Titanic (film)
"Titanic" is a romantic disaster film directed, written, produced, and edited by James Cameron. Released in 1997, the film intertwines a fictional love story with the historical tragedy of the RMS Titanic's sinking in 1912. The narrative unfolds through the perspective of an elderly woman, Rose Dawson Calvert, who recalls her young self aboard the ill-fated ship, where she falls in love with Jack Dawson, a poor artist. Their romance develops against the backdrop of class struggles and impending disaster, ultimately culminating in a heart-wrenching survival story as the ship collides with an iceberg.
Notably, "Titanic" was groundbreaking in its production, featuring a combination of actual footage of the wreck, a detailed reconstruction of the ship, and innovative special effects. The film achieved immense commercial success, grossing over $2 billion worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing film at the time. It also received critical acclaim, winning eleven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film's music, particularly Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On," became iconic, further solidifying its place in cinematic history. "Titanic" continues to hold cultural relevance, drawing renewed interest with ongoing explorations of the shipwreck and commemorative events.
Titanic (film)
- Release Date: 1997
- Director(s): James Cameron
- Writer(s): James Cameron
- Principal Actors and Roles: Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson); Kate Winslet (Rose DeWitt Bukater); Billy Zane (Caledon "Cal" Hockley); Kathy Bates (Molly Brown); Frances Fisher (Ruth DeWitt Bukater); Bill Paxton (Brock Lovett)
Titanic is a romantic disaster film that was the brainchild of James Cameron, who served as the film’s writer, director, producer, and editor. The film is a fictionalized telling of the historic 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic, exploring the disaster through the lens of an onboard romance. Cameron felt this view would allow audiences to better relate to the tragedy and feel its emotional impact.
Cameron’s inspiration for the film came from his love and fascination with shipwrecks. He always dreamed of going on a deep-sea diving expedition, and after seeing IMAX footage of the wreckage of the Titanic, became determined to do the same thing. Perhaps even more so for the opportunity to do a dive to the shipwreck, Cameron began looking for funding in Hollywood for a film centered on the Titanic. He arranged a meeting with executives at 20th Century Fox, equipped only with a rough treatment and script outline of the film. Dubbing the film "Romeo and Juliet aboard the Titanic," Cameron left the executives feeling dubious about the potential success of the idea, but they agreed to sign on anyway.
Production for Titanic began in 1995, when Cameron and his crew set out to film footage of the actual wreckage on the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh (a real research vessel which also appears in the film). Over the course of the year, twelve dives were performed to capture footage of the wreckage. In addition to the research vessel, the film’s portrayal of the RMS Titanic was achieved using a reconstruction of the original ship, along with scale models and computer graphics.
Plot
The film begins in modern times aboard a research vessel as explorer Brock Lovett searches the wreckage of the Titanic for a necklace containing the Heart of the Ocean, a precious jewel. After the crew discovers a drawing depicting a naked woman wearing the necklace in question and dated the night of the collision, Lovett brings the woman in the sketch, Rose Dawson Calvert, aboard. While she is there, she tells Lovett of her experience on the Titanic.
The rest of the film is a flashback of Rose’s time on the Titanic, transporting the audience to 1912 in Southampton, England, where a young Rose (referred to as Rose DeWitt Bukater) is boarding the ship with her mother, Ruth, and her fiancé, Cal Hockley. Rose is to marry Cal in order to settle her family’s financial troubles, although she is not happy with the situation. Aboard the ship, Rose is thinking about jumping from the ship when Jack Dawson, a poor, young artist, stops her. The two are discovered together, and Rose tells Cal that Jack saved her from falling overboard and that he deserves a reward. Cal reluctantly invites Jack to have dinner with them in first class.
Jack and Rose begin a budding friendship, much to the disapproval of both her mother and Cal. Following dinner, Jack and Rose attend a party in third class, and Rose begins to realize she prefers Jack over Cal. After a romantic meeting on the bow of the ship, Rose takes Jack back to her room where she instructs him to sketch her—completely nude, apart from her necklace (an engagement present from Cal). After Jack and Rose become more intimate, they witness the ship collide with an iceberg.
Meanwhile, Cal has discovered Jack’s sketch of Rose, and a note from her, which she has placed in his safe, along with the necklace. Cal confronts the pair, and while they attempt to tell him of the collision, Cal has his bodyguard slip the necklace into Jack’s pocket, framing him for theft. Jack is arrested and handcuffed to a pipe. As the ship begins to sink, both Cal and Ruth escape in lifeboats without Rose, who insists on staying behind to rescue Jack, and the necklace accidentally makes its way back to Rose in all the commotion.
