Titanic (1997)
My experience with Titanic is far from typical, so let me explain up front. When this movie was in production, my closest friend at the time was in the film industry. She had been a star at Warner Bros. in the 1940s and was an active, voting member of the Academy. She also lived in the same elegant condo-complex off the Sunset Strip with two established actors who were cast in Titanic. I knew them myself, through her, and I remember when they “disappeared” for an extended period of time while working on this film at the newly constructed Fox studios in Baja California, Mexico. Their reports back were questionable, to say the least. They seemed frustrated, and the shoot was taking forever. Months went by, and they were forced to turn down work, because they were “stuck” filming this endless movie. When they did surface again in California, they didn’t know what to make of it. We joked that it was either going to be the biggest hit or the biggest flop ever. There would be no in-between.
Jump ahead by several months to the initial press screenings and pre-publicity … I had been palling around with a handful of up-and-coming film critics and magazine writers who were good friends. Most of them had seen Titanic a month or so prior to its release. None of them cared for it, and some hated it. They mostly agreed that it was a colossal pile of nothing and would go down in history as a major bomb. One sort of liked “the old lady” (Gloria Stuart), but that was about it. They thought it might win a technical Oscar or two, for effects and design … maybe. They also remarked how James Cameron had run amok with unrealistic creative demands while the budget hemorrhaged so badly that 20th Century Fox gave up domestic distribution rights in order to secure enough funds from Paramount to finish the film.
You can imagine, with all of this as a “backstory,” how I might have felt when I halfheartedly decided to check it out on opening day. I went by myself to the first screening at Grauman’s Chinese Theatre (I still and will always call it that). The audience was a respectable size for around ten o’clock in the morning, but by no means was it “sold out.” Let’s say more than half full. The lights went down, I let out a “well, here goes” sigh, and the film began.
I wasn’t prepared for what I experienced. I was transported under the sea to the expedition of the actual wreckage. Plenty of documentaries were surfacing on television around this time about the ship’s sinking, and I had watched a few of them. I knew a good bit of the history but certainly not all. I remember being pulled in so completely when the camera tracked around the decaying vessel with its rusted railings, and by the time the arc had finished, I was looking at a fully restored ship. It was breathtaking, and something that hadn’t been possible in a film until major breakthroughs in technology (via Digital Domain) had caught up to the creative vision.
After the modern scenes establish a treasure hunt for a missing necklace that features a jewel called the Heart of the Ocean, which is “worth more than the Hope Diamond,” much of this story happens in flashback. It’s told from the perspective of 100-year-old Rose, portrayed by 1930s star Gloria Stuart, and in younger days by Kate Winslet, marking the first time in history that two actresses were nominated for playing the same character in the same movie. The first half of the film is what I’ve heard referred to as a “200-million-dollar chick flick.” A massively expensive, period romance. A love triangle between first-class passenger Rose DeWitt Bukater (Winslet), her millionaire fiancé Cal Hockley (Billy Zane), and a vagabond artist named Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio). Everything around them is the epitome of early 20th-century refinement and luxury, but Rose feels trapped in a life she never wanted or asked for.
After Jack saves her life, the two fall in love and make plans to escape together once the ship docks. Cal transitions from an overbearing, jilted fiancé into a dangerous adversary. This “setup” leads to the inevitable moment when they strike the iceberg, and it’s to Cameron’s credit that I’m so invested in the plot, I’ve almost forgotten the ship is going down.
This movie then surges in the blink of an eye from an intriguing romance into a full-on action film. Cameron once again demonstrates his proven ability to trigger adrenaline with audiences, and he’s definitely at home here. The foundering vessel’s “ticking clock” sets the stage for a life-and-death chase between Cal with his manservant named Lovejoy (David Warner) and the fleeing lovebirds.
Titanic is similar in structure to another Best Picture–winner Gone with the Wind. Both are fictional romances and love triangles that use factual, catastrophic events as their settings. Neither historic backdrop overtakes the human narrative, however. We follow the main characters and their struggles without getting lost in a documentarian’s checklist of details. These aren’t history lessons, in other words, although Titanic gets more right than Wind. Cameron strives to depict the sinking as accurately as possible, and it shows in every frame.
