titanic movie review essay 200 words

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Like a great iron Sphinx on the ocean floor, the Titanic faces still toward the West, interrupted forever on its only voyage. We see it in the opening shots of “Titanic,” encrusted with the silt of 85 years; a remote-controlled TV camera snakes its way inside, down corridors and through doorways, showing us staterooms built for millionaires and inherited by crustaceans.

These shots strike precisely the right note; the ship calls from its grave for its story to be told, and if the story is made of showbiz and hype, smoke and mirrors--well, so was the Titanic. She was “the largest moving work of man in all history,” a character boasts, neatly dismissing the Pyramids and the Great Wall. There is a shot of her, early in the film, sweeping majestically beneath the camera from bow to stern, nearly 900 feet long and “unsinkable,” it was claimed, until an iceberg made an irrefutable reply.

James Cameron's 194-minute, $200 million film of the tragic voyage is in the tradition of the great Hollywood epics. It is flawlessly crafted, intelligently constructed, strongly acted and spellbinding. If its story stays well within the traditional formulas for such pictures, well, you don't choose the most expensive film ever made as your opportunity to reinvent the wheel.

We know before the movie begins that certain things must happen. We must see the Titanic sail and sink, and be convinced we are looking at a real ship. There must be a human story--probably a romance--involving a few of the passengers. There must be vignettes involving some of the rest and a subplot involving the arrogance and pride of the ship's builders--and perhaps also their courage and dignity. And there must be a reenactment of the ship's terrible death throes; it took two and a half hours to sink, so that everyone aboard had time to know what was happening, and to consider their actions.

All of those elements are present in Cameron's “Titanic,” weighted and balanced like ballast, so that the film always seems in proportion. The ship was made out of models (large and small), visual effects and computer animation. You know intellectually that you're not looking at a real ocean liner--but the illusion is convincing and seamless. The special effects don't call inappropriate attention to themselves but get the job done.

The human story involves an 17-year-old woman named Rose DeWitt Bukater ( Kate Winslet ) who is sailing to what she sees as her own personal doom: She has been forced by her penniless mother to become engaged to marry a rich, supercilious snob named Cal Hockley ( Billy Zane ), and so bitterly does she hate this prospect that she tries to kill herself by jumping from the ship. She is saved by Jack Dawson ( Leonardo DiCaprio ), a brash kid from steerage, and of course they will fall in love during the brief time left to them.

The screenplay tells their story in a way that unobtrusively shows off the ship. Jack is invited to join Rose's party at dinner in the first class dining room, and later, fleeing from Cal's manservant, Lovejoy ( David Warner ), they find themselves first in the awesome engine room, with pistons as tall as churches, and then at a rousing Irish dance in the crowded steerage. (At one point Rose gives Lovejoy the finger; did young ladies do that in 1912?) Their exploration is intercut with scenes from the command deck, where the captain ( Bernard Hill ) consults with Andrews ( Victor Garber ), the ship's designer and Ismay ( Jonathan Hyde ), the White Star Line's managing director.

Ismay wants the ship to break the trans-Atlantic speed record. He is warned that icebergs may have floated into the hazardous northern crossing but is scornful of danger. The Titanic can easily break the speed record but is too massive to turn quickly at high speed; there is an agonizing sequence that almost seems to play in slow motion, as the ship strains and shudders to turn away from an iceberg in its path--and fails.

We understand exactly what is happening at that moment because of an ingenious story technique by Cameron, who frames and explains the entire voyage in a modern story. The opening shots of the real Titanic, we are told, are obtained during an expedition led by Brock Lovett ( Bill Paxton ), an undersea explorer. He seeks precious jewels but finds a nude drawing of a young girl. Meanwhile, an ancient woman sees the drawing on TV and recognizes herself. This is Rose (Gloria Stuart), still alive at 101. She visits Paxton and shares her memories (“I can still smell the fresh paint”). And he shows her video scenes from his explorations, including a computer simulation of the Titanic's last hours--which doubles as a briefing for the audience. By the time the ship sinks, we already know what is happening and why, and the story can focus on the characters while we effortlessly follow the stages of the Titanic's sinking.

Movies like this are not merely difficult to make at all, but almost impossible to make well. The technical difficulties are so daunting that it's a wonder when the filmmakers are also able to bring the drama and history into proportion. I found myself convinced by both the story and the saga. The setup of the love story is fairly routine, but the payoff--how everyone behaves as the ship is sinking--is wonderfully written, as passengers are forced to make impossible choices. Even the villain, played by Zane, reveals a human element at a crucial moment (despite everything, damn it all, he does love the girl).

