The Ultimate Box Set for the Titanic Fan on Your Gift List

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet light up the screen in the timeless and unforgettable story of star-crossed lovers set against the backdrop of the legendary and ill-fated maiden voyage of the “unsinkable” TITANIC. The film became the first movie to earn over $1 billion and to date it has generated more than $2.2 billion at the global box office. — from Paramount

First things first. Twenty-five years on…let’s talk about the film itself. It was a monster. An epic historical film that wasn’t as ponderous as most films in that arena, Cameron set it up to tell the story of the ship using a doomed love affair as the framework to hang everything on. And it worked brilliantly. It’s the last movie I can recall that hung out in cinemas for what would be considered these days to be an obscene amount of time. And it also still holds up in the realm of box office receipts when you adjust the ticket prices for 2022 prices. It still comes in at #5 on the All-Time Domestic chart.

Anyway, all of that to say that one hell of a movie deserves one hell of an anniversary release. And this is one of the most “helluva” type releases I’ve seen in a while. We need to start with the packaging and the physical bonus bits, because they’re kind of nuts all on their own. Here’s what all you’re seeing in the image:

• A hardcover coffee table book that goes over the making-of for multiple scenes
• A schematic based off the original blueprint of the ship, which gives you a map to key scenes
• Prop reproductions: boarding pass, launch viewing tickets, ship menus, and notes between characters
• “My Heart Will Go On” sheet music so you can look extra spiffy at the next Karaoke Night.

Now you might be thinking what I was thinking at this point of going through all this stuff: Okay the packaging is neat, and the extras are pretty sweet, but that’s probably going to be it and the whole thing while be jammed full of legacy content. Well, yes and no. Yes, it’s jammed full of the legacy bonus bits, but no, that’s not all that’s there.

There’s a half-hour featurette with Cameron, Winslet, and producer Jon Landau looking back on the film. Landau returns to introduce a half-hour of behind-the-scenes segments. There’s another forty minutes of a National Geographic special that seeks to answer is Jack and Rose could have both survived, among other questions. Landau also does a short trailer presentation which is a good watch if you want some insight into how marketing a behemoth like this works.

There are metric scads of legacy bonus bits, including the previously available three commentaries (Director, Cast & Crew, Historical), deleted scenes with commentary, and more.

As the old commercials used to say: “But wait, there’s more!” The 4K remastered film is pretty damn exciting, frankly. Cameron does not screw around when it comes to going back to tinker with his creations, so usually when he puts out a new edition of the film itself, it’s worthy. If you have the type of rig that will support this level of viewing experience, you will be in for a treat.

If you have a Titanic film fiend on your Xmas list, then the limited edition might be just what the ship’s doctor ordered. If they are a moderate fiend or if you have a moderate budget, fear not: the version without all the physical bonus bits is available as well.