Movies And Tv Shows Review And Preview..: Titanic

Titanic, a movie that needs no introduction, everyone (be it a movie freak or not) knows about this movie. How great it was, in fact how great it STILL IS. One of the best told love stories ever, on the maiden, disasterous voyage of the grandest ship of the world, Titanic of the White Star Line. This movie was literally a revolution in the cinema worldwide, that broke all records, showed excellent hard work, its tear-jerking the crowds, brilliant direction which kept on pushing the boundaries of the effects back then. Yes, Titanic is all that, that a 'classic' needs to be a classic and be remembered by movie-lovers all around! Also listed as the 'most favourited movie of all time'.

Titanic is a movie venture of the much acclaimed and superb director, James Cameron who has directed movies such as Terminator, T2, Aliens and True Lies. James Cameron had the idea to do a movie about the ship in 1990's but however scrapped the project and did True Lies instead, later he did some research on the ship and wrote the script for it. He was done on the love story he wanted but what he really focussed on was the actual ship, its architecture, design, how it sank and all the most minor of details. He immediately got a production house, his long time partners 20th Century Fox and associated with Paramount Pictures for the movie and started the pre-production activities.

By 1995, he himself used the MiR-II (the one shown in the movie) to go under sea and witness the Titanic on the sea bed and how were the rooms placed (also a little help he got from White Star Line).

Being done with that, he hand picked his crew, also some of his old collaboraters and focussed fully on the project. He finally completed the script and started on the modelling, architecture and production of the sets, studios and the ship that were to be shown (he literally made like most of the ship, like the real one..WOWW)! And thats what it made the movie the most expensive of its time, approx. $200 Million. He wanted this movie to be Grand, "Its like my baby", he said.

THE CAST:

Being done with the pre-production, Cameron immediately started to get his cast, he wanted such a cast to fill his characters completely.

Leonardo DiCaprio plays Jack Dawson, a young man who wins a 3rd-Class passenger ticket in lucky hand in poker with his best pal, Fabrizio. He wanted to go to America, he was poor but lived his life to the fullest, he knew his limitations. He is an artist, a rather good one. His life changes when he encounters a young, beautiful 1st-Class female passenger and falls in love with her.

The role brought great fame to DiCaprio, boosted his career to the highest, making it a signature movie for him. Girls all over the world after the release went instantly crazy for him, starting up a 'Leo-Mania' by mid '98 which lasts long enough. The movie highlighted his career and he showed some really good acting skills, it was a shame he didn't get an Oscar nomination for this. Nevertheless, he was amazing and the role of Jack is and will be remembered and loved.

The divine beauty, the elegant and the very very lovely Kate Winslet plays the 1st-Class passenger, 17 year old, Philidelphia based Rose DeWitt Buckater. A rich, a little spoiled, irritated and not to forget to mention a very trapped and helpless girl who feels has no way out of her misery when she is forced to be married to a rich, business tycoon by her mother as they have lost all their money and her marriage would ensure their survival and they are going back to America to get married when on the ship she meets Jack Dawson and gets to know him well and fall in deep love with him, allowing herself to abondon all the riches, perks and her mother and later all the while trying to be with him and to live.

The role very fortunately went to Kate Winslet which launched her as an A-list star, brilliant actress and a divine beauty with extra-ordinary poise. When Winslet heard about the film and th role, she decided to just grab it, she used to call Cameron from London trying to get him to give her the role. "I am your Rose, why dont you understand!!" , she used to say to him. She used to write him letters from London to his office trying to persuade to giver her the role every week almost, singing 'Your Rose' at the end always. Finally after months, he got her to audition and when auditioned and screen-tested (with Leo) he loved her from that minute. Kate said, "If u dont cast me, fine but take Leo, he is awesome". When casted as Rose, the filming began and it was intense, Winslet says. She claims it to be the hardest role she has ever played but again, it was so darn well-served. During all the water scenes, Winslet had a copy of that dress with the number of 20 and boy, did she get freakin injured on the sets. Almost drowned, chipped her arms, had pneumonia, the worslt flu, blood clots on her arms and necks, twisting her feet and all sorts of awful things. She said that she thought by the time the filming would finish, the entire cast would be in an assylum. But after the release, the reception of her character was just amazing, calling it a "brilliant one''. Her potrayl of Rose was applauded and her grace, poise, style, elegance was loved much. She received nominations for Oscars, Golden Globe and all high profile awards, winning the Empire one. Her role was just AWESOME and I believe no one else than Kate would have nailed it. Job well done!

