James Cameron’s epic high-seas romance and disaster film returns to mark the 100th anniversary of the actual TITANIC.
The re-release of one of Hollywood’s most popular pictures remains the same film, but has added a 3D wrinkle. If you’re not familiar, TITANIC is a love, turned disaster story about Jack, a young, poor and free-spirited man played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and his romance with Rose, a young, apparently wealthy and repressed lady played by Kate Winslet. The love affair is told through Rose’s eyes in modern times, as she recollects about it to an exploration team set on retrieving artifacts from the sunken ship. The team is particularly interested in “the heart of the ocean”, a diamond given to Rose from her fiancé Cal Hockley.
When I previously reviewed TITANIC 15 years ago, I gave the film a “B” grade, marveling over the film’s special effects and thrilling action sequences, while the dialogue and performance by Billy Zane as Cal left little to be desired.
After viewing it again, the same thoughts ring true, but the legacy of TITANIC remains strong due to its timeless story, and the craftsmanship in its telling by Cameron. A lesser, mainstream Hollywood blockbuster, of which we’ve seen many of since our initial broadcast reviewing TITANIC in 1997, would focus less on the story, the characters and the history of the boat, and cut straight to chase, the horrific spectacle of its sinking.
Cameron wisely establishes the history of the story through two different sets of eyes, a greedy explorer played by Bill Paxton, and through Rose as a senior citizen, played by Gloria Stuart. By framing the story in this context, Cameron establishes a mythical feel to the material. He then constructs a love story, and a well-established one, taking the time to learn about Rose and Jack and what draws them together, and won’t tear them apart.
All of this leads up to the spectacle of the boat’s crash, its sinking and the attempted survival of its passengers. In this regard, TITANIC’s achievement has few rivals.
Looking back on TITANIC, my minor qualms still remain, but what resonates is the artistry displayed by one of Hollywood’s most talented directors, and two broad, but effective performances from Winslet and DiCaprio.
Grade: B+
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