The image from the Titanic that has haunted me, ever since I first read the story of the great ship, involves the moments right after it sank. The night sea was quiet enough so that cries for help carried easily across the water to the lifeboats, which drew prudently away. Still dressed up in the latest fashions, hundreds froze and drowned. What an extraordinary position to find yourself in after spending all that money for a ticket on an unsinkable ship.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Film credits.

Titanic (1997)

Rated PG-13 For Shipwreck Scenes, Mild Language and Sexuality

194 minutes

Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson

Kate Winslet as Rose Dewitt Bukater

Bill Paxton as Brock Lovett

Kathy Bates as Molly Brown

Billy Zane as Cal Hockley

Written and Directed by

• James Cameron

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My Favorite Movie: Titanic (Essay Sample)

Table of Contents

Introduction

What’s your favorite film? Writing an essay on a movie that made an impact on your heart is a fun and memorable experience. It is a time of revisiting your emotional journey through a narrative that resonated with you.

This essay outlines one’s favorite film, which happens to be Titanic. It contains a summary of the author’s highlights of his immersive experience with the movie.

Got a movie you like that you want to write about? Contact us for essay writing help . We can match you with a writer who can help you come up with a well-crafted article.

My Favorite Movie: Titanic

Titanic will always be my favorite movie, not only because of the historical relevance of the movie’s storyline. The scenery featured in the movie and the assertiveness and brilliance of the actors makes the movie stand head and shoulder above all others.

A 1997 hit, Titanic emotionally unveils the bittersweet story of two teenagers who encounter each other on a ship and are instantly smitten. Jack Dawson (Leonardo di Caprio) and Rose Bukater (Kate Winslet), while on the RMS Titanic on its maiden voyage from the coast of England to the United States, fall in love at first sight, despite their different social classes. Dawson, a young and talented artist from a poor background, and Rose, a young woman married to a wealthy but cruel older man who she does not love, have an intense whirlwind affair on the ship.

Directed by filmmaker James Cameron, Titanic reveals the nature of you-and-me-against-the-world relationships that exist in society, which continue to be mirrored in this day and age. While still frowned upon by more traditional segments of society today, a teenage girl from a wealthy family can get married to a poor boy from a humble background,  as long as the two are in love.

Why Titanic is The Ultimate Love Story

Apart from the power of love thriving and surviving in every situation as a dominant theme, Titanic reminds us that we can find love anywhere regardless of the prevailing situation.

A particularly poignant scene shows Rose about to jump off the back of the ship into the cold ocean water when Jack tells her, “I’ll be right after you.” He was ready to jump into the water to save her.  Another favorite moment of mine is when the ship’s crew’s attention is drawn to Jack and Rose as they make love on the ship’s deck, just as the ship hits an iceberg.

The death of 1500 out of 2200 people on board and the frantic effort to save some of the passengers add to the tragic beauty of the story. It was a heartbreaking backdrop to Jack trying to save his lover as the bitter-cold ocean water sweeps onto the deck, flinging many passengers out into the sea. Despite many people opposing their romance, most notably Rose’s mother, their courage to face the odds reinforces the theme of timeless and bold love.

Little details in the film’s cinematography make the story more compelling. The dance of the dolphins rhythmically aligns itself to the movement of the ship, the warmth of the glorious sunshine greeting the faces of excited travelers, and a masterful soundtrack create a glorious backdrop to a tale worth telling.

Few movies inspire as much emotion as Titanic. It definitely stands out for its combination of intelligent elements and perfect acting. The main actors bring out the message of the movie clearly, and they thoughtfully and sensitively embody the situation and life of the twentieth century as well as the modern times.

Finally, I love how Celine Dion interpreted the theme song, “My Heart Will Go On.” It achingly reflects the journey of the star-crossed lovers, and the resolve to move forward with life to do that love justice even when their time together has ended. The hopeful lyrics, penned by Will Jennings, are so well-written.

The 1997 movie Titanic remains to be my all-time favorite movie. Every aspect of the movie,  from casting to scene selection, is done flawlessly and the themes are woven into every scene clearly and perfectly.

Titanic Essay In 200 Words

No other Hollywood-made love story hits me just as much as that of Jack Dawson and Rose Bukator in the award-winning picture Titanic. I simply could not get through the whole movie without a box of tissues and a glass of wine.

