Titanic might be considered by many as cheesy and overly dramatic, and I have even heard a couple of my acquaintances call it downright stupid. But I can easily admit to the fact that this is one of the exceptionally well done movies that I ever saw. I think that the number of Oscars awards and acclaims that the movie got speak for themselves. I personally love the special effects, as well as the poignancy and intensity of the relationship depicted in the film. There is a very special charm to this film that I have personally not been able to see in other romantic dramas. Since I am studying Film Theories for my dissertation, I have become quite obsessed with trying to see how a film relates to its genre and to what extent does the movie manage to affect audience reception. Judging by the number of sniffles that I heard when my friends and I watched this during a movie party, I would say that Titanic exceeded expectations for me on these above mentioned grounds!
Plot:
Treasure Hunter Brock Lovett is bent on upon acquiring the legendary “Heart of the Ocean” diamond that is said to have sunk along with the Titanic. When a series of circumstances lead him towards meeting the one-hundred year old Rose Dawson Calvert, Titanic victim, Brock Lovett is taken back to the days when the ship started its maiden voyage as Rose narrates the poignant love story of Jack Dawson, poor lower class boy and the rich upper-class girl that she used to be.
The very positive element that particularly struck me in this movie comes from the fantastic poetic-like dialogue that occurs through nearly every scene of Titanic. I think that the narration itself starts off wonderfully:
“It's been 84 years, and I can still smell the fresh paint. The china had never been used. The sheets had never been slept in. Titanic was called the Ship of Dreams, and it was. It really was.”
Actually, I have to admit that this really was the line that got me engrossed
in the movie. I do believe that this particular line sets off the whole tone and feelings for Titanic as whole: nostalgia, fondness and a deep sense of poignancy. That’s not to mention the fact that Gloria Stuart delivers this line with absolute perfection! In fact, the whole movie is practically bursting with wonderful and profound lines that genuinely did struck a chord with me. I was quite in awe with the fact that sometimes the lines were extremely emotional and deep while at the same time, clashing with a somewhat dark aspect of the scene.
In addition, I would say that all the actors were amazing at delivering these highly sentimental lines. I can imagine a couple of well-known actors that would have really made a mess out of such lines, but it is my personal opinion that the cast of Titanic handled their dialogue with appropriate delicacy and precision. I certainly do not recall any part in the film where I felt like the actors were going overboard with their lines or lacking in their deliveries. This is actually among the first things that I look for in any movie but I was quite astonished to see such perfect line deliveries among the whole crew. I would say that even the minor characters did a wonderful job, especially with mastering facial expressions. I particularly noted this point with the cast that played the crew of the ship: They might not have had the lead roles but they certainly did not slack off in their characters.
On-Screen chemistry was extremely, extremely present all throughout the film. I don’t know if this has something to do with the fact that Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet became close friends during the shooting of the film, but I think that they really exceeded my expectations in terms of depicting the intense chemistry between Jack and Rose. The body language towards each other, the furtive glances, the eye play and the tones and pitch of their voice all contributed towards literally sending sparks flying between the two characters that they were playing. It is quite obvious to the audience that there is not a single scene where these two lead actors did not take their role lightly. I personally attribute the legendary success of this movie not only for its wonderfully crafted storyline, but also because of such high level standards of acting that was presented all throughout.
In addition, in pure James Cameron manner, the film was not without any wonderfully crafted scenes. I cannot elaborate on these scenes because that would mean giving spoilers away, but I would say that it is extremely obvious that a lot of dedication, time and hard work were invested in making this masterpiece. The audience is even rewarded with some nice shots of the real Titanic wreckage! I have read quite a lot of trivia about this film after my viewing of it and I was really very impressed by the amazing amount of time and energy and money that they invested in the making of Titanic. I believe that such passion for making this particular movie is very clearly reflected all throughout.
Another element that I love about this film was the varying thematic features that it offers. Granted, this is a romantic drama but I believe that Titanic differs from other romantic dramas in the sense that it somewhat thinks outside the box. Titanic did offer a wide array of themes that were directly or indirectly related to romantic dramas. Some of them include Feminism, Class system, Greed and Power, along with some more sentimental elements such as friendship and family ties. I think that this takes the film yet another notch and also serves to explain its success because I believe that there truly is something for everybody to relate to.
I was quite particularly impressed by the manner in which Cameron managed to strike a chord with his audience through the feminist issues evoked in the movie, despite the fact that things are not so much as awful as they were during that time. I liked the delicacy and discretion with which he gradually introduced the audiences towards the feminist issues; there were no loud screams on women’s rights, nor was there any overly direct or disturbing features that might have somewhat ruined the audience’s appreciation of the love story that was going on. Instead, we are presented with discreet shots of girls and women and the way that they were forced to act during that period of time. I would say that that was very cleverly contrasted with the freedom that was depicted in the third class section of the ship.
In addition, I think that they did an equally marvellous job in depicting the class system of the time. I particularly dislike it when everyone is shoved in the same basket under a general tag of high class equaled to snobs or low class equaled to nasty. I liked the manner in which the producers avoided such generalization of social groups in the film. First class passengers were not all depicted as snobbish and shallow, in fact some characters such as Molly Brown are introduced within that category in order to highlight the individuality in social groups, and not just a bunch of people thrown in together. Of course, I would say that Jack (Leonardo Di Caprio) is the one who best represented individualism within the third class passengers.
All such elements provided an increasingly sharp contrast to the budding love that is being depicted throughout this movie. In fact, I have rarely seen a film where such deep contrast is made and I think that it quite highlighted the extremely passionate relationship shared by Rose and Jack.
The Main Cast includes: • Leonardo Di Caprio • Kate Winslet • Billy Zane • Kathy Bates • Frances Fisher • Gloria Stuart • Bernard Hill
DVD Bonus features: Sadly my DVD only contained two commentary tracks- I really would have enjoyed knowing more about the making of this exceptional film!
Overall, if you still haven’t watched this film, I really, really recommend it to you. This is most undoubtedly one of the best made films in cinematographic industry!
Thanks for reading!
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Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Production Year: 1995 - Drama - Director: Ang Lee - Original Language: English - Classification: Universal - Starring: Emma Thompson, Alan Rickman, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, Greg Wise, Hugh Laurie, Robert Hardy
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Nothing on earth can rival the epic spectacle and breathtaking grandeur of Titanic the ... more
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 DiCapri...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Advantages: Fanatastic, Sensational, Marvellous film with plenty of extra features on 4 Discs Disadvantages: None worth being labelled as a genuine disadvantage
Advantages: Adtional deleted scenes, alternative ending, commentaries, documenturies and much more Disadvantages: Film on 2 discs, deleted scenes and alternative ending seperate from film
Advantages: Fanatastic, Sensational, Marvellous film with plenty of extra features on 4 Discs Disadvantages: None worth being labelled as a genuine disadvantage