1997
Directed by James Cameron
There are many tragic films I can watch without shedding a tear, but this one really destroys me. As Joey Tribbiani said, those two had only each other!
I am assuming everyone who is reading this knows the plot of this movie. I am even assuming they know the ending, which breaks my usual no spoiler rule, but I have to argue with people who claim Jack could have fit on the debris (it's not about space people, it's about weight!). Anyway, for tradition's sake, I will give a brief summary. A young, unhappily engaged aristocrat falls in love with a poor but sexy artist onboard the doomed Titanic.
So this is a beautifully made film with insanely accurate detail. If Cameron had directed Braveheart, we all would have been a lot happier. I think this is the type of film that could easily coast with a less than stellar cast, but thankfully, everybody gave fantastic performances (I was particularly impressed with Bates and Stuart). Normally I would complain about the length, but I just read that Cameron wanted the running time to equal the actual time it took the ship to sink after colliding with the iceberg. That's actually pretty awesome, so I will keep my mouth shut.
Usually epic romances bore me, but something about their chemistry makes them more likable. The problems they face are not caused by their own stupidity (here's looking at you An Affair to Remember).
Finally, I agree with a Best Picture winner!
RATING: ****-
Interesting Facts:
The line "I'm king of the world" was improvised by Leonardo DiCaprio.
James Cameron pitched the film to 20th Century Fox by saying it was Romeo and Juliet on the Titanic.
First movie to gross a billion dollars.
Welllll.. it's OK, maybe more than that. I went to see it at the cinema when it came out, and not a touch of numb bum syndrome. So that must mean something.But I wouldn't bother watching again .. You know how we talk sometimes about 'If I'm browsing TV channels, I end up watching xxxx'. This is not one of those. I may watch a bit, but never get involved and stick to the end. Unlike ..
ReplyDeleteSorry, totally predictable ray reply .. I do get involved and end up watching to the end 'A night to remember' (1958), which I'm afraid I prefer.
Surprisingly, I've not seen the 1953 version with Barbara Stanwyck .. Yes, I know .. but it's not reckoned to be all that good.
Now don't shoot me for this, but well worth a watch is the 1943/4 German version. Yes, it's a Nazi propaganda film. Surprisingly it isn't all a Jewish plot .. but it's the British money men who are bad guys.. they are 'gambling' on the stock exchange .. they underplay the expected crossing speed to reduce stock prices, and then buy. They then order the captain to go fast, intending to sell at higher price.. But the brave, sensible German first officer realises and tries to stop.. and then rescues lots of children... It's really quite an interesting watch. And a very interesting history behind it's making .. Look it up.
I really enjoyed the film. Great acting, great story and just overall entertaining. That's what I want a movie to do--entertain me. ☺️
ReplyDeleteI'll check that out Ray. I don't think I want to watch this again either; it bums me out too much. And I'm glad you liked it Diana!
ReplyDeleteRe what I said above .. the 1953 Titanic, is on UK TV next week, and in addition to Babs, has an impressive cast list .. I will give it a look ..
ReplyDeleteThis is better than it's awful reputation in some quarters, certainly the second half when the boat starts to sink. But the quality is still wildly out of proportion to the budget or the box-office returns.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, when I went to see this at the cinema at the time, it had an intermission in the middle so we could all go out, top up on popcorn, water the horses etc. How quaint!
This does not seem like the kind of film you would see at the cinema! I am shocked. Who made you go?
DeleteI was working five days a week for a few months in Bristol at the time, four nights in a travel hotel by myself. So it was that or another night in with takeaway pizza.
ReplyDeleteThis was before the time that I finally drew a line under watching films simply because they were hyped and you felt obliged to watch them just to see what all the fuss was about. See also Independence Day.