The journey of these two characters and their evolution as lovers are beautiful to watch. Though hailing from opposite social classes, being stuck together on a ship caused them to see past their differences and fall head-over-heels in love.

Director James Cameron’s guidance of Kate Winslet and Leonardo di Caprio is commendable. Although the two actors are already brilliant and have good Hollywood track records to begin with, his oversight really helped them bring out the essence of the main characters. Billy Zane deserves recognition as well, as he played a villain with a believable motivation.

Though only Rose survived at the very end, I was satisfied with the way that Titanic ended. It had its own take on a heartbreaking but hopeful ending. It made me look back on the couple’s best moments together on the ship, but also wish Rose well on a new chapter of her journey without Jack.

What about you? What’s your favorite movie?

How To Start A Talk About Your Favorite Film?

Talking about something that has made such an incredible mark on your life should not be so difficult. It should, as a matter of fact, come quite naturally to us. In writing about something from the silver screen that you found unforgettable, before reviewing the actual scenes and lines, it is good to always begin first with your “Why.” Why did I find this film so thrilling? What was it about the movie that I connected with so passionately? How did the experience of the artists enrich the characters? How did the cinematography provide an interesting background for the journey to unfold? How did I see the director’s influence on the acting and styling of the set? How does it compare to some of the films in my list of favorites?

How To Write A Reaction Paper About Titanic Movie?

In order to excellently pen a reaction paper about Titanic, you should first recall your very own reactions to the film, especially during your first time watching it. What were the raw emotions that you felt, whether positive or negative? What roused you and what bored you? What parts of it satisfied you and what scenes left you hanging? Identifying the key elements that provoked you to react is crucial in figuring out how you’re going to write that paper. It is a process of you thoughtfully dissecting Titanic and pointing out the areas that you liked and didn’t like.

“Titanic” by James Cameron: The Design of the American Epic Romance Film Essay (Critical Writing)

With masterful planning, the design and the production of the Titanic is a marvel that moved the film industry to higher levels. The film director and producer, James Cameron, and other crewmembers succeeded in bringing to the world’s attention the events that surrounded the greatest maritime disaster that claimed about 1,500 lives.

By paying meticulous attention to detail, the production designer of the film, Peter Lamont, succeeded in creating the ‘world’ of the film. He did this with the intention of avoiding the restrictions that comes with film production in the actual environment. More over, this enabled him to tackle the possible variables in the production process (Barnwell, 2004).

In order to design the ship’s interior such that it looked like the original one, the crewmembers used artifacts from that era. Nonetheless, the design crew was forced to make everything from scratch since everything had to be new. Consequently, forty acres of waterfront in Rosarito Beach in Mexico was obtained for constructing seventeen-million-gallon tank for the outer surfaces of the reconstructed massive vessel (Champkin, 2010).

The super-tank was beneficial for filming since it provided two hundred and seventy degrees of ocean view. In spite of the ship being constructed to full scale, the production designer took out unnecessary sections of the vessel. He then moved forward the well deck to ensure that the vessel was able to fit in the tank. The other parts that were not catered for were then filled with digital models.

The length of the ship’s lifeboats and funnels were reduced considerably, excluding the boat deck and the A-deck, the other sections of the superstructure were steel plated, and a fifty-foot lifting platform was included such that the ship could sink as planned. Referring to the design of the original structure, the production design crew reproduced the exact representation of its interior.

Other sections of the ship, such as the liner’s first class, were built out of real wood using photographs and plans of the original ship. During the ship’s sinking, the designs true to the originals were also actually destroyed. The custom building of the ship was meant to validate the historical detail of the movie.

The effects that the filmmakers used in the movie are marvelous. Previous movies about the 1912 catastrophe had depicted the water to be in a slow motion.

However, the film producer was not convinced of this and he ensured that the shooting of the forty-five foot long miniature of the ship was done perfectly. Thereafter, there was some incorporation of digital water as well as smoke. Some extras shot on a motion capture stage were also incorporated and for the digital extras and stuntmen, the faces of several actors were scanned to produce the visual effects.

The production design included a sixty-five foot long representation of the original ship’s stern. This was intended to divide it into two parts repeatedly when depicting the sinking scene. In order to depict the scenes that were set in the ship’s engine, wreckage of a liberty ship used during the Second World War were used.

This was combined with a number of miniature support frames to depict the occurrences at the ship’s engine. The actors who played a role in this scene were filmed using the chroma key compositing technique. The detailed design of the ship was meant to support the narrative such that the occurrences could be as desired.

