The Most Popular Film of All Time....For Good Reason

As someone with a lifelong fascination with anything dealing with the Titanic tragedy, I was extremely anxious and impatient in waiting for the James Cameron film to finally be released. Including my initial viewing on the day it was released, Dec. 19, 1997, I saw this incredible epic film a total of 9 times in the theaters. For most people that may sound like overkill, but if you had been as taken by this film as I was, you'd be thinking "only 9 times?". Winner of 11 Academy Awards (including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Score), first place on the all-time money making picture list with a worldwide take of over $1 billion, and owner of numerous box office records, James Cameron's "Titanic" was and still is simply HUGE.

The film begins in modern day (for the time, 1997) as a team of deep-see treasure hunters, led by Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton) are exploring and searching the Titanic wreck site, looking particularly for a lost necklace, "The Heart of the Ocean". After a failed attempt to find the necklace thought located within a recovered safe, Lovett does come across a drawing of a nude girl who happens to be wearing the necklace. This picture was shown on television and happened to catch the attention of 101-year-old Rose Dawson. She calls Lovett, mentioning the necklace by name, and the next thing we know, she's being flown out to his ship, the Keldysh, to meet with him. After demonstrating through her personal knowledge that she is who she claims to be, she then begins telling the assembled group her story.

The film then recedes into the past as young Rose (Kate Winslet), her mother (Frances Fisher), her fiancee Caledon Hockley (Billy Zane) and his manservant Spicer Lovejoy (David Warner) arrive to board Titanic on her sailing day. Then, while Rose and her party boards the ship, we're brought into a small bar nearby the great ship where a poker game is going on, played by two Swedes and an Italian boy Fabrizio (Danny Nucci) and his friend Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio). Jack and Fabrizio manage to win a last-minute ticket to board Titanic and sail to America. Through various circumstances, Jack and Rose (despite coming from entirely different social backgrounds) meet and become friends, which develops further into love. Before we know it, the ship has fatally struck an iceberg and events unfold leading to the deaths of over 1,500 people.

For obvious reasons, the film attracted an enormous following by teenage and young adult females. There was the love story and Leonardo DiCaprio for them to fawn over. But, part of the beauty of the film is in the love story itself. From the moment the two main characters meet, there's an undeniable chemistry between them. You become involved in the story, to the point where you really begin to care about what may or may not happen to them. All this, though, is despite the fact that in reality, the two would have had almost no chance whatsoever of crossing paths due to the social barriers in place aboard Titanic.

James Cameron wrote the script himself and directed the film. The film was directed brilliantly with no lag or drag during the 3 hour running time. The script, on the other hand, contains some of the worst, most hackneyed dialogue ever written. For example, "Rose, pretty soon that fire that I love about you is going to burn out." Oh come on..... Then, when Jack is handcuffed to a pipe below decks and Rose goes to find a way to free him, Cameron has him say "I'll just wait here" as if he had a choice. The line was neither amusing nor necessary. Also, during the "spitting scene", why did Rose have to repeat Jack's name so many times? Did she think he didn't know she was talking to him? Jack brought her to the edge of the rail to show her and as he did she kept saying "No, Jack", "I can't possibly, Jack", "Jack, no", "I can't, Jack", and so on...just like that. That just got on my nerves.

But the rest of the film was absolutely fantastic, particularly from the moment the ship struck the burg until it finally plunged into the sea, taking hundreds of people to their deaths. Cameron didn't go the overly schmaltzy route, overdoing the emotional element of the situation. The visual effects, including the 90% full scale replica of the ship, the digital effects showing the ship on the open sea and with the people in the water, as well as the models used in the sequence in which the ship broke apart.....all of these were outstanding and very realistic.

DiCaprio, Winslet, Zane, Stewart, and the supporting cast including Warner, Fisher, and also Jonathan Pryce as shipowner J. Bruce Ismay, Victor Garber as ship's designer Thomas Andrews, Kathy Bates as Molly Brown, and Bernard Hill as Captain E.J. Smith......all gave particularly effective, enjoyable performances. I had no complaints in the acting department at all. I wouldn't say there was anything outstanding about them, but they each did a very good job.

James Horner's score for the film contributed greatly to the emotional element of the real tragedy and also to the circumstances around the developing and tragic love story. It really made you feel the pride that must have been felt by the captain and crew as they were taking out the largest moving object in history on its maiden voyage, the most luxurious vessel with some of the world's wealthiest individuals and families. I definitely recommend picking up a copy of the soundtrack if you don't have it.

As a longtime Titanic buff, I was highly impressed by the amount of detail that went into being as historically accurate as possible. This detail extended, not only to the interior and exterior of the great ship itself, but also to the mannerisms and attire of the people of that time period. The film was remarkable too, in the way that it brought the audience aboard the ship. You felt the panic, the terror, and the wide range of emotions felt by the characters as they struggled for their lives, yet ultimately becoming resigned to their fate. The ending was quite reminiscent of the end to the 1980 film "Somewhere in Time". I won't say exactly how, but for those familiar with that film, think of it as "Titanic" ends. Cameron said in his book that the ending is somewhat ambiguous, open to interpretation by each viewer. I think it's clear what was implied and it just emphasized even more the beauty of the love between Jack and Rose.

"Titanic" is truly an amazing experience. It's more than a film to those who enjoy the occasional good love story, and to those with an on-going fascination with the story of the great lost ship. James Cameron did a fantastic job with this film and truly deserved the accolades that came his way. I absolutely recommend that anyone who hasn't seen this film or purchased this film do so immediately. It is just incredible.