When Rose finally rescues Jack, all of the lifeboats have already departed, and many people are falling to their deaths. As the ship breaks in half, Jack and Rose jump into the water and grab hold of a wooden plank. However, the wood can only support the weight of one person while still staying afloat, so Jack stays in the water as Rose climbs on. In the night, Jack dies of hypothermia, and eventually Rose is rescued. Upon her arrival in New York City, she gives her name as Rose Dawson.
Back on board the research vessel in modern times, Brock Lovett is so touched by Rose’s account of her experience that he decides to abandon his search for the Heart of the Ocean. Once she is alone on the ship, Rose takes the necklace from her pocket and drops it into the ocean.
Significance
At the time of its release, Titanic was the most expensive film to ever be made, at a cost of about $200 million. Although this budget concerned many studio executives, the investment more than paid off. Titanic went on to gross an initial $1.8 billion worldwide, becoming the first film to ever reach a billion dollars in earnings. It held its record for highest grossing film ever for twelve years, until the release of Avatar in 2010 (also written and directed by James Cameron). After a 3D rerelease of the film in 2012 to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, the film grossed an additional $343 million worldwide. This increased its total earnings to over $2 billion, making it only the second film to ever make that much money (the first being Cameron’s Avatar). Though interest in the ship's wreckage itself as well as the film Titanic remained into the 2020s as research, salvaging, and preservation efforts continued and the film celebrated its twenty-fifth anniversary early in the year, the film drew some particular renewed attention following the high-profile implosion of a submersible carrying five passengers on a tour to the wreckage in 2023.
In addition to its staggering commercial success, Titanic also garnered critical success. At the 1998 Academy Awards, Titanic was nominated for a total of fourteen awards, tying the 1950 film All About Eve for the most nominations by a single film. The film only lost three of its awards, winning eleven total—including the awards for best picture and best director. The music in the film, written and composed by James Horner, was also a huge success. The end credit song, "My Heart Will Go On," sung by Celine Dion, went on to win an Oscar and three Grammy awards. Additionally, the film’s soundtrack was the best-selling album in 1998.
Awards and nominations
Won
- Academy Award (1997) Best Picture
- Academy Award (1997) Best Director: James Cameron
- Academy Award (1997) Best Costume Design: Deborah Lynn Scott
- Academy Award (1997) Best Score (Original)
- Academy Award (1997) Best Original Song
- Academy Award (1997) Best Sound
- Academy Award (1997) Best Sound Effects Editing
- Academy Award (1997) Best Visual Effects
- Academy Award (1997) Best Film Editing
- Academy Award (1997) Best Cinematography: Russell Carpenter
- Academy Award (1997) Best Art Direction-Set Direction
- Academy Award (1997) Best Makeup
- Golden Globe (1997) Best Motion Picture (Drama)
- Golden Globe (1997) Best Director: James Cameron
- Golden Globe (1997) Best Original Score: James Horner
Nominated
- Academy Award (1997) Best Actress: Kate Winslet
- Academy Award (1997) Best Supporting Actress: Gloria Stuart
- Golden Globe (1997) Best Motion Picture Actor: Leonardo DiCaprio
- Golden Globe (1997) Best Motion Picture Actress: Kate Winslet
- Golden Globe (1997) Best Supporting Actress: Gloria Stuart
- Golden Globe (1997) Best Screenplay: James Cameron
- Screen Actors Guild Award (1997) Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Bibliography
Cameron, James, and Ed Marsh. James Cameron’s Titanic. New York: HarperCollins, 1997. Print.
Chandonnet, Henry. "Eerie 'Titanic' Scene Goes Viral During Search for Missing Vessel 'Titan.'" People, 21 June 2023, people.com/eerie-titanic-scene-viral-search-titan-sub-7551026. Accessed 17 July 2023.
Clarke, James. The Cinema of James Cameron: Bodies in Heroic Motion. New York: Columbia UP, 2014. Print.
Ebert, Roger. "Titanic." Chicago Sun-Times 19 Dec. 1997. Chicago Sun-Times. Web. 22 June 2015. <http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/titanic-1997>.
Parisi, Paula. Titanic and the Making of James Cameron. New York: Newmarket, 1998. Print.
Sandler, Kevin S., and Gaylyn Studlar. Titanic: Anatomy of a Blockbuster. New Brunswick: Rutgers, 1999. Print.
"Titanic." Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2015. Web. 22 Jun. 2015. <http://www.britannica.com/topic/Titanic-film-1997>.