Titanic

Rating: 10/10 (18 December 2006)

It's a simple tale, really, made up of equal parts love story, historical epic and disaster film, about a young artist (Leo) from the wrong side of the tracks, who falls in love with a young aristocratic Lady (Kate Winslet) while on their way to America during the fateful maiden - and final - voyage of the H.M.S. Titanic. That pretty much sums it up without really saying very much.
What, after all, can you say about a film that has made more money (and faster) than any other film in the history of motion pictures? What can you say about a film that earned more Academy Awards (it tied with "Ben-Hur" in this respect) than any other film in history? You can say it's successful, sure, but that doesn't come close to doing justice to this spectacular epic's impact on Hollywood and the entire world.
Rumored to be in trouble practically before principal photography even began, the film quickly lived up to it's premature reputation by going famously over schedule (by nearly six months) and over budget (to the tune of over $200 Million). Nearly everyone - Fox and Paramount included - thought the film, upon release, would sink at the box office faster than the ship of the title sank in the North Atlantic Sea so many years ago.
Instead, as everyone now knows, "Titanic" did just the opposite and, among the other and numerous happy results, is the fact that it instantly elevated Leo from the ranks of Rising New Star to that of International Superstar.
One can only wonder why the Academy chose to ignore his performance, but few (if any) would argue that the two most important reasons for the film's success are Leo, and Kate.