Filmmaking on the Grandest Scale

Rating: 10/10 (13 April 2017)

James Cameron does not do small films, even his breakout film The Terminator was hitting way above its budget. This is down to Cameron himself and his extreme work ethic to get the money right up there on the screen. This film often gets poor reviews from people, mainly due to its immense commercial success. However this success is truly deserving. There is no other film maker out there who can produce a film on this kind of scale and still pull it off. I was lucky enough to see it at the cinema in 1997. Straight off to even consider diving to the Titanic wreck itself to film it for the movie would be considered insane, Cameron did it 12 times. The film was pitched as Romeo and Juliet on Titanic and Cameron immediately got funded. The film ran massively over budget and there was huge concern at the time that the whole project would implode. However Cameron knew he was onto something special, creating a stunning replica of the Titanic itself, along with exact decor and furniture, props, clothing, even tableware. Cameron cast Romeo himself from the 1996 film Romeo and Juliet, Leonardo Di Caprio. This was a masterstroke as Di Caprio was gaining unrivalled stardom after the 1996 film. Kate Winslet is fantastic as Rose, as a young actress to have that level of scale all resting on your performance to make it all come to life, she pulled it off amazingly and often does not get the credit she deserves. The real star of the show though is the ship itself and its master film director James Cameron. When the ship starts sinking and Cameron moves into his action mode, there is no-one better in the world at pacing action them Cameron, he is a master of suspense at the exact right moments. He is an exceptional story teller and fully deserved all the accolades he has acquired.
I highly recommend Titanic and encourage you to watch it on the largest screen possible, films like this do not come along often. The 3d Blu ray is also exceptional and shows what can be done when a 2d film is converted in the right hands into 3d.