A film that never fails to tell a difficult story in an interesting and tragic way

Rating: 10/10 (29 January 2006)

The critics had the knives out for James Cameron's masterpiece long before its release. They were going to criticise its for being too long, too boring, badly acted, Badly directed etc. But when Cameron released this film (about a subject that has been a lifelong fascination of mine and his) the critics were silenced and the film did all the talking.
And boy did it talk! It become the first film in history to make 1 billion dollars and no other film has quite caught the publics imagination like it. It tells a simple story set against the backdrop of the biggest maritime disaster yet. Rose Dewitt Bukater (kate winslet) is unhappily boarding the titanic with her overtly snobby partner Cal (Billy Zane) and her family and while attempting suicide meets Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and straightaway falls in love with him as though he is from a different class he shows her a different more enjoyable life than the one she is having with Cal.
Titanic shows you triumph over disaster in all its shapes and forms. Titanic is also a story about the great class divide which used to exist (some people say it still does) and though you know the outcome watching this film for the 1st time or the hundredth time doesn't fail to intrigue. Although factually incorrect in parts (especially in the case of officer William Murdoch who despite his portrayal in the film as a bad guy who shot himself actually was a good guy who went down with the ship) this is the most true adaptation of this story. It won 11 Oscars in 1998 (equalling the haul of all about eve and Ben hur!) including the biggie, best picture and has won universal praise from cinema-goers but not so from some of those critics who have largely lambasted it (showing once and for all that there is a world of difference between critic and cinema goer) the acting (particularly from DiCaprio, Winslet and Zane) is exemplary and earns titanic the film as much a place in history as the event itself. A modern masterpiece.