In order to sink the interiors of the ship, about nineteen million-litre tank was used. It was designed such that, during the sinking scene, the whole set could be tilted into the sea. For sinking the Grand Staircase, three hundred and forty thousand litres of water were placed inside the set as it was being lowered into the huge tank; however, contrary to the plan, the fall of the water destroyed the staircase.

The first half of the seven hundred and forty-four foot long outer walls of the ship were first allowed to get into the tank. However, as it was the weightiest section of the ship, it smoothed out the shock impulse against the water.

This assisted in enabling the set to get into the water. During the sinking, much water was released from the set. Following the successful sinking of the dining saloon, about seventy-two hours were utilized in filming Lovett’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) navigating the shattered pieces in the present. After sinking the ship, the other scenes were filmed in the sub-zero Atlantic Ocean in 1.3 million-litre tank.

The frozen dead bodies were generated by applying fine powder on the actors. This crystallized on exposure to the water at sub-zero temperature. In addition, their hair and clothes were covered with a waxy material to show that their bodies were starting to decompose.

Perhaps the most visually dramatic special effects of the movie relates to the climactic scene in which the filmmakers depict the ship to be breaking up into two separate parts before going under. To achieve this, a full-sized set was tilted, together with one hundred and fifty extras and one hundred stunt performers.

Ultimately, the ship plunged to the bottom of the frozen ocean. The film producer, Cameron, stated that the previous versions of the film did not portray the incident as chaotic as it should have been since they represented the final plunge into the ocean as a graceful slow event. To portray this, Cameron instructed the actors to fall off dangerously on the side of the ship that was slowly sinking.

However, this was unsuccessful as some people got injured. Ultimately, to make the sequence less dangerous, images of individuals created using computer was used to depict this risky falls. The ship was designed, as described above, such that this could occur as desired. This also assisted in supporting the narrative of the film.

In spite of the success of the film, there are a number of critical reactions to its design. Notable is the high cost of its design. With a budget of two hundred million dollars, the production team of the movie have been criticized for only managing to construct a half of the original ship.

This meant that some scenes were shot and reversed when the filmmakers wanted to portray the occurrences on the other side of the ship. Some critics have said, “It is flawlessly crafted, intelligently constructed, strongly acted and spellbinding. If its story stays well within the traditional formulas for such pictures, well, you don’t choose the most expensive film ever made as your opportunity to reinvent the wheel” (Ebert, 1997, para. 3).

In conclusion, since the events in the movie took place over ninety years ago, the production crew attempted to tailor the actions in the film to their historical context. Therefore, various technologies and effects were used to achieve this. In addition, the design of the American epic romance film was such that it supported the narrative. Despite of the film’s critical reaction to its design, it highly regarded as one of the best movies ever produced.

Barnwell, J., 2004. Production Design . London: Wallflower Press.

Champkin, J., 2010. The making of titanic; the real story behind the film of the year. Web.

Ebert, R., 1997. Titanic . Rogerbert. Web.

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IvyPanda. (2018, July 20). “Titanic” by James Cameron: The Design of the American Epic Romance Film. https://ivypanda.com/essays/film-review-titanic/

"“Titanic” by James Cameron: The Design of the American Epic Romance Film." IvyPanda , 20 July 2018, ivypanda.com/essays/film-review-titanic/.

IvyPanda . (2018) '“Titanic” by James Cameron: The Design of the American Epic Romance Film'. 20 July.

IvyPanda . 2018. "“Titanic” by James Cameron: The Design of the American Epic Romance Film." July 20, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/film-review-titanic/.

1. IvyPanda . "“Titanic” by James Cameron: The Design of the American Epic Romance Film." July 20, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/film-review-titanic/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "“Titanic” by James Cameron: The Design of the American Epic Romance Film." July 20, 2018. https://ivypanda.com/essays/film-review-titanic/.

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Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Titanic — The Enduring Impact of Titanic: Themes, Characters, and Narrative

The Enduring Impact of Titanic: Themes, Characters, and Narrative

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Published: Feb 12, 2024

Words: 493 | Page: 1 | 3 min read

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The film titanic, the characters in titanic, the engaging narrative structure of titanic.

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Titanic: a Closer Look – Film Summary and Analysis

This essay will provide a detailed exploration of the Titanic, delving into its history, construction, and the fateful maiden voyage that ended in tragedy. It will examine the factors that led to the sinking, including technological failures, human error, and the ship’s design. The piece will also discuss the cultural and historical impact of the Titanic disaster, as well as its enduring legacy in popular culture and maritime safety reforms. On PapersOwl, there’s also a selection of free essay templates associated with Analysis.

