Anthony's Film Review - Titanic (1997)

Love and disaster meet in one of Hollywood's most memorable romances...

Titanic is a film that is notable for many reasons. With a budget of over $200 million, it is one of the most expensive movies ever made and, in fact, is the most expensive movie of the 20th century. It has grossed over $1 billion worldwide at the box office, making it one of the highest grossing films of all time. It received 14 Academy Award nominations and won 11 of them, including Best Picture of 1997 and Best Song for Celine Dion performing "My Heart Will Go On." It's an impressive set of statistics. What ultimately makes it possible is how it falls in the class of masterpiece films.

The backdrop of the Titanic is real, but the main plot is fictional. One of the characters is Rose, a young woman raised by a wealthy aristocratic family. The story is told as a flashback by this same woman, now elderly, in the present day. As artifacts from the Titanic are uncovered from the sea bed, this woman sees something that once belonged to her. She meets with the Titanic exploration crew to share her memories of the voyage on the Titanic up to the tragic day when the ship sank. From there, Kate Winslet plays the part of young Rose.

Also entering the picture is Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack, a young poor man with a gift in the arts. He and Rose meet unexpectedly and gradually fall in love. It's nothing original, but the directing is superb. You really get to know both characters and want them to be together. A romance like this needs conflict for it to be interesting. There is certainly plenty of it. It comes in the form of Rose's fianc� Cal and the class differences between her and Jack.

I love the romantic tale in this film, but what deserves more detailed mentioning are the special effects. Love and disaster do meet, and I'm not just talking about the plot. In other words, Titanic is a hybrid of a romantic film and a disaster film. This is an unusual and irregular mix of genres, but it surprisingly works very well. If you think about it, the peril involved as the Titanic slowly sinks adds further conflict to the love that blooms late in the film. It's not just eye candy. Still, the scenes that take place once the ship hits an iceberg are so breathtakingly realistic that they rival scenes from disaster movies more oriented in suspense and action.

As you would expect, this is a film that is romantic and suspenseful, whether separately or simultaneously. On the surface, it seems like two different films glued together in the middle, but they are really one and the same in the second half. It was an amazing film experience. It is one of those film epics that you cannot take your eyes off of. The best way to conclude this review is to mention the director. James Cameron, known for directing The Terminator and The Abyss, brings similar movie magic into Titanic but adds an equal touch of romance, something I never expected out of this director. The result is a film that he could be truly proud of and fans could enjoy over and over again.

Anthony's Rating:

For more information about Titanic, visit the Internet Movie Database.