Titanic 1997
Posted On Tuesdayat8:23 PM by Ark_Light_333
Titanic is a 1997 disaster film directed, written, co-produced and co-edited by James Cameron about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. It features Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, and Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater, two members of different social classes who fall in love aboard the ill-fated 1912 maiden voyage of the ship. The main characters and the central love story are fictional, but some supporting characters are based on real historical figures. Gloria Stuart plays the elderly Rose, who narrates the film in a modern day framing device. Production of the film began in 1995, when Cameron shot footage of the real wreck of the RMS Titanic. He envisioned the love story as a means to engage the audience with the real-life tragedy. Shooting took place at the Akademik Mstislav Keldysh for the modern scenes, and a reconstruction of the ship was built at Playas de Rosarito, Baja California. Cameron also used scale models and computer-generated imagery to recreate the sinking of the ship. Titanic became at the time the most expensive film ever made, costing approximately US$200 million with funding from Paramount Pictures and 20th Century Fox. Originally slated to be released on July 2, 1997, post-production delays pushed back the film's release date to December 19, 1997. After word broke out that Titanic's release date was pushed back, the press believed that Titanic would fail and cause the downfall of Fox and Paramount. Despite low expectations, the film was both a major critical and commercial success, winning eleven Academy Awards including Best Picture and becoming the highest-grossing film of all time, with a total worldwide gross of approximately $1.8 billion.Filming Titanic was an arduous experience for all involved. The schedule was intended to last 138 days but grew to 160—twenty days shy of six months. Many cast members came down with colds, flu, or kidney infections after spending hours in cold water, including Kate Winslet. Several left and three stuntmen broke their bones, but the Screen Actors Guild decided, following an investigation, that nothing was inherently unsafe about the set. Cameron never apologized for running his sets like a military campaign, although he admitted, "I'm demanding, and I'm demanding on my crew. In terms of being kind of militaresque, I think there's an element of that in dealing with thousands of extras and big logistics and keeping people safe. I think you have to have a fairly strict methodology in dealing with a large number of people." After almost drowning, chipping an elbow bone, and getting the flu, Winslet decided she would not work with Cameron again unless she earned "a lot of money." Of course, Titanic's central aspect is the love story between Jack and Rose, and the crush it has on Cal. The romantic story isn't original, but this is not a bad thing. Cameron re-invents the story to fit the time period and its characters. Everything fits perfectly, with nothing ever seeming contrived or awkward. Jack's immediate interest in Rose, and Rose likewise, is completely understandable. She is suffering emotionally, and Jack is there to support her. Themes from Romeo and Juliet are included, such as Rose being an upper-classman, and Jack being lower class. But the emotional connection between Rose and Jack is almost palpable, and this fuels the film's first two hours. We watch the trials of Jack and Rose, and as they overcome them, the ship comes closer to destiny. With a ship as large as the Titanic was, it was destined to crash. And of course, the ship isn't stocked with enough lifeboats to accommodate the 2,200 passengers. In the end, over 700 people survive, while the rest drown, freeze, or commit suicide.
Titanic is rated PG-13 for disaster related peril and violence, nudity, sensuality, and brief language. The nudity is not inappropriate, as it is done tastefully. Winslet appears topless, but Cameron never exploits the nudity. If we do manage to see her topless, it is not because Cameron wanted to, but because the camera happened to be there. Titanic is a grand epic motion picture which is sure to sweep the Oscars. This is the first film since Schindler's List that I have wanted to win Best Picture, and has a good chance at doing it.
Titanic is by far the best film of the year. Titanic will be remembered as an instant classic, going down in history as the most expensive film ever made, but also as one of the best films ever made. Titanic received steady attendance after opening in North America on Friday, December 19, 1997. By Sunday that same weekend, theaters were beginning to sell out. The film debuted with $8,658,814 on its opening day and $28,638,131 over the opening weekend from 2,674 theaters, averaging to about $10,710 per venue, and ranking #1 at the box office, ahead of Tomorrow Never Dies. By New Year's Day, Titanic had increased in popularity and theaters continued selling out. Its biggest single day took place on Valentine's Day 1998, making over $13 million on that day, more than six weeks after it debuted in North America. After it was released, it stayed at #1 for 15 consecutive weeks in the U.S. box office, an undefeated record 1998 US box office. By March 1998, it was the first film to earn more than $1 billion worldwide.[31] Some theaters in Australia, India, and South Africa ran it for more than one year. The movie stayed in theaters in North America for more than nine months before finally closing on Thursday October 1, 1998 with a final domestic gross of $600,788,188, and making more than double that amount overseas with an international gross of $1,248,025,607. The film accumulated a grand total of $1,848,813,795 worldwide, and to this day Titanic retains the record as the most successful box office film in history.
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