comment #1

poseidon72 says ...

I will NEVER understand any TITANIC hate. The film was everything movies should be. I saw it 7 times in a theater. CLEARLY audiences loved it as it played forever and made a ton of money. It also WON the Oscar for BEST picture.

comment #2

Travis Crabtree says ...

Jeffrey, if you're intention was to make me cry, well, Mission Accomplished.

comment #3

Rich S. says ...

Well put. Pulp Fiction pulled off the same trick by messing with its timeline, so one of its best characters is still alive at the end, even though we've seen him die halfway through the film.

That ending cemented Titanic's role as Star Wars for young women and teenage girls. They could see it repeatedly and, due to the blockbuster carnage, their dates didn't feel stupid tagging along.

I've always wondered, though. If Cameron had included that outtake of the dog swimming away from the life rafts, would that single image have damaged Titanic's box office/repeat viewing prospects?

comment #4

Travis Crabtree says ...

That being said.... I got caught up. Initially because I've always been interested in the ship itself. (I've a distant relative who worked on the ship's construction)

I was a hell of a ride. It just hasn't aged very well and the cringey moments have only gotten cringier.

That clip is a perfect encapsulation of the film. It shows the wonder, the cool FX, the star power of Leo and Kate, and the top-notch tech aspects of the film.
On the other hand, when Leo and Kate kiss, the passengers all break into the Only Happens in Bad Romance Chick Movies spontaneous applause. ("Yea! Love!")

comment #5

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

Also don't underestimate the effect of Celine Dion - that song was a monster hit, so every time it played on the radio the girls had a Pavlovian response and felt the need to go see it again. I don't know why blockbusters seem to have given up on the '80s/'90s Huge Monster Ballads Over The End Credits. Even things like Armageddon and Con Air benefitted from having a weepy love theme.

comment #6

dangovich says ...

I didn't know there was an outtake of a dog swimming. To be honest, it never occurred to me that there were dogs and cats on the ship.

But Jeff is right, the modern-day framing device put the film over the top. Just a perfect ending...um, until Celine Dion started singing.

comment #7

Jeffrey Wells says ...

Celine Dion's song totally killed the Titanic mood when the end credits began. I hate that song to this day. If Cameron had only used Irish flutes and bagpipes and that kind of thing. Music that reaches out and touches the dead...that line of country. Instead the end credits turned the whole carefully created thing into a shallow chick-flick vibe. It was one of the most deplorable creative decisions ever made by a major filmmaker. It brings me down just to think about it again.

comment #8

Gogocrank says ...

I vividly recall the "Titanic" trailer was awesome.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26HJ52yRz2s

When the POV changes to behind Kate and Leo as the half a boat rapidly sinks? Wow. How could you resist?

That said, watching this trailer for the first time since it was originally airing does not make me want to see it ever again, but the bits and pieces I've caught again over the years have retained their sentimental power.

comment #9

Ryansi51 says ...

Wow. Jeff I don't think you could be more WRONG about Celine Dion's song. That song was HUGE, and Bosh is dead-on, girls went apeshit for it.

Not to sound like a puff but that really is a great fucking song, and how you can't see the perfection of pairing "My Heart Will Go On" with the emotions you describe above is beyond me.

You'd rather have BAGPIPES!!!!! holy shit what a dumb idea, who'd want to come back and feel that again??

comment #10

Bilge says ...

I think TITANIC is certainly one of the great film achievements of the last 20 years, and I saw it something like 14 times in the theater. The trailer was terrific, but it was only the (ugh) tip of the iceberg. Obviously, the film was a word of mouth phenomenon -- its opening week it barely beat out the Bond flick TOMORROW NEVER DIES and there was even some discussion as to whether TND would end up making more money. But the word spread like wildfire.

I remember the people in my office at the time (all of them much older than me) started talking about it immediately, as if a film had finally delivered what so many of them had been wanting to see for so long.

I trust Cameron's instincts enough to assume that AVATAR won't be as silly as its trailer makes it look (though I keep having flashbacks to the last 15 minutes of THE ABYSS), but I doubt that sort of lightning can strike twice.

comment #11

Sabina E says ...

I never understood the TITANIC hate, either.... James Cameron is a great filmmaker who knows how to entertain the audience while retaining art and story value.

Also, I give him kudos for creating such strong, independent, legendary female leading characters, unlike most Hollywood filmmakers.

I'm really worried about AVATAR, though.

comment #12

Gogocrank says ...

"Also, I give him kudos for creating such strong, independent, legendary female leading characters, unlike most Hollywood filmmakers."

As far as I'm concerned, the rampantly misogynist "True Lies" undoes whatever good he did in this regard.

comment #13

SpinDozer says ...