How it works

The Titanic was a film like no other, offering audiences all aspects that they love to watch in one movie. It included a compelling love story based on a historical reference of the sinking of the Titanic.

The Titanic offered a captivating story the was based on the real-life events on the sinking of the Titanic ship. It did all of this while also portraying the story with attractive protagonists that made the story even more appealing because it offered many generations to also see romance, and a love story the audience knew most likely wasn’t going to end well knowing the fate of the Titanic. The film was influenced by audiences need for tragedy and use of a real-life event, that was the sinking of the Titanic. The film influenced other films with its use of making a real-life event into a fiction love story, it made audiences feel that this event could have happened in the real-life event. The film impacted a whole generation with its captivating storyline, use of directorial skills, and character development.

The film accomplished exactly what its generation was looking for, they needed a storyline that made them feel for its characters because of the love story that ends in tragedy. Titanic accomplished its goal of making people feel and then some. Cameron made the feeling of sadness that the movie goers would feel at the end almost addicting to them. Audiences would go watch the film more than once sometimes three to four times, this was also not just in the United States. People in other countries would go watch the film more than once even in countries like France where it was not known for people to go watch films more than once (Ansen, D., Brown, C., Sawhill, R., Yahlin, C., & Takayama, H. ,1998). The films story was an original story with the touch of real life events that was the sinking of the Titanic. The film made audiences fall in love with the characters and the love story and basically took it all away from them at the end. The film touched audience’s emotions in ways that they were not expecting when they first watched the film. Its Audiences enjoyed the feelings that the film made them experience even if it ended in tragedy, that aspect was what was most appealing to the audience because they may have felt like this extravagant love story could have happened aboard the Titanic.

The films story gave audiences hope that people that lived in two completely different worlds such as Jack being the poor guy, and Rose the rich girl could grow to fall in love so deeply regardless of their social status. It made people believe in love at least for the three hours and 14 minutes that the movie lasted. That is a powerful thing for a movie to achieve. It gives the idea that money does not matter and has nothing to do with happiness, but that love is what brings happiness. This especially was attractive to the younger teens that watched the movie countless times after its release. It also related to teens in the sense that they could relate to the rebellion that Rose was demonstrating to her mother and her finance. Rose’s mother did not want Rose to lose her fiancé because she did not want to lose the money that was in store if Rose did marry. The film made people of all ages believe that there was a thing such as true love out there, females especially thought that there might me a Jack for them and guys imagined that there might be a Rose out waiting for them also. Although the movie had great special effects such as the scene of the Titanic actually sinking, the emotions and the love story conveyed on screen is what really impacted the audience. In essence the people aboard the Titanic is what made the film so great, such as when they were all waiting for their death and the scenes that Cameron was able to capture of the passengers in their final moments of life.

The characters in the film also made it possible for audiences to fall in love with the film. James Cameron the director of the film made two great choices in the protagonist of the film with Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack, and Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt. When Leonardo was cast in the role he was still a relatively unknown actor, only starring in a few select films before the Titanic such as Romeo and Juliet. Cameron made sure the he cast Leonardo instead of a more well-known heartthrob knowing that Leonardo was the right man for the job, He also made sure the Jack was portrayed as the man of any woman’s dream with barely any flaws to his personality. Jack lite up the screen every time he was had a scene and that worked out for the film in the end because every girl fell in love with Jack just like Rose did.

James Cameron’s directorial skills is also what made the film what it is and why it made the impact that it did on our society. Cameron was a director that has much passion about the films that he makes. He did not skimp on the amount of money that was spent on the film, just the scene that demonstrates the ship sinking cost the studio $4.5 million. Cameron is a director that does not care whether he makes a profit on a film because he believes in his art which is movie making. He made sure that everything in the film looked as authentic as possible including the costumes that they wore to the most minimal detail that the average movie goer probably didn’t even notice. Cameron could capture the time period that the film was set in perfectly down to the last detail. Cameron was also very hands on with the film and made sure that he always worked as hard as he could on the film. He also worked his actors hard so that the film could look as authentic as possible, especially the scene where Jack and Rose were at the end in the water, since they had to be inside the cold water for hours on end. If anyone else had directed Titanic it would not have had the same impact that it did and still had had in our society. Cameron’s directorial skills took its audience to the movie itself, making its audience experience the movie and not just watch it.

