I think I love Titanic
more than many (especially men maybe?) but isn’t this new release a bit
pointless?
Let me get a couple of things straight. Firstly, I was always slightly fascinated
with the sinking of the legendary ship on its maiden voyage. Before James Cameron’s film existed, I had
read A Night to Remember, a highly
detailed and well-researched book about the events that took place that
night. Secondly, I loved the work of
director James Cameron. Terminator 1 and 2 are still two of my
favourite films of all time, Aliens
is easily the best of that franchise and True
Lies is a really fun action movie.
But on the other hand, in 1997, I was 16 years old and put
off by the soppy, romantic look of the film, not to mention Celine Dion hogging
the number one spot in the charts. I was
intrigued by stories of the amazing production design and the escalating budget
but not enough to make a trip to the cinema.
But then a friend raved about it.
He told me the entire plot and although I didn’t get why an old woman
would throw away a priceless necklace at the end, my friend emphasized the fact
that pretty much the whole last hour was an action film.
So I went along to see it with the friend who had told me
the whole story. He said he would be
happy to see it for a second time which also made me optimistic. I was blown away. I loved every moment of it: from the romance
to the tragedy to the brilliant special effects, music, sets and costumes, even
Dion warbling over the credits. Here’s
why:
The music
Ok forget My Heart
Will Go On for a minute and look beyond to James Horner’s masterful
score. From the haunting sadness of Never an Absolution and Hymn to the Sea to the awe-inspiring Southampton and Take Her to Sea Mr Murdoch that perfectly capture the magic and
majesty of the ship, it is one of my favourite soundtracks. And then there is the perfect blend of
horror, sadness and wonder created by tracks like A Building Panic, The Sinking and Death of Titanic. Yes it all
might sound a little too Enya inspired at times and Celine Dion’s vocals spell
it all out rather pointlessly by the end but nevertheless this is a grand and
epic score that has an undeniably HUGE part to play in creating the emotional response of the viewer.
The cast
Kate Winslet shines as the trapped rich girl Rose, promised
to a man she doesn’t love and desperate for adventure and escape. Her character is the best written and carries
the film from forbidden love to horrific tragedy to quiet optimism. Leo is slightly short-changed as Jack Dawson,
saddled with some cheesy lines and a fairly two-dimensional character in
comparison. But he does get stand-out
moments like when he teaches the rich folk he has been invited to dinner with a
thing or two about living life to the fullest.
Rounding out the love triangle that puts Twilight to shame is Billy Zane as Cal, Rose’s fiancé and a
bit of a pantomime villain bastard. Zane
gets a bit of flack for his eyebrow acting in this film; all that’s missing is
a moustache to twirl and crazy maniac laughing but actually his final moments in
the film reveal that he isn’t quite the total
bastard he appears to be for the rest of the film. And his delivery of the line ‘not the better
half’ when Rose tells him ‘half the people on this ship are going to die’ is a
deeply chilling moment of cinematic villainy.
The love story
Somebody once told me Titanic
was Romeo and Juliet on a boat. With Leo just coming off Baz Luhrmann’s take
on that Shakespearean tragedy, it was easy to believe. But unlike R&J, we have a surviving member of the doomed couple to relate
the story to us. Yes it’s a tragic love
story and Rose is promised to a man she does not love, while her family
disapproves of her new found bit of rough Jack but the class dimension adds a
lot more to this tale of forbidden romance.
Her mother wants what is ‘best’ for Rose (and herself) and Cal might actually truly
love her. But her desire for more from
her life leads her into a collision with the free spirited Jack and it’s a
romance we can root for.
It also has one of the sexiest scenes in cinema
history. No, not the couple copping off
in the back of a car (“Put your hands on me Jack”) but the moment Jack draws Rose
‘like one of his French girls’. The
sparkle in Winslet’s eyes as she disrobes for the blushing Jack is
irresistible.
The ship
“From the outset, Cameron was
determined to spare no expense when it came to technical realism. That was why
he built three massive sets in huge, man-made, concrete-lined "lakes"
for the movie's shooting. It was also why he rented a submersible to dive down
to the real Titanic wreck and photograph it. And it was why he demanded that
the set designs--from the style of the carpeting to the patterns on the wood
moldings--faithfully re-create the original.Given those demands, giant scale models were the only viable option. Unlike most sea-based films, which make heavy use of models measuring a mere 10 or 15 feet long, Titanic would come as close as possible to the real article. Engineers on the project ultimately built a scale model measuring 775 feet long--about 90% of the size of the original” http://www.designnews.com/document.asp?doc_id=226839
How cool is that?
Tomorrow I will post part 2 where I will consider the historically accurate details Cameron included in the film, the messages that can be taken from the story, and whether this new 3D release is cashing in or commemorating.