I got the hot commodity Titanic script before reports surfaced about budget over-runs etc. It was a piece of shit. Unbelievable stock characters spouting idiotic lines, drivel. I did not get to see it at the cinema, but was encouraged by all the glowing reviews, I assumed a major rewrite. I remember Cameron totally trashing the critic who said that it might not be the greatest movie ever made. I heard about how amazing the special effects were. I saw the movie. It had two or three really cool cgi effects and more than a few really crappy ones, and it had unbelievable stock characters spouting idiotic lines. It was a crap movie.

comment #14

Jonas Grumby says ...

Awww, you made little Travis Crabtree cwy, Jeffwey!! I didn't even think that such a loathsome snake could feel anything but disdain for such emotion. Someone needs to have their Conservative credentials checked at the door. Who knew, Travis Crabtree was such a pussy!?

Hey Travis, do you want your Mommy, too? Or did she die waiting for health care reform?

comment #15

Daniel Tayag says ...

Man, this was one hell of an ending. Sadly, the music for this particular scene is not even on both Titanic soundtracks.

BTW, did anyone see the picture quality of Braveheart on Blu-ray? It looks motherfucking GLORIOUS.

Braveheart Blu-ray Pic #1
Braveheart Blu-ray Pic #2
Braveheart Blu-ray Pic #3

Gladiator, on the other hand, looks like SHIT.

Gladiator Blu-ray Pic #1
Gladiator Blu-ray Pic #2
Gladiator Blu-ray Pic #3

comment #16

BoshBarnetWonkyDonkey says ...

Titanic tapped into a very primal emotional thing by expertly selling the idea that great love affairs never die in the hearts of those who've lived through them, and that they live, in fact, beyond death and into eternity.

Yeah, the idea that our Hearts Will Go On. That is why the song worked so well. It's corny as hell but it took the central message of the movie and distilled it into a 4 minute pop song that received insane rotation on the radio and music video channels in the era before everyone had the internet. Every time it played on MTV it was like a trailer for the movie. And because the tune was based on Horner's score, people immediately thought back to the romantic moments when they heard it. It was genius really.

Just as I think that John Williams' score is absolutely central to Star Wars' success and lasting legacy, so is "My Heart Will Go On" to Titanic.

comment #17

DavidF says ...

I'll just add my voice to the people who don't understand the Titanic hate. I mean, a big, huge epic love story wins the Oscar for Best Picture. SHOCKING!!!

It was a damned well done film and a damned good backstory, in terms of how Cameron ultimately brought it in.

I saw it opening weekend and recall liking the score and not noticing the Dion song. That had changed by the time I saw it again three months later but it IS a perfect song. I don't know if it's an urban legend but I seem to recall that Dion's vocal was a demo or a second take. Her music may be pap, but she can sing.

Finally, it's stupid to assume Avatar could approach Titanic's numbers because it's the same director. Pure stupidity. Titanic was the right film at the right moment. I hope you don't think that's what I was saying.

If Avatar does big BO it will be for entirely different reasons. There are no 27-year-old gals who have been waiting 12 years for the next film from the man who so deeply touched their 15-year-old heart.

My main point, as far as the pre-release Titanic bashing was that a) you should never jump to conclusions without seeing the film and b) definitely not do it with James Cameron.

comment #18

TL says ...

"It was one of the most deplorable creative decisions ever made by a major filmmaker."

Maybe, but it was box office gold. I'm sure James Horner says a blessing for Cameron every month when he walks out to the mailbox and pulls out a royalty check that could have purchased the Titanic.

comment #19

TL says ...

"Finally, it's stupid to assume Avatar could approach Titanic's numbers because it's the same director. ... Titanic was the right film at the right moment."

Agreed. Just as anecdotal evidence, my grandparents, 75 at the time, went to see Titanic. It was the first movie they'd seen in about 7 years, and they haven't been to see another one since.

comment #20

Katey says ...

What fascinates me about Titanic is there was never another film like it, not even poor copycats. Cameron has a way of making movies that are straight-up impossible to replicate (unless you count the devolution of the Alien franchise, which, ugh.)

I'd argue that nothing can be like Titanic again just because of how audiences change, but The Dark Knight proved it can be done. For Avatar he'll just have to mobilize fanboys in the same way he got 13-year-old girls for Titanic. But Lord, are they a fickle bunch.

comment #21

DavidF says ...

I'd argue Pearl Harbor was a poor copycat, Katey.

Banal love story set amidst catastrophic history.

It shows, in fact, how hard it was to replicate what Cameron did.

comment #22

Travis Crabtree says ...

