A true classic-The "GWTW" of disaster movies

Rating: 10/10 (21 March 2016)

Best version since the old "A Night to Remember" (1953). With all those reviews, I only need to "touch" on the synopsis of the film. 101 year-old "Rose", long thought to have died in the disaster, reappears as the wreck is examined and it's contents rescued yet again. The "explorer-scavenger" is fascinated both with the story and romance of it all, but especially the recovery of the romantic 58 Caret heart-shaped diamond necklace known as "The Heart of the Sea" which is worth more than the Hope Diamond. Did such a gem exist, or is it the product of the screenwriter's vivid imagination? It is a well-told tale and the time passes so fast that it doesn't seem like a 3 hour movie at all. Superb cinematography combined with seamlessly beautiful special effects and the best shipwreck ever filmed. Models and the CGI are most convincing. The Oscar-winning musical score and audio are amazing. The ships motors and interior looks entirely authentic. Kathy Bates has a wonderful "minor" role as the "Unsinkable" Molly Brown, and, as MGM used to say, "a cast of "more stars than there are in Heaven". Billy Zane plays the deliciously mean and arrogant fiancée of 17-year-old "Rose",who is being forced to have pre-nupual sex, and marry a man she does not love, for his money. She hates it and is almost driven to suicide. One nude scene of a beautiful woman-child will offend only a minority of the viewing audience. (Rated PG-13. Also a few choice swear words.) Best ending ever (warning-huge spoiler) as "Rose" slips the huge blue diamond into the sea. The original DVD is letterboxed and not "anamorphic". Buy a later version, which is remastered for 16x9 TV. It is remastered to 1.78 format. I like to stop it around chapter 18 for an "intermission".
I also highly recommend seeing "Titanic-The Artifact Exhibit" as a roadshow or Las Vegas attraction.