Atmos soundtrack accompanying Titanic is, like the video counterpart, a masterpiece, if not a little less dramatic in its improvements over the old Blu-ray. The additional channel certainly offer superior immersion, with the surround-back channels offering fuller wrap and more seamless engagement, while the top layer adds intermittent fill effects for music and, especially, during more potent sonic cues, like the below-decks party and, of course, the epic action sequences in the third act that offer raging waters and chaotic din throughout the ship where the sense of fullness and richness are both widespread yet personally intimate. The listener will feel absolutely immersed into each location and practically underwater as the shot may warrant, on the deck trying to cram into a lifeboat, or out on the frigid waters in the cold dead of night. The top end is never used with overt discreteness, but the sense of completeness that these channels (and the back middles) offer is beyond question. Overall clarity holds to a high level for music, action elements, and dialogue. The subwoofer certainly works as it is needed, especially in that third act. The Atmos configuration brings out the very best in the original elements and pulls the listener into the film like never before.
This UHD release of Titanic includes three carryover commentaries on the UHD disc. A second Blu-ray disc is included that houses most of the
legacy extras and a new documentary. There are some supplements that are missing from the previous Blu-ray, including various trailers and TV
spots and MTV parodies. Some supplements are "missing" in that they are not presented identically as they
were on the old Blu-ray; rather, they have been folded into a new retrospective with Jon Landau. For coverage of the carryover content, please click
here. A digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships
with a non-embossed slipcover.
UHD:
Titanic is as complete as a movie can be, a beautifully crafted epic that dazzles with its pure cinema perfection -- technical, dramatic, and thematic -- in every single scene, enough to maybe even move some cinephiles to tears merely at the sight of its splendor, never mind the romance and the heartbreak and tragedy that hang over the first half and define the second. Perhaps the film suffers from overexposure -- the box office, the Leo craze, and the Celine Dion song being the key "culprits" -- but perhaps it's also a hair underrated, if the number-four box-office grosser and winner of eleven Oscars can be called such. Truly, this is a remarkable film in every single regard. Sit back and watch it for the craftsmanship if for nothing else and prepare to be startled all over again. It holds up remarkably well, not just dramatically but technically, too. And for those who haven't seen it in a while, maybe since the days of VHS or LaserDisc or even in 1997 cinemas, get ready to be dazzled watching it through more mature eyes, as a total masterpiece of filmmaking, almost like seeing it for the first time. This is a movie that has everything working for it and everything working for it in perfect harmony. There's nary a thread out of place, and it looks every penny its gargantuan budget. This is a real treat for the senses and an emotional roller coaster quite unlike anything else, a movie that will not only dazzle but move and inspire its audiences, too. The only problem? The movie almost demands to be experienced on the largest screen possible, and now with Paramount's first-class 2160p/Dolby Vision UHD release, seeing it big is a breeze. The UHD is positively stunning in every regard, as much a masterpiece as the movie. With breathtaking video, totally immersive Atmos sound, and enough supplements to fill a day or two, Titanic shoots towards the top of the heap of 2023 UHD releases, and it also stands proudly, even from the bottom of the ocean, as one of the format's top overall releases. Titanic on the UHD format earns my highest recommendation.
Collector's Edition
1997
1997
Limited 3D Edition
1997
1997
1997
1995
2016
2014
2008
2012
2015
1956
1969
1995
2018
1931
2014-2017
1962
2013
Fiftieth Anniversary
1959
2015
Warner Archive Collection
1935
2011
Limited Edition to 3000
1972
2006