Truly epic romance and adventure...

Rating: 10/10 (29 April 2005)

"Titanic" the film could have very easily been as big a tragedy as "Titanic" the ship. A three-hour-plus period piece that couldn't make its original release date (July 1997) and still ranks as the most expensive film of all time, "Titanic" seemed certain to sink when it was finally released in December of 1997. Its opening weekend was unremarkable- it barely reached the top of the box office and made just 10% of its budget back in that first 3 days... but then something amazing happened. Word-of-mouth has never been more explosive than in the case of "Titanic". For four straight months, the film dominated the world's box office, as audiences everywhere, young and old, male and female, were swept up by a perfect juxtaposition of adventure and romance. By breaking every box office record and sweeping the Academy Awards, "Titanic" was bound to garner a backlash- which may explain why many people seem to write this film off. But try to remember the first time you saw that CGI iceberg hitting the deck (before the Celine's theme song saturated the radio or Leo's face covered the magazines) and you have to agree that "Titanic" is truly breath-taking.