"Titanic" has the highest box office gross of all time: over one billion dollars. It is also the most expensive film ever made, at two hundred million dollars. And it was one of the most successful films ever at the Academy Awards, winning eleven Oscars. So, what is wrong with this picture? Plenty.
Has a film ever before received fourteen Academy nominations without one for the screenplay? While direction, casting and cinematography are important, the key element of a film's quality is usually the script. The 'Titanic' script is burdened with lame and unlikely dialogue between the romantic leads (e.g. "I'll never let go") and loaded with one-dimensional characters.
While the 'Titanic' story lends itself to class
conflict, this feature is over-emphasized. The
'rich' characters are either half-embalmed snobs
or despicable jerks, excepting only gregarious
hero Molly Brown (Kathy Bates) and spoiled,
passionate love interest Rose (Kate Winslet).
The film begins with a current day Titanic
salvage operation. For dramatic purposes, Rose
(Gloria Stuart), now 101 years old, is brought on
board the salvage ship. She tells her
increasingly dubious story to the rapt crew.
Rose is pressured by her mother to wed abusive
Cal (Billy Zane). Her friends are so shallow, and
Cal such a jerk, that Rose is driven to tears and
makes a suicide attempt. With 2200 passengers,
you'd think that more than just Jack would be on
deck to save her, and he doesn't look strong
enough to pull her back onboard. Of course, they
soon have a romance, which of course is
disapproved of by Mom and the surprisingly
jealous fiance.
The film is late in its second hour before the
Titanic finally gets around to hitting the
iceberg. "Titanic" then begins to lift scenes
from the vastly superior "A Night to Remember"
from 1958, mixing them in with long sequences of
Rose and Jack repeatedly rescuing each other from
deepening and near-freezing water.
The film ends with more silliness. Survivor Zane
is unable to find Rose during the long voyage to
America, despite Rose's mother being on board
(conveniently, her character disappears during
this time). Rose doesn't find the blue diamond in
her coat pocket until she reaches New York! There
is also a dream sequence which has Jack and Rose
enter the Titanic's gigantic ballroom to
incongruous massive applause from the well-to-do
guests, who were so maligned for their
shallowness in the film's first half.
Since director James Cameron is at his best
during action scenes, "Titanic" can be
entertaining at times. The story is dramatic, and
the special effects are convincing. But given the
dubious script, characters and events, "Titanic"
may be the most over-praised film of our
generation. (55/100)
Kate winslet and leonardo dicaprio play ill-fated lovers in thisepic romance set against the backdrop of an unforgettabledisaster. Their budding roman...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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