Director James Cameron

In 1997, one of the most iconic movies of all time was released Titanic. Director James Cameron, with his $200,000,000 budget, a budget larger than the cost of building the actual ship, created a masterpiece that still pulls the heart strings of Americans today. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, a poor artist, and Kate Winslet as 17-year-old aristocrat, Rose DeWitt Bukater. The movie portrays the unforgettable love story of Jack and Rose, including the complications that Billy Zanes character, Cadedon Cal Hockley, and Frances Fishers character, Ruth DeWitt Bukater implement into the plot, through the eyes of elderly Rose (portrayed by Gloria Stuart).

Titanic is based off the authentic event of the April 14, 1912 sinking of the Titanic. Although much of the plot is all Hollywood, there is some accuracy. Beyond the actual sinking of the sink, James Cameron surreptitiously included real life statistics into his production. For example, the length of the movie that is set in 1912 runs for 2 hours and 40 minutes, the exact amount of time the Titanic took to sink. Another example is the ships collision with the iceberg. It was reported that the Titanic collided with the iceberg for 37 seconds, the same amount of time Cameron had the event last in the movie. In order to make the movie more realistic, Cameron provided all of his extras with information about a Titanic passenger. This was to ensure that everyone apart of the movie had a representation of how to portray their character. Another way in which Cameron made Titanic more authentic is by naming his leading male character after a true titanic passenger. The name of the man was in fact J. Dawson, but J was for Joseph, not Jack. Cameron decided to name DiCaprios character Jack due to DiCaprios character having no correlation with Joseph Dawson expect for the fact that they both were Titanic passengers. Finally, Cameron used many quotes from survivors in his movie. One example of this taking place is when the two daughters are being placed in the life boat and the father says its only for a little while. One of surviving girls reported this once she was rescued.

James Camerons vision for Titanic was to entertain while still keeping the basic elements of the real life event within the movie. Cameron expertly wove the two together to create a captivating experience. In order to properly form his vision, Cameron visited the site of the Titanic. The experience, he said, was very emotional, but very beneficial as it allowed him to put his mind in the right perspective. James Cameron, against popular opinion, insisted that DiCaprio play the part of Dawson, instead of Matthew McConaughey, because DiCaprio fit his vision to a t.

The two leading actors of the movie were young at the time of the filming. DiCaprio and Winslet were both only 22-years-old. For being such young actors, they did a phenomenal job. Titanic offset both actors from others in the industry and was also DiCaprio and Winslets big break. The actors made the audience feel as if they were truly in 1912 alongside Jack and Rose on the glistening new ship. There were a large amount of special effects used in the movie, and with this, Winslet and DiCaprios performances excelled. The actors dramatized the scenes so well that the audience forgot that the scenes were in fact staged.

Overall, Titanic received fantastic reviews. Due to the insane popularity of the movie, Paramount had to send movie theaters replacement reels because theaters across the country had worn theirs out. Titanic made $658,672,302 in the box office. I believe that James Camerons production of Titanic was brilliantly executed. The plot and storyline are spellbinding and well worth three hours of your time. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio were both perfect choices to be the faces of the movie and very well deserve their credentials they received from this movie. Titanic is a must see classic that will never be dethroned.

 CONTACT HOURS