Titanic had a great influence on the films that came after it, but not necessarily on the artistic way, instead making other filmmakers try to strive to gain the $1 billion that Titanic was able to reach worldwide that no other film had done before it. Unlike Cameron that could reach to that point with a love story, other filmmakers reached that point mainly with sequels. They would make already big hits in the box office, for example like the Harry Potter series into an even bigger film with the sequels that followed it (Corliss, R. 2012). A sequel would usually be the film that was able to hit the $1 billion mark at the box office. Cameron was able to achieve this without a sequel and not using the same format the films that followed the Titanic. The films that followed the hero usually prevails at the end while in the Titanic the ship sinks and the hero being Jack dies and the end. James Cameron was able to beat his own box office record with his film Avatar. Titanic changed movies forever in the way that movies now focused more on the money aspect than the story and art aspect of it. Titanic was one of the most expensive films to make, but it ended up paying off in the end since it did reach the $1 billion mark at the box office. Many films following that made tried making their films as big as possible in order to achieve that same goal, which made the films actually lack many of the things that made Titanic great such as the narrative and the originality of the film.

Titanic also had an influence on society because it changed the way that we went to the movies. Before Titanic movie goers did not have the habit of going to see that same movie more than once at the theater. While when Titanic came out in theaters people, especially the younger generation would go see the movie more than once. It made audiences sit through a movie that was more than 3 hours long and enjoy every minute of it. This opened audiences to especially American audiences to broaden their horizons when it comes to long movies because even though they are long it does not mean that they are bad movies, just like Titanic proved.

Titanic has proven to be a film great for all times, with its storyline that kept audiences all around the world entranced to the screen. Its characters on the screen that could perfectly capture the love that they felt towards each other regardless of the odds that they faced because of their social status. It made people believe in love and feel emotions that they were not necessarily expecting when the ship sank and most of the people died, including the hero of the film and Roses true love. James Cameron’s directorial skills and the amount of risk taking that he had on the film was also what made the film be as impactful as it was and still is to this day. He had such great attention to detail and cared so much about his film that he was able to capture the time period and its characters perfectly that really took the audience to the time period and really made them feel the story. He was also able to push his actors in ways that they would act totally authentic in their roles. Titanic also changed the way that people made movies, production studios focused more on the money aspect of movie making then before. Since Titanic was one of the most expensive movies to make, but it was also the highest grossing film in the box office having reach $1billion, they wanted to produce even more films of that magnitude after Titanic.

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Titanic (United States, 1997)

Short of climbing aboard a time capsule and peeling back eight and one-half decades, James Cameron's magnificent Titanic is the closest any of us will get to walking the decks of the doomed ocean liner. Meticulous in detail, yet vast in scope and intent, Titanic is the kind of epic motion picture event that has become a rarity. You don't just watch Titanic , you experience it -- from the launch to the sinking, then on a journey two and one-half miles below the surface, into the cold, watery grave where Cameron has shot never-before seen documentary footage specifically for this movie.

In each of his previous outings, Cameron has pushed the special effects envelope. In Aliens , he cloned H.R. Giger's creation dozens of times, fashioning an army of nightmarish monsters. In The Abyss , he took us deep under the sea to greet a band of benevolent space travelers. In T2 , he introduced the morphing terminator (perfecting an effects process that was pioneered in The Abyss ). And in True Lies , he used digital technology to choreograph an in-air battle. Now, in Titanic , Cameron's flawless re-creation of the legendary ship has blurred the line between reality and illusion to such a degree that we can't be sure what's real and what isn't. To make this movie, it's as if Cameron built an all-new Titanic , let it sail, then sunk it.

Of course, special effects alone don't make for a successful film, and Titanic would have been nothing more than an expensive piece of eye candy without a gripping story featuring interesting characters. In his previous outings, Cameron has always placed people above the technological marvels that surround them. Unlike film makers such as Roland Emmerich and Dean Devlin, Cameron has used visual effects to serve his plot, not the other way around. That hasn't changed with Titanic . The picture's spectacle is the ship's sinking, but its core is the affair between a pair of mismatched, star-crossed lovers.

Titanic is a romance, an adventure, and a thriller all rolled into one. It contains moments of exuberance, humor, pathos, and tragedy. In their own way, the characters are all larger-than- life, but they're human enough (with all of the attendant frailties) to capture our sympathy. Perhaps the most amazing thing about Titanic is that, even though Cameron carefully recreates the death of the ship in all of its terrible grandeur, the event never eclipses the protagonists. To the end, we never cease caring about Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio).

