Titanic
by James Cameron
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Actor: Jason Barry, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicholas CasconeDirector: James Cameron
Brand: Paramount
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Format: Closed-captioned, Dolby, NTSC, THX, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 194 minutes
DVD Release Date: 1999-08-31
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of Titanic
DVD Review: Romance novel mixed with splendidly-executed disaster movi
Summary: 4 Stars
Yesterday night, I watched James Cameron's multi-million disaster epic, "Titanic", for the very first time. Afterwards, I read the opinions about it- and as expected, controversy surrounds the movie, opinions ranging from enthused devotion to scornful derision.
The movie, for those who's lived in an underground hole these last 7 years (or were too young to remember), is about the 1912 disaster when the supposedly flawless giant passenger vessel hit an iceberg and drowned, about 1500 people losing their lives in the process. Cameron used this history as a backdrop for the romance of two fictional characters, Rose and Jack (Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio). She's a socialite affianced to a young millionaire; he is an impoverished artist who won a ticket to a third-class seat on the famous vessel. A rather over-dramatic beginning blossoms into a deeper acquaintance and, as expected, love. (Or could it be lust? It's too short a duration to determine.) The romance serves as the movie's focus- at least for the first half of the movie. The second half mostly concerns the events following the ship's disastrous run with the iceberg, although, of course, the story still follows Jack and Rose.
Although I do not know much about the Titanic story itself, others attest that the historical setting, including the ship itself, was duplicated with remarkable accuracy by Cameron- although with some oversights. The setting truly is splendid, and the special effects beautiful.
From the above description, one can immediately tell why the audiences are currently split. The controversy mostly concerns the fictional romance between Rose and Jack. And indeed, if you dislike either or both the actors, you may not enjoy the movie as much, because the romance takes a center-stage for a good part of the movie. Others have problems with the nature of the romance itself, citing its shallowness, questioning the nature of Rose's attraction to Jack or their life together after the disaster.
The problem I personally had most was with the fact that oftentimes Rose and Jack seemed to interact publicly, but with very little consequences to either except their immediate family. At one famous scene, they kiss in public view, yet somehow, miraculously, no-one is on dock nor does anyone seem to observe them. Also problematic is the frequency with which they seem to interact, given their different social classes and Rose's status as Cal's fiancee.
The truth is that one should treat the love affair like they do any romance novel: a willing suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy it. I admit that I fell for it, for the most part. True, some of the dialogue was cliché, the characters for the most part two-dimensional. I also wasn't enthused over some of the more corny moments; but I found myself liking the characters well enough to like their story. Leonard DiCaprio sufferers more abuse that he deserves; as Jack, he is charming, although not deeply-drawn. Kate Winslet's performance is good, although she's a little too much like her character Marianne from "Sense and Sensibility". She's a fine actress, and I loved her as Marianne, but she tends to lapse too much into the pouty, passionate beauty sort of cliché. (Thank goodness she turned down the role of Eowyn in Lord of the Rings!)
The "disaster" portion of the movie (i.e. its entire second half) was extremely well-done for the most part, both technically and in the unfolding of events. I wish, however, that Rose and Jack weren't required to return to the flooded docks below, facing the immediate danger of drowning, quite SO many times (I think that I counted three.)
For those who noticed, Cameron also employed a theme of upper v. lower classes, which, although it rendered some of his characters into caricatures (such as Rose's fiancé, Cal), it has roots in the history- someone noted that most of the people that died were the lower classes. The Titanic itself is a symbol- with this ship, the outdated Victorian, formalistic, class-focused order sinks, giving way to the new Century, indicated by the positive depiction of the Irish immigrants coming to the U.S.A. The upper class's lack of connection with reality is also shown by the musicians, who keep playing as the boat sinks to soothe the frightened passengers. It's a comical device, which is also touching in its way (as when the musicians play a mournful tune at the death of some important characters).
All in all it's a fairly simplistic message, which had been used many times in U.S. movies, but it's nicely-done for the most part. This is perhaps why Jack is "low-class" while Rose is a depicted as a refugee of an outdated order who is eager to welcome the new, more permissive century (as someone noted, she's an anachronism, a 1990s girl). Yes, the presentation is cliché and a little shallow, but it's an interesting theme of the movie in my opinion.
All in all, a very good movie. Unless you have strong objection to the way the romance is presented, you'll enjoy it.
Description of Titanic
Nothing on Earth can rival the epic spectacle and breathtaking grandeur of Titanic, the sweeping love story that sailed into the hearts of moviegoers around the world, ultimately emerging as the most popular motion picture of all time. Leonardo DiCaprio and Oscar-nominee Kate Winslet light up the screen as Jack and Rose, the young lovers who find one another on the maiden voyage of the "unsinkable" R.M.S. Titanic. But when the doomed luxury liner collides with an iceberg in the frigid North Atlantic their passionate love affair becomes a thrilling race for survival. From acclaimed filmmaker James Cameron comes a tale of forbidden love and courage in the face of disaster that triumphs as a true cinematic masterpiece.When the theatrical release of James Cameron's Titanic was delayed from July to December of 1997, media pundits speculated that Cameron's $200 million disaster epic would cause the director's downfall, signal the end of the blockbuster era, and sink Paramount Studios as quickly as the ill-fated luxury liner had sunk on that fateful night of April 14, 1912. Some studio executives were confident, others horrified, but the clarity of hindsight turned Cameron into an Oscar-winning genius, a shrewd businessman, and one of the most successful directors in the history of motion pictures. Titanic would surpass the $1 billion mark in global box-office receipts (largely due to multiple viewings, the majority by teenage girls), win 11 Academy Awards including best picture and director, produce the best-selling movie soundtrack of all time, and make a global superstar of Leonardo DiCaprio. A bona fide pop-cultural phenomenon, the film has all the ingredients of a blockbuster (romance, passion, luxury, grand scale, a snidely villain, and an epic, life-threatening crisis), but Cameron's alchemy of these ingredients proved more popular than anyone could have predicted. His stroke of genius was to combine absolute authenticity with a pair of fictional lovers whose tragic fate would draw viewers into the heart-wrenching reality of the Titanic disaster. As starving artist Jack Dawson and soon-to-be-married socialite Rose DeWitt Bukater, DiCaprio and Kate Winslet won the hearts of viewers around the world, and their brief but never-forgotten love affair provides the humanity that Cameron needed to turn Titanic into an emotional experience. Present-day framing scenes (featuring Gloria Stuart as the 101-year-old Rose) add additional resonance to the story, and although some viewers proved vehemently immune to Cameron's manipulations, few can deny the production's impressive achievements. Although some of the computer-generated visual effects look artificial, others--such as the sunset silhouette of Titanic during its first evening at sea, or the climactic splitting of the ship's sinking hull--are state-of-the-art marvels. In terms of sets and costumes alone, the film is never less than astounding. More than anything else, however, the film's overwhelming popularity speaks for itself. Titanic is an event film and a monument to Cameron's risk-taking audacity, blending the tragic irony of the Titanic disaster with just enough narrative invention to give the historical event its fullest and most timeless dramatic impact. Titanic is an epic love story on par with Gone with the Wind, and like that earlier box-office phenomenon, it's a film for the ages. --Jeff Shannon
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