3D Blu-ray Review “James Cameron’s Deepsea Challenge 3D”

Actors: James Cameron
Directors: John Bruno, Ray Quint, Andrew Wight
Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Millennium Entertainment
Release Date: November 11, 2014
Run Time: 91 minutes

Film: 3.5 out of 5 stars
3D: 4 out of 5 stars
Blu-ray: 4 out of 5 stars
Extras: 1.5 out of 5 stars

When you are Academy Award® winner James Cameron, after you make classics like “The Terminator”, “Titanic”, “Avatar”; what do you do next? Well, for Cameron he has been working with the “Deepsea Challenger”, a state-of-the-art deep-diving submersible designed to reach Earth’s lowest known point. This documentary focuses on his successful voyage from March of 2012 to Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench, which reaches a depth of over seven miles. If you love James Cameron and his under the sea adventures, this is both entertaining and educational…and of course in 3D.

Official Premise: As a boy, filmmaker James Cameron dreamed of a journey to the deepest part of the ocean. This film is the dramatic fulfillment of that dream. It chronicles Cameron’s solo dive to the depths of the Mariana Trench—nearly seven miles beneath the ocean’s surface—piloting a submersible he designed himself. The risks were astounding. The footage is breathtaking. “Deepsea Challenge 3D” is a celebration of science, courage, and extraordinary human aspiration.

Since it is James Cameron, I expected this to be in 3D. The 3D is definitely the best part of this release. Millennium is releasing this as a combo pack with a Blu-ray 3D + Blu-ray + DVD, so there are plenty of options here. If you can watch this in 3D, I would certainly recommend that for sure. The 1080p transfer is stunning with the underwater footage. It is framed at 1.78:1 aspect ratio and the film has extremely sharp image detail and vibrant colors. The audio is also impressive with an DTS-HD 5-1 Master Audio track.

In terms of special features, there is really not much included. There are two short featurettes included, which add to just over 5 minutes for both. The first is a look at the final dive before it happens and the second a post-dive wrap up. There is also a trailer included for the film. If you are looking for more, I would recommend the Special Collector’s Edition, which features a 36-Page book with imagery of production artwork, stills from filming, charts, depth measurement diagrams.

Experience James Cameron’s Epic Masterpiece Like Never Before when “Titanic” Comes Home for the First Time Ever on Blu-ray 2D and 3D

EXPERIENCE JAMES CAMERON’S EPIC MASTERPIECE  LIKE NEVER BEFORE WHEN TITANIC COMES HOME FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER ON BLU-RAY™ 2D AND 3D

Spectacular Love Story Debuts On Blu-ray Worldwide September 10, 2012 With More Than 2 ½ Hours of New Special Feature Content

 LOS ANGELES, CA (May 31, 2012) – The two billion-dollar box office phenomenon and winner of 11 Academy Awards®,TITANIC, makes its highly anticipated debut on Blu-ray 2D and 3D on September 10, 2012 from Paramount Home Media Distribution and Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment.  Available in high definition for the first time ever, James Cameron’s timeless and unforgettable tour de force will be presented in stunning 2D and 3D, providing a cinematic in-home experience of TITANIC like never before.  Marking 101 years ago today that the RMS Titanic was launched into the Belfast Lough, film fans worldwide can now pre-order the epic love story on Blu-ray 2D or Blu-ray 3D™ with participating online retailers.

James Cameron commented, “Blu-ray extends TITANIC’s immersive 3D theatrical experience into audiences’ homes, where their living room becomes the backdrop for big spectacular environments and intense action, as well as profoundly intimate human moments, allowing generations of fans—new and old—to truly become part of the movie like never before.”

Presented in a four-disc 2D Blu-ray/DVD combo pack with Digital Copy or, for the ultimate experience in fully immersive 3D, in a four-disc Blu-ray 3D and 2D combo pack with Digital Copy, this high-definition presentation of TITANIC is a must have for film fans’ home media collections.  Both sets feature more than 2 ½ hours of new bonus footage never-before-released on disc, including a fascinating in-depth exploration of the film with James Cameron, as well as documentary footage produced by National Geographic with James Cameron that brings the world’s leading RMS Titanic experts together to solve the lingering mysteries of why and how the “unsinkable” ship sank.

The sets also boast previously released special features including 30 deleted scenes, over 60 behind-the-scenes featurettes, a look at the groundbreaking visual effects, over 2,000 photos, three commentaries and much, much more.  TITANIC will also be available in a two-disc DVD set with deleted scenes and, for the first time ever, for digital download.

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in the roles that would make them global stars, TITANIC tells the story of the epic romance between two star-crossed lovers set against the backdrop of the legendary and ill-fated maiden voyage of the “ship of dreams.”

Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack

The TITANIC Blu-ray containing the feature film is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.  The DVDs are presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French and Spanish subtitles.

