Titanic (1997) Paramount Pictures/20th Century Fox/Lightstorm Entertainment 📢 Director: James Cameron 💰 Producer: James Cameron, Jon Landau 👫 Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill, Jonathan Hyde, Danny Nucci, David Warner, Bill Paxton. 🏆 Awards ceremony: -70th Academy Awards: March 23, 1998. Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. 🎭 Other films nominated for Best Picture this year: -As Good As It Gets. -The Full Monty. -Good Will Hunting. -L.A. Confidential. 📕 Plot summary: Partially true story of the last voyage of the RMS Titanic, mixed with a soppy love story between two teenage passengers of different classes. Jack (LEONARDO DICAPRIO) is a penniless drifter who wins his ticket on the ship through chance - and Rose (KATE WINSLET), who is the fiancé of a controlling wealthy heir to a steel fortune who treats her like his personal property. Jack and Rose fall in love with one another, we are all rootin' for them and then - spoiler alert - the ship has a slight accident involving a huge iceberg that nobody could see and sinks. 💥 Standout scene(s): Jack (or rather James Cameron) sketching Rose whilst she is completely... well, you know the scene.... we've all seen it, we've all paused it... you know the scene I mean... 🔑 Facts: -The 70th Academy Awards. -Nominated for 14 Academy Awards, it won 11: Best Picture, Director, Music, Original Song ('My Heart Will Go On'), Sound Effects Editing, Sound, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, Editing, Visual Effects. Despite winning 11 Oscars, none of them were for acting! -Second Best Picture appearance for Bernard Hill (Gandhi). -Second Best Picture appearance for Frances Fisher (Unforgiven). -Bill Paxton has played characters that have gone to both the moon (Apollo 13) AND the wreck of the Titanic (Titanic) in the space of two years. Pretty impressive. 🙂 Personal opinion: In terms of production quality this film is outstanding. When talking about the sheer magnificence of James Cameron's vision of bringing the story of Titanic back to life in this big budget blockbuster, one cannot go without comparing it to the obvious A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (1958). But I'm not going to be doing that here. Is the film a bit too long for its own good? Could Jack have been saved if he had got on the floating driftwood at the end? Does anybody actually care? The long sequence involving Jack and Rose mingling with the steerage passengers and doing their jig is one of the most dragging sections of the movie. Of all the passengers on the ship I think Rose's mother is the most selfish and Cal is the most obnoxious. James Horner's music is definitely a part of creating the atmosphere in certain scenes, especially when Jack and Rose are at the front of the bow at sunset. And whether you want to admit to it or not, Celine Dion's famous song, 'My Heart Will Go On' is both catchy and very memorable. At times the film is both very realistic and very scary and at other times it feels too casual. It's one of those types of movies that you know is great but don't want to admit it! 'Have you ever been to Wisconsin?' - is what you apparently would ask a damsel in distress if you were to encounter her contemplating suicide. The 4K release of the film looks really impressive and is a worthy collector's item if you are fan of the film. One last thing, this was the only Best Picture winner that I personally saw in the cinema at the time of its original release. Did it deserve the Oscar? ✅YES. Nobody can really have any argument as to whether it deserved to win the big one, but there were two other brilliant films in the nominated list (As Good As It Gets and Good Will Hunting) that were equally as deserving. Titanic's sheer production is what won it the Oscar in my opinion. 8½/10

Review date: 04 May 2025