Les fantômes du Titanic

Nicely done, but no shock and awe here. I can't give it more than a 7 out of 10 for Paxton's progressively more melodramatic narration and Cameron's too-heavy reliance on the computer gimmickry, but neither hurt it so much as to take away the effect of seeing Titanic up close and personal. My only other complaint was that Cameron somehow managed not to take full advantage of the IMAX-sized screen. I kept waiting for some soaring shots of the various sides and parts of the boat, but it seemed like he always had the camera right up against them where you couldn't get a full measure. I kept thinking, "Dammit, man, back up." And the CG overlays really did start to irritate me a bit. I wanted to see the boat, but often as soon as the CG effects wisped away, it cut to something else. Overall I guess I thought it a little too cluttered technically and not enough lingering over the human touches.

As for the 3D, I thought it did increase the impact some, more than being a mere novelty, but I agree with Roger Ebert that Ghosts would have been a perfect showcase for Maxivision 48. Someday maybe true film fans will unite....

Greetings again from the darkness. I was very excited to see this as I have always been fascinated by the Titanic. A few minutes into this, however, it struck me that this might be nothing more than a tax deductible vacation for multi-millionaire James Cameron and his sidekick Bill Paxton. The available technology had me wondering what wonders the great Jacques Cousteau could have delivered to us were he still alive and working. My only real complaint with the "movie" is that we really didn't get much insight into the scientific discoveries and data that this ship full of scientists was able to gather. Mostly it was close-ups of Bill Paxton saying "Would you look at that?". I will say the Titanic visuals are quite creepy and fascinating and the subtle overlays were pretty effective in showing the viewer what section of the ship we were seeing at a given time. Just wish we had been provided with the payoff - what was the value of the trip?

Yes, it could be said that this is Cameron at his pretentious best, using one of the greatest tragedies of the 20th century as one of the greatest cash-cows of the 21st. I'll even admit to a certain disappointment when I discovered what this project was about, many months ago. C'mon, Jim, I thought. Find something new.

Until I saw it.

Within the first five minutes of this hour long tour of the great ship, you realize that this is not about an egotistical filmmaker, but instead it's completely about the legacy and grave of Titanic. Cameron's minutes of screen time can practically be counted on one hand. What's awesome is sitting in that IMAX theater and watching the the bow of the ship, silhouetted by a massive lighting chandelier, tower over the audience.

The movie is as much about the ship as it is the experiences of those on the dive. "Titanic is a stage where God said, 'You have two and a half hours to act out the rest of your life.' Will you be a hero or a coward?" From the humorously tense Bill Paxton on his first descent, to the debates on board the Keldish, it's the emotion of the dive that comes to the foreground more than anything.

This is the closest any of us will probably ever get to the real Titanic, and it does feel as if you could just reach out and touch it at parts. It feels longer than an hour, but I was hoping it would be longer still - I didn't want it to end.

"You may leave Titanic, but Titanic never leaves you."

Now we have some idea of what that means.

A fascinating blend of present-day remains, and the grandeur of the ill-fated ship on its maiden voyage over 90 years ago. The ghosts refer to the super-imposed figures of that bygone era, who give us a glimpse of what it would have been like to travel on the Titanic back then. With all the effects of 3-D working to their advantage, and the eternal intrigue surrounding the sinking, you are nevertheless left awestruck at the ability of the producers to put this film together from over 12,000 feet below the ocean surface. I found that feeling never left me for the duration of the film, even when I made an involuntary movement to catch a rope thrown at us to more fully exploit to wonders of 3-D. This is undoubtedly an above-average film of this type, and worthy of at least 8/10 from me.

Now, it was not because of James Cameron's "Titanic" movie that I decided to sit down and watch "Ghosts of the Abyss", it was solely because I have a historical interest in Titanic and her demise, as well as the fact that I had family aboard the doomed ship.

This documentary, which is about James Cameron and his crew returning to Titanic, was actually rather entertaining.

And it was such a wonderful treat to get to see inside the sunken Titanic, as it lay there on the bottom of the North Atlantic. It was especially great to me, as I had family on the ship.

The documentary has lots and lots of nice images of Titanic. And it was quite interesting to follow the crew down into the depths of the North Atlantic and join them as they investigated the once magnificent luxury liner.

"Ghosts of the Abyss" is definitely well worth the time and effort. And if you have any kind of interest in the Titanic or the events that lead to its sinking, then you should definitely take the time to watch "Ghosts of the Abyss".