"Awww, you made little Travis Crabtree cwy, Jeffwey!! I didn't even think that such a loathsome snake could feel anything but disdain for such emotion. Someone needs to have their Conservative credentials checked at the door. Who knew, Travis Crabtree was such a pussy!?

Hey Travis, do you want your Mommy, too? Or did she die waiting for health care reform?"

My goodness!

comment #23

Katey says ...

Yeah, DavidF, that's really the one exception, and we all saw how that turned out. Those who have accused Cameron of making soulless films can look at that to be proven wrong.

comment #24

KC says ...

You people.

comment #25

KC says ...

Remember the edit of "My Heart Will Go On" with dialogue from the movie mixed in? A technique later revisited for the 9/11 mix of Enrique Iglesias' "Hero"

comment #26

Travis Crabtree says ...

"Remember the edit of "My Heart Will Go On" with dialogue from the movie mixed in? A technique later revisited for the 9/11 mix of Enrique Iglesias' "Hero""

Oooh yes. I remember that. I lost about 35 pounds from all the barfing I was constantly doing. (the Dion one). It was inescapable.
They did that with "Jerry Maguire", too.

Howard Stern did a freaking hilarious take-off on the Jerry Maguire one but I can't remember the details. Anyone?

comment #27

dangovich says ...

Wrong Ryan. Celine Dion and her song represent schmaltzy, Vegas-level entertainment and they had no place in the end credits. A hundred years from now, people will watch Titanic and say," beautiful ending, but what's with the song?"

comment #28

Rich S. says ...

"Remember the edit of 'My Heart Will Go On' with dialogue from the movie mixed in?"

Okay, here's a creepy story for you. A friend of mine was attending the police academy and doing a ride-along as part of his internship.

The dispatcher sends the car to investigate an apparent suicide. They get there and it's a college co-ed who's overdosed on sleeping pills. By the time they get there, it's apparent she's been dead for a couple hours.

Before the girl committed suicide, she had put the Titanic soundtrack on repeat on her CD player. The repetition of the songs is what prompted her neighbor to call police.

They notify dispatch to send out the crime scene unit and then start to carefully do a cursory search to make sure there's no other obvious evidence of foul play, etc. The dead girl is lying on her bed. The apartment is close and stuffy and the only sound is the Titanic music playing over and over. Then the CD gets to the part where the dialog is edited in.

My buddy said when they heard the voices, he and the cop both jumped about four feet in the air.

True story.

comment #29

lonniechung says ...

Well, I suppose I am the voice of dissent. I do, in fact, understand all of the Titanic hate. In fact, until I watched the posted Youtube clip above, I didn't even realize that was the ending. I turned it off as soon as the old woman popped back up. Sorry, but the movie never connected with me on any level. Technically it's pretty remarkable. But the central love story - well sold by the attractive cast - never meant much to me. It felt basic and awkward; a weird frame for such a grim story. Jeff, I see what you mean about the end, but I thought the people who saw it over and over again were swept away by the dreamy Leo and Kate (ala Twilight) and the spectacle of the (overextended) ending, not a schmaltzy 'we'll meet again someday' message. Maybe I'm wrong. I've always viewed Cameron as a director that operates on the highest level of putting images on film with stories and characters of little depth, no matter how heavy the subject.

comment #30

Brendan says ...

People seem to forget that the sinking of the Titanic was/is one of the three most written about events in human history (behind some guy named Jesus and the American Civil War). Couple that built-in audience with, as Wells mentioned, the final act, the bloody James Horner/Celine Dion song, Leo/Kate and the special effects, and it is very easy to see why this film performed the way it did.

Off to see the 17 minutes of "Up Against It"....

comment #31

berg says ...

my favorite pre-release Titanic story is about the lobster bisque being spiked with acid

comment #32

lipranzer says ...

I remember I had no interest in seeing the movie (nothing to do with Cameron - I had liked TERMINATOR and THE ABYSS) because as a historical event, the sinking of the Titanic didn't mean that much to me. Yes, of course the fact so many people died was a tragedy, and it could have been avoided, but there's been so much written about it being "proof of man's hubris" or whatever, and I just didn't get that. Then I saw the trailer, specifically the moment where Kate and Leo were at the front of the boat, when she says she's flying (right before their first kiss in the movie), and it was such an incredible image I thought I should check the movie out.

I went opening day, first showing of the day at my local theater (in Oakville, near Toronto). The projector broke twice in the first 10-15 minutes, and we eventually had to be directed to another theater to watch the movie. Needless to say, we were pissed, and I at least was ready to rag on the movie just because of that. 3 hours later, I no longer felt that way, and the rest of the audience definitely didn't feel that way either - they were all caught up. That's when I knew the movie was going to be a hit.

comment #33

Baltimore says ...

