Titanic

"Titanic the film is like Titanic the ship, a creation of exaggerated grandeur, a product of human hubris hurtling towards an iceberg." (The reaction at the time, when the film's budget was (again) increased and its release was (again) postponed.) Titanic is undoubtedly one of the most admired and widely hated films, and one that perhaps only a small handful of people have never seen. I first came across Titanic around 2001-2 when I discovered it recorded on VHS at a relative's house - and to use one of the most clichéd catchphrases, it was "love at first sight". As the years went by, my admiration for James Cameron's homage to the world's most famous liner deepened and refined; to a large extent, I later became interested in the story of the ship itself, whose fate fascinated and attracted me in a kind of chilling way. Cameron has without a doubt managed to portray the last five days of "the life of a ship that even God himself could not sink" in a truly believable way, and has become one of my favourite directors, a position that has only strengthened with each film. It is difficult to write something new about a film that has already been reviewed on by others, but (especially) in this case I will repeat myself. Titanic is one of the last blockbusters that was not made purely in front of a green screen, but featured proper and hand-crafted scenes with realistic sets that were artfully blended with CGI. If you watch it for the umpteenth time, you begin to notice things that escape most audiences on first viewing. I'm thinking now of the skillful blend between the shots of the real (mock-up) ship and the CGI version, which is to highlight the editing work (despite one of the most glaring errors, Rose breaking the glass in the hold). Overall, from a technical point of view, this is a film that, even after all the years since its premiere, is qualitatively superior to many films from current production thanks to the aforementioned and mostly realistically created visual effects, the precise camera work (especially the scenes with and from the water must have been a real challenge) and the sound effects, which authentically approximated the environment of the metal colossus. Apart from the purely technical aspects, it is impossible not to mention the iconic and breathtaking musical score, composed by James Horner, which I always like to come back to (my personal favourites are “Death of Titanic” and “Hard to Starboard”). The title song from the mouth of Canadian diva Céline Dion never tires me and I must not forget to mention and praise the amazing vocals of Norwegian soprano Sissel, which accompanied the viewer's ears from the beginning to the end of the film. As far as the story itself is concerned, one of its biggest drawbacks was the fact that we know from history how the ship will end up, and therefore it was necessary to add a non-historical line, which, however, caused an unpleasant aftertaste of kitsch for many viewers. Even though Jack and Rose is a more contemporary and mature take on the Romeo and Juliet relationship, I still had not the slightest problem with this short but all the more intense relationship and really wished both of them (not just on first viewing) a "happily ever after" together. To this day I still seek out films with both of the title actors, whom I already liked at the time, with Kate Winslet becoming my No. 1 favourite actress. To return to the plot, I very much enjoyed the framing of the story in the present day, which created fertile ground for a nostalgic return to 1912. I could talk about Titanic for hours and hours and each time I would come up with new insights or food for discussion - the same goes for each viewing. Despite its considerable number of technical and factual errors, Titanic is a film whose quality has certainly not diminished with time and has resisted the ravages of time with complete ease. (In the 2012 remastered version, some of the mistakes were even "tweaked" - e.g. the starry sky or the colour of the broken chimney). For me personally, this is a film that will always have great emotional as well as artistic value. You can really feel how intense Cameron's relationship with the infamous ship is. First he introduces us to its lavish spaces and to its various residents, only to have (almost) everything destroyed in the second half. In closing, I would like to say that I am eternally grateful to everyone involved for such a great cinematic experience. I often say with cult and legendary films that I can understand any rating, but in the case of Titanic, I especially don't understand the numerous Boo! ratings, because no matter how irritated you may feel by the story, its (not only) technical qualities cannot be denied. The eleven Oscars and the colossal sales in cinemas are proof of that! (07/13/2009) (less) (more)