Force Fed Films: Titanic (1997)

Since I need to get prepared for the big Harry Potter event this weekend, I made Puneet push the Force Fed Films section up a day. It seems Puneet decided I wasn't done with romance films yet, because he gave me Titanic to watch. It's true, I've never seen Titanic, at least in it's entirety. I've seen parts of the disaster towards the end, but nothing of the romance or the actual story. I'm a big fan of all of James Cameron's work, especially Avatar (I saw it 7 times in the theater!) so I had slightly higher hopes for this one. You'll find my thoughts on this romance/disaster combo right after the break.


I'm pretty sure almost everyone on the planet has seen Titanic. I remember in high school, all the girls wanted to see it for Leo and the romance. All the guys wanted to see it for the disaster and the brief glimpse of Kate Winslet's boobs. But there are those that haven't seen it, I was one of them. The movie starts off with deep sea explorers using underwater rovers to search around the Titanic. They're searching for a rare diamond necklace that was lost when the ship went down and would now be worth more than the Hope Diamond. they find a preserved drawing that leads them to an old lady named Rose who was a survivor of the disaster and she knew of the diamond. She proceeds to tell her story of how she met the love of her life Jack and all that she knew of the ship.

Jack really knows how to sweep them off their feet!

I thought the movie was really good, although I must admit I'm starting to get tired of romances now. On the plus side, there wasn't much to the romance beyond a few key scenes as most of the film is about the ship and the diamond and finally the disaster. Yes, Jack and Rose spend a lot of time together, but their romance really seems to come together quite quickly while they're dancing and running away from Rose's fiance's henchman. I wasn't totally clear on the passage of time, but I believe they only know each other for about 2 days before the ship hits the iceberg.

The effects of the shipwreck and the iceberg and the whole disaster is fantastic and still holds up even today. I've seen movies from only a few years ago just look really fake, but this movie, even from 1997, still looks amazing. I was of course strongly reminded of The Poseidon Adventure (my review) as both deal with the sinking of a luxury liner. There were plenty of scenes of Jack and Rose running, swimming, and generally in peril of drowning as they make their way through the ship several times. All of these moments were great and almost had a thriller element to it. Heck, even Billy Zane was in it! Dead Calm anyone? But seriously, if you're ever on a boat or even near the water with Billy Zane, watch your back!

The freezing water is always preferable to Billy Zane on a boat

While Billy Zane played the jerk fiance to a tee, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet also did very good jobs. I especially liked Leo's portrayal of Jack Dawson. I can't put my finger on it, but I just really liked this character. He just seemed natural, like how he'd suddenly put on a funny accent for a word or two just like a friend might. Rose was equally fun, being able to dance and drink with the best of 'em. I liked that she was able to just let her hair down and have fun despite all her "how to be a proper lady in 1912" upbringing. It was cool that she was able to see past the class lines and just see people as people.

I recall hearing some complaints or jokes about the film, but I really didn't find much to dislike in the movie. I disliked Billy Zane's character, but I'm supposed to. I thought the effects, the action, the characters, and even the lovey stuff to be pretty damn good. Pacing and cinematography all seemed good if not great to me, and I even liked the present to past switching of time in the story. If you haven't seen Titanic I can tell you that it's pretty darn good. It's up to you if you see it right now though, as I can tell you it's getting set to be remastered into 3D by the awesome James Cameron himself! Stay dry!