Titanic sank during the early morning hours of April 15, 1912 in the North Atlantic, killing 1500 of the 2200 on board. The movie does not begin in 1912, however -- instead, it opens in modern times, with a salvage expedition intent on recovering some of the ship's long-buried treasure. The expedition is led by Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton), a fortune hunter who is searching for the mythical "Heart of the Ocean", a majestic 56 karat diamond which reputedly went down with the ship. After seeing a TV report about the salvage mission, a 101-year old woman (Gloria Stuart) contacts Brock with information regarding the jewel. She identifies herself as Rose DeWitt Bukater, a survivor of the tragedy. Brock has her flown out to his ship. Once there, she tells him her version of the story of Titanic 's ill-fated voyage.

The bulk of the film -- well over 80% of its running time -- is spent in flashbacks. We pick up the story on the day that Titanic leaves Southampton, with jubilant crowds cheering as it glides away from land. On board are the movie's three main characters: Rose, a young American debutante trapped in a loveless engagement because her mother is facing financial ruin; Cal Hockley (Billy Zane), her rich-but-cold-hearted fiancé; and Jack Dawson, a penniless artist who won his third-class ticket in a poker game. When Jack first sees Rose, it's from afar, but circumstances offer him the opportunity to become much closer to her. As the voyage continues, Jack and Rose grow more intimate, and she tries to summon up the courage to defy her mother (Frances Fisher) and break off her engagement. But, even with the aid of an outspoken rich women named Molly Brown (Kathy Bates), the barrier of class looms as a seemingly-insurmountable obstacle. Then, when circumstances in the Rose/Cal/Jack triangle are coming to a head, Titanic strikes an iceberg and the "unsinkable" ship (that term is a testament to man's hubris) begins to go down.

By keeping the focus firmly on Rose and Jack, Cameron avoids one frequent failing of epic disaster movies: too many characters in too many stories. When a film tries to chronicle the lives and struggles of a dozen or more individuals, it reduces them all to cardboard cut-outs. In Titanic , Rose and Jack are at the fore from beginning to end, and the supporting characters are just that -- supporting. The two protagonists (as well as Cal) are accorded enough screen time for Cameron to develop multifaceted personalities.

As important as the characters are, however, it's impossible to deny the power of the visual effects. Especially during the final hour, as Titanic undergoes its death throes, the film functions not only as a rousing adventure with harrowing escapes, but as a testimony to the power of computers to simulate reality in the modern motion picture. The scenes of Titanic going under are some of the most awe-inspiring in any recent film. This is the kind of movie that it's necessary to see more than once just to appreciate the level of detail.

One of the most unique aspects of Titanic is its use of genuine documentary images to set the stage for the flashback story. Not satisfied with the reels of currently-existing footage of the sunken ship, Cameron took a crew to the site of the wreck to do his own filming. As a result, some of the underwater shots in the framing sequences are of the actual liner lying on the ocean floor. Their importance and impact should not be underestimated, since they further heighten the production's sense of verisimilitude.

For the leading romantic roles of Jack and Rose, Cameron has chosen two of today's finest young actors. Leonardo DiCaprio ( Romeo + Juliet ), who has rarely done better work, has shed his cocky image. Instead, he's likable and energetic in this part -- two characteristics vital to establishing Jack as a hero. Meanwhile, Kate Winslet, whose impressive resume includes Sense and Sensibility, Hamlet , and Jude , dons a flawless American accent along with her 1912 garb, and essays an appealing, vulnerable Rose. Billy Zane comes across as the perfect villain -- callous, arrogant, yet displaying true affection for his prized fiancé. The supporting cast, which includes Kathy Bates, Bill Paxton, Frances Fisher, Bernard Hill (as Titanic 's captain), and David Warner (as Cal's no-nonsense manservant), is flawless.

While Titanic is easily the most subdued and dramatic of Cameron's films, fans of more frantic pictures like Aliens and The Abyss will not be disappointed. Titanic has all of the thrills and intensity that movie-goers have come to expect from the director. A dazzling mix of style and substance, of the sublime and the spectacular, Titanic represents Cameron's most accomplished work to date. It's important not to let the running time hold you back -- these three-plus hour pass very quickly. Although this telling of the Titanic story is far from the first, it is the most memorable, and is deserving of Oscar nominations not only in the technical categories, but in the more substantive ones of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress.

