I’m The King Of the World! James Cameron pro-claimed himself on the stage at the red carpet of the 70th edition of Academy Awards, after winning Best Director nod for “Titanic” – A great 1997 Hollywood Epic which I’m reviewing today.
It takes immense courage & oodles of self confidence from a man, to stand in front of a jury as coveted as the academy of motion pictures and then punch his fists at an audience which is as prestigious and celebrated as the Hollywood film fraternity –(Cameron Had both).
No matter which way you look at it, his “Titanic” is one hell of a project to undertake. Even “George Lucas the 2nd” or “Peter Jackson the 3rd” might have a flickering in their eyebrows when a script like this is read to them - because movies like “Titanic” are not merely difficult to make – it’s almost impossible.
The director had the challenge of not just lacing out a drama with imaginary characters, but also that of literally transporting us to an out-of-the body, out-of-the world experience with an Iconic ship like “Titanic” & its entire crew of passengers on board - dooming down to the deep Abyss of Atlantic Ocean.
Not only he has to fictionalize the story with a romance element but also has to make the special effects seem so believable with the weight & presence of a vicarious, giant ship coming down on us at a rate of knots.
The incident I mentioned above summed up Cameron & his film “Titanic” more or less - which is based on a harrowing shipwreck tragedy, perhaps the most celebrated of all ocean mishaps, occurred on April 1912 - on board the mystical & unsinkable beast ship named – RMS Titanic.
Looking back at his profile – I felt a bit of empathy for James - because he, of all people did not get noticed among the celebrity critics & the Jury even after making terrific films such as the Terminator series, The Abyss & that all important singular achievement - the breath-taking sequel to the Ridley Scott sci-fi classic titled “Aliens”.
There’s nothing novel about the idea behind Titanic since it’s a disaster genre that exists from the early days of silent cinema –(which makes the critical appreciation part for Cameron & his film pretty much non-existent) – and Cameron & his technical team has very little to maneuver with, especially in terms of creativity in the story aspect(Be warned Titanic dreams Big.!)
The movie stars Leonardo Dicaprio & Kate Winslet as Jack & Rose, the two teenagers in the ship belonging to two different social strata’s, who falls in love in the process, during the ship’s ill-fated debut voyage from UK to US.
Jack gets on board after winning a dockside card game & Rose is on her way to Philadelphia to marry her rich & arrogant fiancé Cal Hockley. Rose doesn’t like Cal one bit & hence makes her way to the tail deck of the ship & tries to commit suicide until she gets rescued by Jack.
Cal, the fiancé of Rose, invites Jack to their dinner party out of the girl’s courtesy and there, he gets forced to fathom all the rebuffs of his arrogant hosts. In return, (to the party) he invites Rose for a dancing party at the 3rd class tier - And then - a fabulous love story emerges.
After a while, Cameron’s movie shows the infamous iceberg hitting & the shipwrecking sequences breaking all hell lose in the audience as well as the crew members while encouraging utter chaos on Jack & Rose – who now, has to search for each other through the Holloways & passages of the giant ship. On a parallel narrative we also follow all the sinister plans of Cal & his men to alienate the duo with the ship coming down & disappearing by the minute.
In short, “Titanic” is how a love-story would look like during World War II. The enemy has crept-in(in this case an iceberg) and the chaos has begun(the authorities gets rattled) and at the receiving end of it, the protagonist’s know 100% that they are being surrounded by all probabilities of life & death with the supporting characters yelling at each other & the blood spilling all over the place(In this case water).
I also must remind you of Curtis’s “Casablanca” – The problems of three little people don’t amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world – and the inherent USP of Cameron’s Titanic, in a strange & hypnotic way believe it or not! Is just exactly that.
On film basis, Jack & Rose is the equivalent of Adam & Eve or Romeo & Juliet - for the juke box game- and full credit to Cameron & Co for infusing a half dozen scenes which resonates to this day adding vibrancy and color to this wonderful love story.
Jack saving Ross to begin with. The couple dancing at a third-class tier. Both of them standing at the aft deck with arms wide spread accompanied by Madonna’s soulful soundtrack “Every night in my dreams” and last but not the least the infamous painting scene featuring a ne Kate Winslet in that Iconic blue necklace lying on her brea not to mention the final scenes, treading water, where Jack & Rose make some life promises buoyantly for the first time in the entire movie.
Having said all this, Titanic is as much a disaster movie as it is a romance movie & disaster is what we see from the mid-point till the curtains close & the lights go off. It relies on CGI & other special effects as much as its story - and there also Cameron’s film dazzles.!
The ship wreck stories constituted a major part of my early childhood memories. My nanny used to tell me stories - as if in the hanuman mythology - of how a giant big ship, which, at one point was tagged as the unbreakable, sank to the deep abyss of the Atlantic Ocean on April 15 1912 after colliding with an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York, while carrying more than 2000 people on board.! The moment I heard about somebody making a movie on “Titanic”, I asked at myself & the camera
“Who would dare to make a movie on a dumb a shipwreck(at least on paper) from the early 20th century, spending some 350 million dollars on the budget - this side of George Lucas & Stephen Spielberg.?*”
The Answer is James Francis Cameron & his movie “Titanic” is one dazzlingly scorching epic.
Like in all great Hollywood epics, it’s the whip of Nostalgia down the memory lane which matters the most for the audiences like me & that word Nostalgia worked wonders in Cameron’s Titanic.
Get a hold of this ship, grab a seat & don’t blink an eye. Because it’s one heck of a journey which will thrill you, hug you, kiss you & then - bamboozle you like in one of those street magician’s Abracadabra tricks. Highly recommended.!
P.S. How is Titanic on 3D.? The Answer is mind-boggling.!