Just got back from 6pm preview. I believed in Cameron's Titanic until I saw it and was bored all 3 hours by his laziest sloppiest tackiest effort ever, only to be stunned as the credits rolled and I heard every female sobbing.

Read the Avatar script, enjoyed the descriptions, scoffed at the cliched story, have been unimpressed by all the 2D screenshots. REALLY LIKED the 3D preview, am now convinced everybody's going to see the movie at least twice if not more. Called relatives to give them advance heads-up for December (which is what Fox hoped for.)

However Fox is hurting themselves by showing ANY 2D Pandora/Na'vi imagery online, in mags or TV ads. MUST be seen in 3D (pref Imax), and any 2D screenings are a total waste.

comment #34

DeeZee says ...

"great love affairs never die in the hearts of those who've lived through them"

In other words, it was the 90s answer to Love Story?

"In terms of getting people where they lived it was probably the greatest happy ending ever devised."

I seriously wish someone would upload that MadTV ep with the McDonalds Titanic Happy Meal. I swear, that movie is the most cynical fucking thing Cameron's ever done. The whole point he made about wealth being less important than true love got undermined during his "King of the World" speech. That makes Jimmy the best rip-off artist up until Madoff got outed.

"Celine Dion's song totally killed the Titanic mood when the end credits began. I hate that song to this day."

I hated her music long before Titanic. She's basically the Canadian muzac answer to Cher. But did you see that South Park episode with Dion's character in it?

"It was one of the most deplorable creative decisions ever made by a major filmmaker."

The second most deplorable was making Alba the lead on his new show.

poseidon: Titanic is annoying because Leo plays a cocky know-it-all, and Winslet plays a W.A.S.P. slut who goes slumming, which is the only reason they're perfect for each other.

Ryan: "That song was HUGE, and Bosh is dead-on, girls went apeshit for it."

They also went apeshit for Britney Spears and N'SYNC a year later. That has nothing to do with quality, though.

Bilge: "I think TITANIC is certainly one of the great film achievements of the last 20 years,"

Sorry, but Titanic became relegated to updated disaster porn remake when LOTR hit theaters.

comment #35

crazynine says ...

"Titanic didn't became a worldwide megahit because it offered a highly believable depiction of a sinking luxury liner."

THE HELL IT DIDN'T.

Yeah, yeah, yeah-- girls, women, blah blah blah. *Guys* drove this movie in the first few weeks. They were the ones who went, "oooh, Cameron, effects, big sinking ship, cool!" and dragged their wives and girlfriends to see it. The word of mouth increased because *both* men and women enjoyed it.

Men: "You gotta see this movie. . . yeah, hokey love story with a shitty song, but you just gotta see the last hour of the movie, the ship sinking is incredible! Oh, and yeah, the redhead shows her tits, they're nice."

Women: "It's such a wonderful love story, he's so cute, I cried and cried and cried. The last hour is hard to watch, it's very loud, but aside from that, the movie is beautiful."

I had this conversation more than fifty times that year, and it was ALWAYS the same.

This was a 4-corner movie if there ever was one.

comment #36

scooterzz says ...

y'know, i loved 'titanic' and am hard pressed to diss it but that ending scene where everyone applauds is so 'the shining' it ruins the mood...if they'd just smooched and moved on to the bar it would have been fine.....just my opinion....

comment #37

austin111 says ...

I agree entirely with Jeffrey about the ending, etc. The weird thing for me was that I was initially disappointed when I first saw the flick. Don't know what I was expecting, see. So about 2 weeks later I go see it again with my sister. As soon as you see the boat being boarded and the doomed passengers getting on, including, of course, Jack and Rose, well, I sort of started to lose it. This continued into the parts where the underwater sub is exploring present day sunken Titanic. And I never once touched my popcorn or drink throughout. Not even a potty break. Wow, I think this is why so many people went back. The flick just gets to you in some primeval way that's part sentiment and part what movies are all about. Good storytelling (despite the juvenile dialogue) and a true tragedy, in spite of or because of knowing how it's gonna go down. And the ending, it just gets to you, unless, of course, you've grown cynical and resistant to the like. That's why it's been hard to duplicate. It was a worldwide phenomenom that played well just about everywhere because it has a universality than nothing after it has had. Gone With The Wind is the only other flick that has the same kind of appeal in spades and it's probably the greatest (adjusted for inflation) money making flick of all time. It'll be interesting to see what AVATAR does.

comment #38

Cde. says ...

Days late and no one will read this, but...
It's interesting that Cameron was initially very resistant to the Celine Dion song, which Horner was pushing very strongly for. Eventually Horner was able to convince Cameron, but even then he was worried that the song would be viewed as an artistic compromise.