I Love The 90s: Titanic.

 

Back in 1997 the whole world went 'Titanic' mad and everyone was absolutely obsessed. They went to see the film in their millions and they went again and again and again and then once more, making it the highest grossing film of all time, that is until old James Cameron made his next film 'Avatar'. Everyone brought the soundtrack album as well, making it one of the best sellers of the decade, and of course everyone brought Celine Dion's 'My heart will go on'. No one would admit to loving it but everyone did, and they still do. But why? What was it about this film that caught the worlds attention and hearts?

 

 

Well for me, it was the perfect storm of historic epic, based on a true story, ground breaking special effects and of course the star crossed love story of Jack and Rose. To mark the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic's sinking, our good old friend Jim Cameron saw a way to show his respect (and make a shit ton of money in the process) by re-releasing his masterpiece to the world in 3D. But does it make much of a difference? No. not really.

 

 

I'll be honest with you, I love Titanic, I don't just mean love it, I mean worryingly obsessive love. I only saw it twice back in the day, but that had something to do with  the fact that  I didn't have a job to pay for the ticket or a car to drive myself to the cinema, I was 12 to be fair. But I have seen it countless times on VHS (I know, how 90s) in fact I've worn through multiple copies over the years. That's one of the downsides of the Blue Ray and the DVD, the movie is cut in two. And while it was cool at the cinema, cause it gives you a chance to piss and not miss anything, it isn't so cool at home. What if I'm all tucked up in bed, fully submersed in the story, then suddenly... 'Please change disk'. That my friend is not on. But what does that really matter when a film is this good? I mean it has everthing.

 

From Kate Winslet's tits to the man falling of the back of the ship and hitting his head on the propeller with a loud bong, before plummeting to his death, it has it all and everyone has their favourite moment. Mine includes the bit where Mr Bodine and his 'fine forensic analysis' he gives old Rose at the beginning of the film, loved it. But the best bit for me has to be the sinking right near the end when the band stops playing, that's when things really kick off. You've got Jack and Rose frantically running to the stern of the ship, where they first met. People sliding down the promenade screaming, the old couple on the bed, the drunk cook, the lights cutting out and it all builds to the bit where the ship cracks in half, amazing! But its also incredibly horrific because this really happened to these people and this is something that a lot of people seem to forget, mainly tweens who spend more time on twitter then reading up on history.

 



Although the re-release owes more to making money then remembering the dead, it still is a movie that needs to be seen. Over the years its developed a stigma as a cheesy love story set against a historical disaster that puts Hollywood action over historical fact, but that simply isn't true. Seeing it at the cinema again after 15 years reminds me of how amazing it is. The film is nearly three hours long and yet doesn't feel like it for a moment, the love story is not as corny as people remember and the final act where the titanic sinks is where the 3D really makes it's presence known. It's so exciting, so spectacular and so heart wrenching, it is everything a epic film should be.

 

What do you think? Let me know, feel free to follow, comment, plus, share and enjoy. Oh, and be sure to check out some of my other 90s posts, I Love The 90s