Titanic (1997)

It's been more than a month since I was able to post anything new here (blame the lack of a lappy and a new job for that), and in that time, I saw 3 movies that I was supposed to write about. The first was Hunger Games, but writing about it seemed moot now since I think everyone has already seen it. The next one was a home viewing of One More Chance (yes i know) as requested by Giulz. I really don't wanna start writing about it after a long lull and end up writing something non-sensical or disorganized. So I decided to first get back into the game by writing about the latest film I saw- Titanic in 3D.

Yes, even more than Hunger Games, Titanic may be that one movie that EVERYONE (of legal age) has seen and there really no point in writing about it with the purpose of convincing people to see (or not see) it. I actually had no intention of watching it since I have seen it numerous times as well, but Giulz really wanted to watch, and I'm actually glad that we did.

I actually was able to watch Titanic during it's original theater run back in 1997 when the MTRCB was more open-minded and Titanic only had a PG-7 rating. So me being just some little 12 year old boy, the best parts for me back then were the sketch scene (duh), and the mass hysteria and destruction of the ship. Although further viewings on television through the years made me remember some of the other scenes, it wasn't until 2 days ago that I seriously sat down, watched Titanic and really absorb everything about the film.

I'm skipping the traditional plot synopsis here and will go straight to my inputs. Having now watched both Titanic and Avatar, I finally am beginning to understand why these two are the top grossing films of all-time. People seriously don't get tired of watching them and will watch them multiple times in a day. Just like how kids get read the same bedtime story over and over again without getting tired, the audience simply does not get tired of Titanic, and this is thanks in large part to James Cameron. He doesn't simply show us a film, he tells us a story. A story that, like children hearing a fairy tale, we imagine ourselves being a part of. We don't see ourselves in Gotham city when Batman starts battling the Joker, or even in 1920s Hollywood in The Artist, but we become engrossed in Titanic. 

The timing and placing of the scenes is essential for this to happen. Just like a really good ghost story, the scenes in Titanic are placed in such a way that we are slowly sucked into the romance of Jack and Rose, which in itself was presented to us in such a good way, then right after their first "encounter" the iceberg appears. Alfred Hitchcock once compared suspense to surprise with the illustration of two people having breakfast and there's a bomb under the table. The audience knows that there's a bomb there but they don't know when it's going to explode. This is suspense is also what sucks us into Titanic especially when you first watch it. You know that the Titanic will hit an iceberg, but when? You know Rose survived the wreck since she appears at the start, but did Jack? Cameron is a master storyteller who knows his craft so well that he knows exactly where to place each scene to make the most impact to the audience. The best example of this for me was when the string quartet starts to play "Nearer, My God, To Thee". Before they play, there was already panic on the ship, but then we are forced to absorb these painful scenes of despair, like the old couple resigned to their fate, the captain's powerlessness to do anything, the designer's guilt at not building a stronger ship, all of this shown only with music and nothing else. When the music finally stops, hysteria ensues. This slight denouement followed by an awesome crescendo to the climax for me was the most powerful scene in the movie and a true example of Cameron's masterful storytelling.

Acting was of course top notch with Leonardo diCaprio leading the way. Even at such a young age you could see how promising he was as an actor. Except for that one scene where Rose jumps back into the ship and Jack does his "You're so stupid..." line, I didn't find any flaw with his performance.  It's a shame that out of all the awards, Leo wasn't even nominated for the Academy Award. Cathy Bates was remarkable as well. Providing a sense of realism and heart to the first class passengers when she guided Jack and even wanted to go back for the other passengers. I even found some comedy in the performance of Billy Zane who is now my favorite character in Titanic hahaha. I still hate that scene in the end where the old woman threw the diamond into the ocean though.

Even the music which we all hated back in the day grew on me. The melody of "My Heart Will Go On" is actually hauntingly beautiful. The last film I remember where the score hinged so much on one song was Rocky, and yet in both films, the song was chosen and used perfectly. The 3D effects can be done without.

Overall, I have found a new appreciation for Titanic. While it will never be one of my favorite films of all-time it does merit it's place atop the all-time top grossing list, and in the hearts of a billion girls all over the world. 3/5