A masterpiece in historical accuracy as well as screen writing

Rating: 10/10 (18 June 2007)

When I saw James Cameron's Titanic on its opening day in 1997, I remember overhearing a woman explaining to her 2 daughters, 'The Titanic was a real ship and real people died on it', so they would not become totally caught up in the love story of Jack & Rose. I had first read about the legendary Titanic when I was about 10 years old, but I had no idea just how horrible the real disaster has been until reading Walter Lord's 'A Night to Remember' and seeing the 1959 B & W movie based on that book. When Dr. Robert Ballard found the Titanic's resting place in 1985 the world's interest was re-opened in the story, and Cameron's massive undertaking to retell the story of that fatal night in April 1912 was a success on any scale.
I was mostly interested in the historical aspects of the story, and was not disappointed. Cameron's research into the ship's design, the passenger list (especially 1st-class), the costumes, right down to the last detail on the 1st-class china, is minute. It was SO close to the historical accuracy as detailed by Walter Lord (and later by Robert Ballard) that one could have easily believed they were actually there.
Cameron's use of a love story featuring people at opposite ends of the spectrum (Rose, the dignified 1st-class girl and Jack, the impoverished steerage passenger) makes for an interesting element in the story. Though the story focused largely on their own experiences I don't think it detracted from the movie's historical accuracy. We often see Rose & Cal Hockley interacting with such real-life passengers as J.J. Astor, Ben Guggenheim, Molly Brown & the Countess of Rothes. It also focused well on Jack's experiences in steerage which were probably similar to those of many steerage-class passengers, who often found themselves trapped below decks in a ship that was rapidly filling with water.
Some of the more interesting historical elements were cut & later released on the deluxe DVD edition; one shows Capt. Smith calling for the boats to standby close to the ship and Q.M. Hitchens (in Molly Brown's boat) ignoring the order. Also missing was the well-known scene of Macy's Department Store owners Isidor & Ida Strauss, which showed Mrs. Strauss insisting on remaining with her husband right until the end. (They are seen while 'Nearer My God to Thee' is playing, in their cabin as water rushes in on the floor.) Another missing scene which was understandably cut showed little Cora Caldwell (Jack's dance partner in steerage) and her family trapped by a locked gate with water rising behind them.
Jack's ultimate fate was that of most steerage passengers; he died of hypothermia well before the arrival of the only rescue ship. Rose only survived because she managed to improvise a life raft on a floating piece of the Grand Staircase. She could have become one more of the small number of 1st-class women & children who did not survive (the only others were Mrs. Strauss, Mrs. H.J. Allison and her little daughter, Lorraine).
Depending on how one wants to see it, this movie is either a grand love story against a backdrop of imminent doom, or a historically accurate movie with a love story as the background. Either way, Jim Cameron's masterpiece will long stand as one of movie history's greatest achievements. It could have been a colossal flop, but because so much planning had gone into it to make it as historically accurate as well as creating a story people would want to follow, it has succeeded beyond even Cameron's expectations. Well done James!