The images are staggering and often devastating. I still become emotional watching the Strauses as they clutch each other in bed while the water rushes in around them, or when an Irish woman from third class tells her children a calming bedtime story for the last time, or when Benjamin Guggenheim emerges in top hat and tails, asking for one final brandy … or when First Officer Murdoch starts shooting at people before putting the pistol to his own head. These moments are the fleeting, indelible threads that strengthen the fabric of this story. All the while, we never lose sight of Rose, Jack, and Cal.
Aside from the outstanding, star-making turns delivered by DiCaprio and Winslet, every performer shines. Billy Zane is deliciously oily and snobbish before revealing himself to be a genuine threat. Kathy Bates strikes the perfect chord as “the unsinkable” Molly Brown, a fish out of water in first class who doesn’t bother to censor her opinions. Stoic Frances Fisher, steadfast Bernard Hill, thoughtful Victor Garber, calculating David Warner, arrogant Jonathan Hyde, and loyal Danny Nucci each leave their mark. And in the modern scenes, Gloria Stuart is both wise and wonderful. Along with Bill Paxton, she keeps us guessing as to where this story is going, despite its foregone conclusion.
Cameron’s writing was criticized when this film came out. He paints an original tale with bold, broad strokes, but I believe much of the dialogue resonates. It’s lean and focused, leaving an impact despite the imposing breadth of the plot—another similarity shared with Gone with the Wind. Perhaps this film’s record-tying 14 nominations stand in clear contrast to the lack of recognition for its screenplay and DiCaprio’s work.
The ending of this mammoth film is surprisingly quiet and poetic. Stuart, as Rose, walks in silence to the edge of the research vessel and drops her diamond necklace into the ocean, directly over the site of the wreckage. She has kept the valuable trinket to herself for 84 years, but she returns it to the past where it belongs. We then see her in the ship’s bed as the camera pans across a lifetime of framed photos behind her. We return with her to the past for an imagined “curtain call” where young Rose is reunited with her beloved Jack in front of the entire cast, aboard the beautifully restored ocean liner.
I remember walking out of the theatre that sunny morning, unable to speak. I was overwhelmed by what I had just seen. I couldn’t shake the images of the frozen bodies bobbing in the icy water. I assumed these ill-fated passengers drowned while waiting to be rescued. Instead, they froze to death, and for me, it was a horrifying realization. The Carpathia, a nearby ship, arrived too late to save them. Much of the movie flashed before my eyes, and I was having lunch that day with my best friend, the Oscar-voter. She asked me right away, “Without giving away any details, what did you think?” I looked at her incredulously and said, “I just saw the Best Picture of the year.”
It turns out both audiences and the Academy agreed with my impression. A record 11 wins tied it with Ben-Hur (and later The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) as the most awarded film in Oscar history, and this movie is one of the all-time blockbuster champs as well—the first to gross over a billion dollars. Two decades later, it has solidified its place as one of the finest ever to take the top prize.
Titanic
Director | James Cameron |
Primary Cast | Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bill Paxton, Bernard Hill, David Warner, Victor Garber, Jonathan Hyde, Suzy Amis, Danny Nucci, Eric Braden, Bernard Fox, Martin Jarvis, Rosalind Ayres, Ioan Gruffudd |
Familiar Faces | Frances Fisher from Unforgiven, Bernard Hill from Gandhi, David Warner from Tom Jones |
Firsts | First Best Picture to be produced, directed, written, and edited by the same person (James Cameron), first film to receive two acting nominations for performers playing the same character (Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart, both as Rose), first movie to gross one billion dollars at the box office, holds the record with 14 nominations (tied with All About Eve and La La Land) for the most in history, holds the record with 11 wins (tied with Ben-Hur and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King) for the most in history |
Total Wins | 11 (Picture, Director, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Editing, Sound, Sound Effects Editing, Visual Effects, Original Song: “My Heart Will Go On,” Score: Dramatic) |
Total Nominations | 14 (Picture, Director, Actress: Kate Winslet, Supporting Actress: Gloria Stuart, Cinematography, Art Direction, Costume Design, Makeup, Editing, Sound, Sound Effects Editing, Visual Effects, Original Song: “My Heart Will Go On,” Score: Dramatic) |
Viewing Format | Blu-ray Disc |
Comments
Titanic (1997) — No Comments
HTML tags allowed in your comment: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>