If you've never seen Titanic you probably live under a rock and have a pathological fear of water. On its release in 1997 this $200m movie behemoth defied early rumblings of Jim Cameron gone mental to become the highest grossing movie of all time. Even The Lord Of The Rings trilogy lags miles behind in the box office stakes. For its "sheer grandeur&quot it scooped eleven Oscars and prompted JC's infamous "King Of The World" acceptance speech. Subtle...

The Ship Of Dreams

Titanic was to blame for a global epidemic of Leo-mania, so Mr DiCaprio is perhaps wise to keep a low profile in this four-disc Definitive Edition DVD. Still, hormonal fans can feast their eyes on the fresh-faced actor as he bounds about the set with Kate Winslet in an epic series of behind-the-scenes featurettes. There are 61 of these so-called pods in total, which like the film, are spread across the first two discs (also available in a Special Edition package).

Each pod refers directly to a scene in the film and reveals fascinating insights into the maddening logistics of production, eg sinking sections of an almost life-size replica ship, tilting the poop deck to 90 degrees for the finale, and layering CGI and live action for those sweeping overhead shots. It all begins with a deep dive to the real Titanic led by Cameron, who says, "It was a mission to shoot film in the most extreme environment a motion picture has ever been shot in."

Splitting the making of the movie into bite-size pieces not only makes it easier to digest but also provides a great counterpoint to three audio commentaries. Cameron hosts the first track with an eloquent flood of information on research, development and final execution. Producers Jon Landau and Rae Sanchini do most of the talking in the cast and crew commentary although the occasional star does drop in. "I had absolutely no idea how big it was in conception," Winslet remembers. "I was very young and I'm grateful that I didn't know because I would've been very freaked out." (Don't hold your breath for DiCaprio - no pun intended - who doesn't contribute.) In the final track, technical advisors Don Lynch and Ken Marschall discuss historical accuracy.

Tip Of The Iceberg

An alternative ending is presented on disc two. It ties all the loose ends in the present day scenes featuring Bill Paxton, but in an optional commentary Cameron admits, it was rather too neat and broke the "emotional aura" created by the Jack and Rose love story. Disc three packs in another 29 deleted scenes, again with word from the director. Among them is footage of the dining room slowly sinking as Jack and Rose hide under a table to escape the villainous Lovejoy (David Warner). It cost a shipload of money to shoot and in the end, Cameron confesses, "It was the biggest miscalculation of the production." Test audiences felt it was superfluous and after a couple of re-edits, the director eventually cut it completely.

Disc four brings wicked comic relief in a skit starring Vince Vaughn and Ben Stiller as bumbling movie execs who pitch an up ending to Cameron. The folks at Saturday Night Live also have a joke at his expense and there's a 30-second version played out with animated bunnies. Even the crew of the film put together a very funny Making Of mockumentary that was shot between takes and is spliced with footage from The Poseidon Adventure! You'll also catch a naughty DiCaprio doing mean impressions of the grousing 1st Assistant Director...

Full coverage of Cameron's dive to the real Titanic and a fabricated newsreel lend a sobering edge to disc four. A selection of videomatics (pre-visualising major shots with models and storyboards) and CGI deconstructions fill out the menu along with five behind-the-scenes galleries and the 482-page script. Naturally the package wouldn't be complete without that Celine Dion music video (on disc two). Like the ship itself, this array of extras is very big and very bold. Unlike the ship, it's pretty much airtight.

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