Titanic (1997)

My Review

The Best Picture of 1997 is…..”Titanic.” The story centers on an ill-fated romance between members of different social classes, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and is set in one of the worst maritime disasters in modern history. Director-screenwriter James Cameron expertly orchestrated this three-and-a-half hour movie with high production values across the board.

“Titanic” begins in modern times with an exploration group headed by Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton), looking into the ship’s remains at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean. One of the survivors, played by veteran actress Gloria Stuart, views a television report about the expedition and contacts Lovett. She then joins the group with her granddaughter, and tells her story. The benefit of this introductory segment is that Lovett shows the Titanic break-up on a computer screen so the audience is fully informed on the reasons for the disaster to be dramatized later in the movie.

Leonardo DiCaprio was launched into international superstardom after the release of “Titanic.” Kate Winslet played opposite DiCaprio, with both delivering the goods in the performance department. Gloria Stuart, active in films in the 1930’s and 1940’s, returned to greater prominence with this role and became the oldest person ever nominated for an Academy Award at the age of 87. She lived to the age of 100, passing away in 2010.

The cast list includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Kathy Bates (“unsinkable” Molly Brown), Frances Fisher, Danny Nucci, Billy Zane, Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart, Suzy Amis, David Warner, Jason Barry, Victor Garber, Jonathan Hyde, Eric Braedon, Bernard Fox, Michael Ensign, Mark Lindsay Chapman, Simon Crane, Ioan Gruffudd, and Bernard Hill as Captain Edward John Smith of the Titanic. Suzy Amis, who played Stuart’s granddaughter, met James Cameron during filming of “Titanic” and were wed in 2000.

“Titanic” won eleven Academy Awards – Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography (Russell Carpenter), Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score (James Horner), Best Original Song (“My Heart Will Go On,” James Horner and Will Jennings), Best Sound, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Visual Effects. Plus three more nominations for Best Makeup, Best Actress (Kate Winslet), and Best Supporting Actress (Gloria Stuart).

The watchable “Titanic” was the highest grossing film of 1997, earning over two billion dollars for James Cameron, Lightstorm Entertainment, 20th Century Fox, and Paramount Pictures. It was primarily filmed at Baja Studios in Rosarito, Mexico, with a few scenes shot in California and Nova Scotia.