Titanic (1997)

Director:

James Cameron

Writer (WGA):

James Cameron (written by)

Release Date:

19 December 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Nothing On Earth Could Come Between Them.

Plot:

Fictional romantic tale of a rich girl and poor boy who meet on the ill-fated voyage of the 'unsinkable' ship.

Plot Keywords:

Titanic | Ship | Love | Iceberg | Diamond

Awards:

Won 11 Oscars. Another 76 wins & 48 nominations

Cast

Leonardo DiCaprio	...	Jack Dawson
Kate Winslet	...	Rose DeWitt Bukater
Billy Zane	...	Caledon 'Cal' Hockley
Kathy Bates	...	Molly Brown
Frances Fisher	...	Ruth Dewitt Bukater
Gloria Stuart	...	Old Rose
Bill Paxton	...	Brock Lovett
Bernard Hill	...	Captain Smith
David Warner	...	Spicer Lovejoy
Victor Garber	...	Thomas Andrews
Jonathan Hyde	...	Bruce Ismay
Suzy Amis	...	Lizzy Calvert
Lewis Abernathy	...	Lewis Bodine
Nicholas Cascone	...	Bobby Buell
Anatoly M. Sagalevitch	...	Anatoly Milkailavich (as Dr. Anatoly M. Sagalevitch)

Also Known As:

Planet Ice (USA) (fake working title)
The Ship of Dreams (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for disaster related peril and violence, nudity, sensuality and brief language.

Runtime:

194 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | German | Swedish | Italian | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS 70 mm (70 mm prints) | DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

India:UA | Canada:14A (British Columbia) | Iceland:12 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Brazil:12 | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Canada:PG (Alberta/Ontario) | Chile:TE | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIA | Ireland:12 | Israel:PG | Italy:T | Mexico:A | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Peru:PT | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:12 | USA:PG-13 | Greece:K-13

Filming Locations:

Belmont Olympic Pool - 4000 E. Olympic Plaza, Long Beach, California, USA

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

When we last see Cal's bodyguard Lovejoy in the finished film, he is hanging onto the side rail of the Titanic as it is breaking in half, with the side of his head appearing quite bloody. A scene had been cut that explains how Lovejoy got to look so bloodied and disheveled. The existing scene where Cal chases Jack and Rose down the Grand Staircase, shooting at them and then runs out of bullets (prior to realizing he put his coat which contains the diamond on Rose), was actually supposed to continue, where Cal hands Lovejoy the gun and tells him that if he gets the diamond from Rose, he can keep it. Lovejoy then loads the gun and goes hunting for them in the dining room. Cameron states on the 3-Disc Special Edition DVD that includes the scene, that it was not only considered much too long, but preview audiences didn't buy the fact that Lovejoy turns into a murderous villain trying to get a diamond from Jack and Rose as the ship is sinking (and they're ALL liable to die anyway). Lovejoy's head gets bloodied when Jack catches him off guard, crashes Lovejoy's head through a glass window and roughs him up a bit before he and Rose run away.

Goofs:

Continuity: After the "Lets stretch her legs" scene, we can see chief engineer Bell After the "Let's stretch her legs" scene, we can see Chief Engineer Bell increasing steam pressure by turning the regulator counterclockwise. Later, during the collision with the iceberg, we can see some worker decreasing pressure by starting to turn the regulator clockwise, yet in next shot, he is turning the regulator counterclockwise, still decreasing the pressure. Several shots later, after change to reverse, Bell is increasing pressure by turning the regulator clockwise.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Brock Lovett: Thirteen meters; you should see it.
Brock Lovett: [seeing the shipwreck come into view for the first time] OK; take her up and over the bow rail.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in "The PJs: Hangin' with Mr. Super (#1.1)" (1999)

Soundtrack:

Come, Josephine, In My Flying Machine

A Superb Epic

I avoided watching this film for the longest time. Long before it was even released I had dismissed it as an over-hyped, over-blown, overly romanticized piece of Hollywood schmaltz, and I wanted nothing to do with it. I never watched it in the theatre. I shook my head in disbelief at the 11 Academy Awards - even though I had never seen it. Then I was asked to be a judge at a high school public speaking contest. One of the girls spoke about this movie. "It was so great," she said. "You really felt like you were on the ship." "Nonsense," I thought. I shared my feelings with my fellow judges. One looked at me and said, "you might be right, but if she liked the movie that much maybe she'll want to learn more about the real Titanic. The movie must have done something right to get her so interested." "Well, maybe," thought I. Then it finally appeared on Pay TV. "OK," I thought, "I'll give it a look see." I didn't want to like it - and I didn't. I loved it! What a great movie.

Where to start? First - the directing. My high school public speaking contestant was right. James Cameron does a superb job of creating an almost "you are there" type of atmosphere. The gaiety of life aboard the most elegant ship in the world. The nonchalance as news of the iceberg first spreads; then the rising sense of panic. You don't just watch it; you really do feel it. Then - the performances. The lead performances from Kate Winslet (as Rose) and Leonardo DiCaprio (as Jack) are excellent - Winslet's being the superior, I thought, but both were good. They had their rich girl/poor boy characters down to a perfect "t" I thought. In my opinion, though, stealing the show was Frances Fisher as Rose's mother. She was perfect as the snobby aristocrat, and you could feel the fear and loathing she felt every time she looked at Jack. Then - the details. I'm no expert on the sinking of the Titanic, but I have a reasonable general knowledge, and this film does a super job of recreating the historical details accurately and then weaving them seamlessly around the fictional romance. Very impressive, indeed. Then - the song. Who can watch this movie and not be taken with Celine Dion's performance of "My Heart Goes On."

Problems. Well, the romance was perhaps too contrived, in the sense that I just don't accept that Jack could have moved so effortlessly from steerage to first class. (I know he was invited the first time; but he seems to keep getting into first class without being stopped until he's been there for a while.) The realities of the separation of the social classes were much more realistically portrayed, I thought, when the steerage passengers were going to be left locked down there after the ship hit the iceberg while the first class folks got to enjoy half empty lifeboats.

A minor quibble, though. This is truly an excellent movie. My only regret is not seeing it in the theatre, where I think it would have been so much more impressive.

9/10