Released on January 7, 1998, James Cameron’s hit film Titanic will celebrate its 25th anniversary with a 4K 3D and HDR remastered version. Deadline magazine has announced the launch of this re-release in theaters as early as February 10, 2023… A date that hasn’t been chosen at random, as couples will be able to celebrate Valentine’s Day in front of the fabulous Kate Winslet (Rose) and Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack).
James Cameron’s reissues
This news follows the announcement that the first Avatar will be released in theaters on September 23 with remastered image and sound. A great way to immerse yourself in the futuristic world of Avatar before the theatrical release of the second part Avatar: The Way of Water on December 14, 2022.
Remember that the first version of Avatar holds the record for the most successful film ever, with a profit of 2.8 billion dollars. The latter was closely followed by Titanic with a revenue of $2.2 million, before it was overtaken by Avengers: Endgame. With more than 20 million tickets sold in France alone, Titanic won 11 Oscars (1998), including Best Picture and Best Director. This feature film cost over 250 million dollars to make, and is therefore one of the most expensive movies in cinema history, and the most expensive at the time. The DVD released a few weeks later was the first to sell over a million copies.
Titanic should therefore be up to date with this new edition, much to the delight of fans who will be able to enjoy this blockbuster in the best possible quality… Because, even if we’ve watched it dozens of times, we can’t wait to see this new 4K HDR edition on the big screen.
Titanic in 4K HDR
Like the UHD version of the Godfather Saga, James Cameron’s blockbuster is now being remastered. The resolution of this new version of Titanic is almost 4 times higher than that of the 2012 HD version. The result is a sharper image, smoother moving objects and a wider color gamut for a realistic and natural look.
In terms of HDR, this remastering extends the dynamic range of each image. In practice, the wider the dynamic range, the more contrasted and clear the image is. The shadows are more nuanced and the brightness is ideally managed. So we expect that the scene with Rose and Jack at the front of the ship will be even more spectacular.
Jon Landau, James Cameron’s longtime collaborator and COO of Lightstorm Entertainment, reportedly announced the re-release after showing a preview of the remastered version at CineEurope. This new screening of the film also hints at the possibility of a future 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray edition.
The 4K UHD version of Titanic is expected to be released on the streaming platforms Disney+ in France and Paramount+ on the other side of the Atlantic. While waiting to see it in theaters early next year, you can watch the original movie on Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and YouTube.
The release date for Titanic was December 19th, 1998. Hence, the 25TH Anniversary of the film.
Better news yet, though bizarrely not even mentioned, is the news that it’s confirmed to be getting a 4K release on disc! Streaming is dead. Long live physical media and film ownership! 😎
Apparently, the 4-K SUPER HIGH DEFINITION version blu-ray will be out in the fall.