The disc breakdown is as follows:

Disc 1 (Blu-ray):

  • Feature film in high definition
  • Commentary by director James Cameron
  • Cast and Crew Commentary
  • Historical Commentary by Don Lynch and Ken Marschall

Disc 2 (DVD):

  • Feature film in standard definition (Part 1)

Disc 3 (DVD):

  • Feature film in standard definition (Part 2)

Disc 4 (Blu-ray):

  • Documentaries

o   Reflections on Titanic—NEW!

o   Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron—NEW!

  • Deleted Scenes with commentary by James Cameron
  • Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
  • Construction Timelapse
  • Deep Dive Presentation—Narrated by James Cameron
  • $200,000,001A Ship’s Odyssey—the Titanic Crew Video
  • Videomatics
  • Visual Effects
  • Music Video—“My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion
  • Trailers
  • TV Spots
  • Still Galleries

o   Titanic Scriptment by James Cameron

o   Storyboard Sequences

o   Production Artwork

o   Photographs

o   Ken Marshall’s Painting Gallery

o   Concept Posters and One Sheets

o   By the Numbers

o   Bibliography

  • Titanic Parodies

o   MTV’s 1998 Movie Awards skit

o   Saturday Night Live skit

o   Titanic in 30 Seconds

Four-Disc Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack

The TITANIC Blu-ray 3D and Blu-ray containing the feature film are presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, English SDH, French and Spanish subtitles.  The disc breakdown is as follows:

Disc 1 (Blu-ray 3D):

  • Feature film in high definition and 3D (Part 1)

Disc 2 (Blu-ray 3D):

  • Feature film in high definition and 3D (Part 2)

Disc 3 (Blu-ray):

  • Feature film in high definition
  • Commentary by director James Cameron
  • Cast and Crew Commentary
  • Historical Commentary by Don Lynch and Ken Marschall

Disc 4 (Blu-ray):

  • Documentaries

o   Reflections on Titanic—NEW!

o   Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron—NEW!

  • Deleted Scenes with commentary by James Cameron
  • Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes
  • Construction Timelapse
  • Deep Dive Presentation—Narrated by James Cameron
  • $200,000,001A Ship’s Odyssey—the Titanic Crew Video
  • Videomatics
  • Visual Effects
  • Music Video—“My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion
  • Trailers
  • TV Spots
  • Still Galleries

o   Titanic Scriptment by James Cameron

o   Storyboard Sequences

o   Production Artwork

o   Photographs

o   Ken Marshall’s Painting Gallery

o   Concept Posters and One Sheets

o   By the Numbers

o   Bibliography

  • Titanic Parodies

o   MTV’s 1998 Movie Awards skit

o   Saturday Night Live skit

o   Titanic in 30 Seconds

Two-Disc DVD

The TITANIC DVDs are presented in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 televisions with English 5.1 Dolby Digital, English 2.0 Dolby Digital, French 5.1 Dolby Digital, Spanish 5.1 Dolby Digital and English Audio Description and English, French and Spanish subtitles.  The disc breakdown is as follows:

Disc 1 (DVD):

  • Feature film in standard definition (Part 1)

Disc 2 (DVD):

  • Feature film in standard definition (Part 2)
  • Deleted Scenes with commentary by James Cameron

Digital Download

The digital download includes the following:

  • Feature film in standard or high definition
  • Deleted Scenes
  • Still Galleries

About Paramount Home Media Distribution

Paramount Home Media Distribution (PHMD) is part of Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed entertainment.  PPC is a unit of Viacom (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), a leading content company with prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands.  The PHMD division oversees PPC’s home entertainment, digital and television distribution activities worldwide. The division is responsible for the sales, marketing and distribution of home entertainment content on behalf of Paramount Pictures, Paramount Animation, Paramount Vantage, Paramount Classics, Insurge Pictures, MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, CBS and PBS and for providing home entertainment fulfillment services for DreamWorks Animation Home Entertainment.  PHMD additionally manages global licensing of studio content and distribution across worldwide digital and television distribution platforms including online, mobile and portable devices and emerging technologies.

About Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment

Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, LLC (TCFHE) is a recognized global industry leader and a subsidiary of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, a News Corporation company. Representing 75 years of innovative and award-winning filmmaking from Twentieth Century Fox, TCFHE is the worldwide marketing, sales and distribution company for all Fox film and television programming, acquisitions and original productions on DVD, Blu-ray Disc, Digital Copy, Video On Demand and Digital Download. The company also releases all products globally for MGM Home Entertainment. Each year TCFHE introduces hundreds of new and newly enhanced products, which it services to retail outlets from mass merchants and warehouse clubs to specialty stores and e-commerce throughout the world.

 

TITANIC

Street date:                 September 10, 2012

Runtime:                      194 minutes

SRP:                             $44.99 (Four-Disc Blu-ray 3D combo pack)

$39.99 (Four-Disc Blu-ray/DVD combo pack)

$29.99 (Two-Disc DVD)

U.S. Rating:                 PG-13 for disaster related peril and violence, nudity, sensuality and brief language

Canadian Rating:         14A for frightening scenes, coarse language, violence, disturbing content