Titanic

This film is one of my favorite epic films. I don't like everything about the movie because of the immorality and nudity. It is unfortunate that storytellers today feel that have to use sleaze such as that. Also I feel that the popularity of "Titanic" is such that the public either hates or loves it too much. When you forget all the hype however, the film deserves all the Oscars it won such as Best Picture. The American Film Institute has "Titanic" on their lists of the top 100 films (#88), top movie quotes ("I'm the king of the world" at #100), top movie songs ("My Heart Will Go On" at #14), top movie romances (#37), top heart-pounding films (#25) and top epic films (#6). For this movie lover, I see the film as special but not the best film on earth. It reminds one of an old Hollywood romance because of the chemistry between Leonardo DiCaprio & Kate Winslet and the scale of principle photography also is reminiscent of a long past era of Hollywood. "Titanic" may be difficult to enjoy because of its popularity and maybe its hype is a little undeserving but when the viewer considers what they see and experience while watching it, "Titanic" has power and that power is enhanced by the characters & story. Sometimes there are so many things packed into a movie that it becomes hard for an audience to enjoy it but when there is balance between these elements as James Cameron was able to orchestrate, a home run is achieved.

The casting was well done for this film. Leo and Kate were able to take their off-screen relationship as a kind of brother & sister duo and use it to create something special on screen. There are some romances that don’t work but this one does. You can’t say that their on-screen chemistry created the only major success in each of their separate careers because since Titanic’s release, both Leo and Kate are Oscar winners. The two actors even appeared together later as the leading actors in "Revolutionary Road". I am sure that in the late 90’s, people were predicting that these two actors would not be able to get out from under Titanic’s shadow. After this movie for example, Leo made "The Beach" and it was a flop. Today however, people see Leo on a red carpet and most likely "Titanic" is the last thing on their minds. Both Leo & Kate have worked with so many talented directors and accepted a lot of challenging roles after "Titanic" and this is proof that they are great actors who did a great job on this movie. I am rooting for Jack and Rose as I watch the film and that is what I want most in characters I see on a movie screen. I also enjoy the performances of Bernard Hill, Victor Garber, Lewis Abernathy and Ewan Stewart. I first saw Billy Zane in the "Back to the Future" franchise but I did not realize that he was in those movies until years after "Titanic" was released.

Historical accuracy is something that is important to me when watching a period piece. Movies are a way of letting the world see the people and events that changed it such as “the day of infamy” or the flag raising on Iwo Jima. This film does an amazing job visually with accuracy and I feel that in terms of the story of the Titanic, no one has ever come closer to portraying what really happened on the night of April 14, 1912 than Cameron. One thing I love is that the real Titanic wreck is seen in the film. Thanks to the 3D release of this film, it may be the first time in 100 years that the real Titanic was seen by the general public in three dimensions. While the expense of creating all the sets and props from scratch was monumental, I feel that it was necessary for accuracy sake as the real Titanic was brand new when it sank. I like how the same company that made the carpets for the real ship did so for the sets as well. I like when the Titanic hits the iceberg because the ship reacts in a realistic sense. When Fabrizio is awoken, we hear the “grinding jar” that many survivors say they heard. On the flipside, other people on the boat felt very little. I understand that dramatic license was taken throughout the film. As a storyteller myself however, sometimes the audience and story need it. The film includes so many ironic moments that ordinarily, a film-goer might get tired of them. The reason why the vast amount of ironic moments work in "Titanic" is because most of them actually happened. They were crafted to contribute to the story. Cameron also did not portray every ironic event in the true-life story of the Titanic.