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Movie Review: The Titanic

The Titanic is one of the twentieth century’s most famous films. Kate Winslet plays Rose DeWitt Bukater, Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jack Dawson, Billy Zane plays Caledon ‘Cal’ Hockley, Gloria Stuart plays Old Rose, Kathy Bates plays Molly Brown, and Bill Paxton plays Brock Lovett (Reporters, Telegraph). The film’s genres are mystery and romance, and people above the age of 18 are permitted to watch it. The film was the most expensive to be released at the time of its release, with a budget of nearly $200 million dollars (Huang 22). The thing that makes the movie so outstanding from other movies it is the ability that the director capture historical event to near perfect. James Cameroon movie remains one of my favourite films of all time because it captures a historical event and keeps the story going, enduring love story, superb acting, and masterful direction.

The movie starts in the present day the dark ages of the 1990s with the Bill Paxton crew searching the wreck of the legendary Titanic ship. Upon finding the wreck of the ship, they find a drawing of a woman wearing the diamond they were looking for (Reporters, Telegraph). Upon taking the picture to the media, Lovett receives a phone call from an old lady who claims she is the one on the picture. Nobody at the time believes the old woman, but they decide to fly her in any way. At the time Rose seems she was not interested in taking a trip with the unsinkable ship and she is travelling with her fiancé and her mother (Huang 18). On the other hand, Jack is playing poker game and the tickets to get on the Titanic are at risk. He wins the game, and together with his friend, they rush to get on board. Jack meets Rose when she is trying to throw herself off the ship. At this point, Jack is detained for trying to assault rose but save Jack at last with a story she makes up.

Jack steal Rose heart at takes her dancing below the deck and draws her nude the picture that Bill Paxton and his crew find in the wreck of the ship. This scene makes Rose fall in love with Jack and opens herself to him, and they end up sealing their love in the back of the car. While the love drama between Jack, Rose, and Cal is going one, the Titanic has her woes. The ship increase speed to reach New York earlier that anticipated but the speed makes its hard for the crew to spot an iceberg that is ahead of them (Huang 17). The damage created by the iceberg is immense, and it makes the ship to start sinking. Sadly the lifeboats are not adequate to execute every passenger in the ship. However, Jack and Rose do not make it to the lifeboats and decide to back to the ship, but they manage to avoid drowning. They find a door that Rose can float on. The movie ends with a spectacular scene with Rose dying in her bed with photos.

The costuming of the Titanic is elaborate, and it makes the film is considered a formalist cinema. The film is formalist as it makes use of heroes such beautiful women Rose and courageous Jack. The story takes place Titanic on of the most prestigious and biggest liner ever built, and the scenes are exotic. Mainly the director Cameron succeeds in linking the young film lovers Rose and Jack. Moreover, the movie makes use of symbolism on several occasions (Huang 12). The greatest symbolism in the movie comes evident when Jack attends the party with the life that Rose is trying to escape while the same life is the one that Jack is yawning for. Moreover, the opposite happens when Jack takes Rose down to the lower, and the viewers experience her being a cheerful and newfound personality (Reporters, Telegraph). Consequently, the diamond neckless rose wearing is a symbolism of the undying love between Rose and Jack. Similarly, the Titanic is considered to have both realistic and romantic. The facts that at the end of the movie Jack dies is practical. Further, the use of distorted cameras in the camera angles, camera movement, and wide-angle shot makes a move have a realistic feeling.

In conclusion, the Titanic remain one of the best movie ever produced. The genre of the film is both drama and romance with people over the age of 18 allowed to watch the film. Mainly the director Cameron succeeds in linking the young film lovers Rose and Jack. Moreover, the film makes use of symbolism on several occasions. The greatest symbolism in the movie comes evident when Jack attends the party with the life that Rose is trying to escape while the same life is the one that Jack is yawning for. The movie captures a historical event effectively bring out the events that took place at the time.

Works Cited

Huang, Yu-kai. “A cognitive investigation of love metaphors: A multimodal analysis of sea journey in Titanic.” (2016).

Reporters, Telegraph. “Titanic Is On TV Tonight – But How Much Did We Like It Back In 1997? Read The Original Telegraph Review”. The Telegraph, 2017, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/12/21/titanic-tv-tonight-much-did-like-back-1997-read-original-telegraph/.

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Home / Essay Samples / Entertainment / Titanic / Titanic Movie: A Cinematic Retelling of Tragedy and Love

Titanic Movie: A Cinematic Retelling of Tragedy and Love

• Category: Entertainment
• Topic: Film Analysis , Movie Review , Titanic

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