1953’s
TITANIC ($20) is much like James Cameron’s epic version of the
tale, insomuch that it places fictitious protagonists at the center of
historic tragedy and then creates a romantic story in the best soap opera
fashion. Barbara Stanwyck stars along with Clifton Webb as Julia and
Richard Sturges, an unhappily married couple making the sailing home to
America on board the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Because Julia fears her
children Annette (Audrey Dalton) and Norman (Harper Carter) are being
transformed into spoiled snobs, she decides to take them home and make a
normal life for the children back in America.
As
the film opens Julia and her children are already on board the Titanic,
when Richard catches up with them, after she unceremoniously left him
behind. Much of the plot elaborates on the conflict between Julia and
Richard, as well as allowing a romance to blossom between Annette and
Gifford Rogers (Robert Wagner) before the Titanic meets its appointment
with destiny. The leading performances are excellent with both Stanwyck
and Webb being in truly fine form. Supporting performances also hold up
exceedingly well, with the wonderful Thelma Ritter doing for this version
of TITANIC, what Kathy Bates did in the James Cameron telling. The
cast of TITANIC also includes Brian Aherne, Richard Basehart, Allyn
Joslyn, James Todd, Frances Bergen and William Johnstone.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made TITANIC available on DVD in
a terrific looking full screen transfer that frames the movie in its
proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The film element used for the transfer is in
marvelous shape for a movie that is five decades old, with minor blemishes
being the worst offenses. Sharpness and detail are excellent, and the
transfer really brings out glossy and glamorous quality of Joseph
MacDonald’s cinematography. Blacks appear velvety and the whites are
crisp and stable. Contrast is excellent and the image produces a nicely
varied grayscale. There is a mild grain structure in various sequences
during the course of the film, but at no time does it ever seem excessive.
Digital compression artifacts are always well concealed.
TITANIC
comes with the options of listening to the film in a remixed Dolby Digital
stereo or in its original monaural form. The 2.0 channel track will decode
to standard surround and does provide a just a bit of envelopment during
some key moments. For the most part, the remixed track adds a nice spread
to the musical component of the soundtrack, without introducing too much
artifice. As for both version of the track, fidelity is a bit limited, but
not beyond what one would expect from fifty year old recordings. Sound
effects lack weight, but the do come across well enough. Dialogue is
crisply rendered and always completely understandable. Background hiss and
surface noise have been cleaned up to a great extent during the mastering
process, leaving a fairly pleasant sound that will take a bit of
amplification without problems. A Spanish language track has also been
encoded onto the DVD, as have English and Spanish subtitles.
The
basic interactive menus provide access to the standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a nice complement of supplemental features.
Featured on the disc are two separate audio commentary tracks. The first
is with film critic Richard Schickel, while the second includes actors
Robert Wagner and Audrey Dalton, plus cinematographer Michael Lonza and
historian Silvia Stoddard. Both tracks have their merits, although casual
listeners may get more from the second track. Beyond Titanic
is a ninety plus minute program that examines the aftermath of the Titanic
disaster and how the events were revisited in various forms of pop
culture. Also included on the DVD is some newsreel footage from the
premiere of TITANIC, and from the Academy Award ceremonies in which
it took home an Oscar for its screenplay. A theatrical trailer, still
gallery and audio essay by Titanic historian Silvia Stoddard closes out
the supplements.
While
the 1953’s TITANIC may not be as epic in scope as James Cameron’s
version, it is a highly entertaining movie with old time Hollywood star
power. As a member of Fox’s Studio Classics line, it should come as no
surprise that the DVD looks and sounds great, in addition to offering
excellent supplemental materials. If you love classic movies, then adding TITANIC
to your collection is a no-brainer. Very highly recommended.
1953’s
TITANIC ($20) is much like James Cameron’s epic version of the
tale, insomuch that it places fictitious protagonists at the center of
historic tragedy and then creates a romantic story in the best soap opera
fashion. Barbara Stanwyck stars along with Clifton Webb as Julia and
Richard Sturges, an unhappily married couple making the sailing home to
America on board the maiden voyage of the Titanic. Because Julia fears her
children Annette (Audrey Dalton) and Norman (Harper Carter) are being
transformed into spoiled snobs, she decides to take them home and make a
normal life for the children back in America.
As
the film opens Julia and her children are already on board the Titanic,
when Richard catches up with them, after she unceremoniously left him
behind. Much of the plot elaborates on the conflict between Julia and
Richard, as well as allowing a romance to blossom between Annette and
Gifford Rogers (Robert Wagner) before the Titanic meets its appointment
with destiny. The leading performances are excellent with both Stanwyck
and Webb being in truly fine form. Supporting performances also hold up
exceedingly well, with the wonderful Thelma Ritter doing for this version
of TITANIC, what Kathy Bates did in the James Cameron telling. The
cast of TITANIC also includes Brian Aherne, Richard Basehart, Allyn
Joslyn, James Todd, Frances Bergen and William Johnstone.
20th
Century Fox Home Entertainment has made TITANIC available on DVD in
a terrific looking full screen transfer that frames the movie in its
proper 1.37:1 aspect ratio. The film element used for the transfer is in
marvelous shape for a movie that is five decades old, with minor blemishes
being the worst offenses. Sharpness and detail are excellent, and the
transfer really brings out glossy and glamorous quality of Joseph
MacDonald’s cinematography. Blacks appear velvety and the whites are
crisp and stable. Contrast is excellent and the image produces a nicely
varied grayscale. There is a mild grain structure in various sequences
during the course of the film, but at no time does it ever seem excessive.
Digital compression artifacts are always well concealed.
TITANIC
comes with the options of listening to the film in a remixed Dolby Digital
stereo or in its original monaural form. The 2.0 channel track will decode
to standard surround and does provide a just a bit of envelopment during
some key moments. For the most part, the remixed track adds a nice spread
to the musical component of the soundtrack, without introducing too much
artifice. As for both version of the track, fidelity is a bit limited, but
not beyond what one would expect from fifty year old recordings. Sound
effects lack weight, but the do come across well enough. Dialogue is
crisply rendered and always completely understandable. Background hiss and
surface noise have been cleaned up to a great extent during the mastering
process, leaving a fairly pleasant sound that will take a bit of
amplification without problems. A Spanish language track has also been
encoded onto the DVD, as have English and Spanish subtitles.
The
basic interactive menus provide access to the standard scene selection and
set up features, as well as a nice complement of supplemental features.
Featured on the disc are two separate audio commentary tracks. The first
is with film critic Richard Schickel, while the second includes actors
Robert Wagner and Audrey Dalton, plus cinematographer Michael Lonza and
historian Silvia Stoddard. Both tracks have their merits, although casual
listeners may get more from the second track. Beyond Titanic
is a ninety plus minute program that examines the aftermath of the Titanic
disaster and how the events were revisited in various forms of pop
culture. Also included on the DVD is some newsreel footage from the
premiere of TITANIC, and from the Academy Award ceremonies in which
it took home an Oscar for its screenplay. A theatrical trailer, still
gallery and audio essay by Titanic historian Silvia Stoddard closes out
the supplements.
While
the 1953’s TITANIC may not be as epic in scope as James Cameron’s
version, it is a highly entertaining movie with old time Hollywood star
power. As a member of Fox’s Studio Classics line, it should come as no
surprise that the DVD looks and sounds great, in addition to offering
excellent supplemental materials. If you love classic movies, then adding TITANIC
to your collection is a no-brainer. Very highly recommended.