There are three scenes that I feel best represent this film. They are so well done as the elements of filmmaking work together to affect the viewer. The first scene is the “I’m the king of the world!” scene. The filmmakers wanted to make the scene almost like it is a commercial for the Titanic so the audience would appreciate the sinking. I feel the music is the star of this scene as James Horner accelerates the tempo and then the music swells when Jack delivers his famous line. Also the cinematography and special effects work well with the music in raising the emotions of the audience. A similar scene is the “flying” scene that also takes place on the bow of the ship. Once again, there is a great marriage between the cinematography, special effects and score (all of which won Oscars). Another element that makes the scene work is the acting between Leo and Kate. They effectively take their characters’ relationship to a different level. "Titanic" depicts every important part of the ship but the focus is always on the story of the movie. This is an achievement because you want the story to be realistic but not coincidental. Jack and Rose's story is interwoven with many events of the sinking but not all of them. Whatever Jack and Rose don't experience first hand is depicted by way of the supporting characters. Because the focus of the film is on the story, we accept all that Jack and Rose are able to experience on the ship. This brings me to third scene, the “Nearer My God To Thee” sequence, which is amazing. I love the use of contrast to create drama. Once again, music plays a big part. The moment when the musicians say good-bye to each other only to start playing again gets to me almost every time. As an editor, I love the first half the sequence where we hear only music and see some dramatic shots of the captain and passengers accepting their fate. The second half has real drama in that we hear a powerful hymn played in contrast to a scary scene of the water reaching A-deck. The music dramatically contracts other sounds we hear such as the groaning of the ship, people screaming and water rushing in. The sequence ends with a great shot of the musicians in the foreground as they finish playing. The camera moves in between them as they see the water rushing towards them. When the shot begins, there are passengers blocking our view of the waterline on the ship’s deck but by the end of the shot, these people have fled past the musicians and the water can be seen approaching fast. In these three scenes, we experience the grandeur, romance, tragedy and drama that is "Titanic". The story of the Titanic is well known and so Cameron did a smart thing by telling a human story with the Titanic as the backdrop. In doing so, the story of the sinking ends up becoming more real than ever before. I will now address a part of the film that has come under scrutiny in recent years. Many fans believe that Jack's sacrifice at the end of the film was unnecessary in that both he and Rose could have fit on the door and balanced it to stay alive. These people point to a meme that shows two people on a hard wood floor who are able to fit multiple ways inside a drawn representation of the wooden door. My answer to this is a sarcastic: "Yes, a hard wood floor is a perfect substitute for a wooden door floating on the extrememly cold waters of the Atlantic Ocean." Jack and Rose may have been able to both fit on the door physically but if you paid attention to the movie, they were not able to balance on it after trying. If I had been in cold water off and on for the past two hours, my ablilty to think would also be hindered. Not enough for you? The Mythbusters with Cameron as a special guest tested this and found the survival of both characters to have been "plausible". This leaves the survival of Jack and Rose in their own hands. I side with what Cameron said at the end of the TV episode in that what he wrote in the script can not be argued with. He had a specific story to tell as a filmmaker and it required Jack to sacrifice himself. Many others in real life could have walked away from self-sacrifice but they didn't. Anyone who has a problem with how the film ended is dishonouring Jack's noble act.

To think that the filmmaker behind some Arnold Schwarzenegger action movies made Titanic is quite impressive. As creative as James Cameron is on this film, I feel that "Avatar" will ultimately change his reputation from Oscar winner to just another blockbuster director. When you compare his three Oscar nominations and three wins for "Titanic" (Best Picture, Best Director and Best Editing) with his three nominations and no wins for "Avatar", you can at least consider my point. One unfortunate consequence that the success of "Avatar" has had on "Titanic" is the scene between Jack and Rose where Jack says: “I see you”. My roomate and I were watching "Titanic" once and at this moment, we burst into laughter because of this new subtext. As funny as it was when I discovered this, I am mostly even further disappointed at Cameron and at a few of his decisions in making "Avatar". This exchange between Jack and Rose will no longer be a well-written set of lines between two people falling in love but will now become a laughable moment for an audience. As creative as Cameron is, you would think he could prevent things like this.

I first saw "Titanic" on my 15^th birthday late at night in an old fashioned theater that had only sloped seating and could hold around 500. This environment contributed to my liking of the film. Because of the huge expense in making this movie, many creditable people were expecting "Titanic" to be a flop. Even the filmmakers during post production had accepted the fact that the film would lose 100 million dollars. Because of "Avatar" and the passage of time, people have forgotten just how popular of a movie "Titanic" was when it came out. It remained the number one movie for 15 consecutive weeks which is still a record. It didn't lose $100 million but rather made a profit of over a billion!! In Southern Alberta, where I was growing up at the time, the movie was still in theaters a year after it came out. It was still showing on the big screen despite the fact that it was on video. It tied the record of 11 Oscars wins out of 14. Some of the Academy Awards won that I have yet to mention include best original song, sound, sound effects editing, costume design and art direction. It was also nominated for Best Actress (Winslet), Best Supporting Actress (Gloria Stuart) and Best Makeup. The success of "Avatar" was not as huge as "Titanic": take it from someone who saw both. The 3D version of "Titanic" was very well done and seeing the film on the big screen is much different than at home. I just wish the film could always be a powerful as when I first saw it on April 29, 1998. There is a unique awe that "Titanic" delivers and unfortunately, this has contributed to an unnecessary hype that surrounds it. Teen girls would die for Leo and the world regrettably can’t seem to get enough of nudity. As with many movies I see, I must close my eyes and ignore vulgarity. When I do this, "Titanic" immerges as a powerful film that has become the foremost telling of the historic tragedy. The music is one of my top 20 favorite film scores and the success of the movie led to the making of such films as "Pearl Harbor", "The Patriot" and "Gladiator". I also judge it to be my favorite film of 1997 and also one of my top ten favorite movies based on a true story. The disaster itself ironically came about because of minor elements such as pride, negligence and bad luck. The film’s success came about in an opposite manner because important elements such as passion, attention to detail and good old Hollywood storytelling were balanced for the good of the entire project.

4.5 Stars