Billy Zane starred as Calendon Hockley, a rich, steel-business tycoon who is very proud of his money and loves Rose from his full heart, willing to get her anything, all the ricjes and luxuries.

Francis Fisher stars as Ruth Buckater, the mother of Rose, who is determined to get her daughter married to Cal, as her husband left them no money and for their survival gets her hooked to Cal and plays the same rich lady to the world, worried all inside as well.

Gloria Staurt plays the old Rose, who is telling her story to the crew of Keldysh, MiR-II. She tells her experience on the sinking of the ship and also her love story.

Gloria Staurt was the oldest person to be nominated for an Oscar at the age of 86, she played the role of a 101 year old and found it a very displeasing experience. Her acting was well received, becoming one of her best performances and sole Oscar nomination.

THE STORY:

1997, Keldysh expecdition goes intio the Atlantic ocean to search the half portion of Titanic lying for the Heart Of The Ocean, a very rare diamond necklace that went into the sea in 1912, the night the Titanic sank, April 14th 1912. They dont find the necklace but they do find a drawing of a woman wearing the necklace. they get it and put it on the news when a 101 year old woman claims to be the woman wearing that necklace. They fly her to their ship with her grand daughter when she starts narrating/ telling her 84 year old tale of the voyage of Titanic when she was being taken back to America to be forcefully married to a man for his money by her mother. When on the ship, she feels she has no way out, she doesnt want a miserable life for her with ni happiness, so she attempts to kill herself, when she prepares to jump from the ship, Jack Dawson comes to her rescue.

He talks her out of it. Cal is told a lie by Rose that she accidently fell and he saved her and as a token of his appreciation, he invites Jack to a 1st-Class dinner with their group and he accepts. The next day, Rose meets Jack to thank him and to explain her situation. The 2 talk for an entire day and Jack instantly likes her. The 2 then meet for dinner with the entire group, Cal and Ruth immediately tell Jack's reality to the group (sort of demoralizing him) but he still is a sport!

After the dinner, the 2 have an amazing night together when Jack takes Rose to the 3rd-Class dinner and party where the 2 are spied on by Cal's assistant. The next day, Rose is restricted from meeting Jack at all, however Jack gets a moment with her and explains his feelings to her and how he adores her and loves her. Rose takes a moment and thinks about it and risks it all and gets on with Jack, then comes one of the most famous and loved scenes of the entire cinema and the movie, The Flying Scene! It has become one of the most iconic scenes and moments of all time, in entire cinematic history (my personal fav).

Rose gets to Jack and he tells her to be quiet and takes her hand, takes her to the railing and then......

.....They Fly! :) :')

While singing 'Come Josephine in my flying machine' and the 2 kiss (BEST KISS EVER).

However, Rose asks him to draw a sketch of her, wearing the Heart Of The Ocean, that Cal gave her....as he did, the 2 head off but very unfortunately, the ship hits the ice berg. The ship hits and when water floods in, there is instant chaos with not enough boats for 2220 souls that are on board, during all that Jack is taken by the master of arms on the basis of a false robbery.

As Rose's mother and Cal reach the top to get in the boats, Rose realizes the set up and leaves them both, jeopardizing her situation of getting in a life boat, she rescues Jack but the 2 struggle, along with many many other 3rd-Class passengers on escaping the brutal death. The 2 succeed but as inly women and children are allowed on the boats, Jack is left on the ship, Rose jumps off the boat (Truly Romantic, also a great scene of the movie). Cal goes off shooting the 2, so they go in the last deck of the ship with water reaching up to them very fast, the 2 have a very narrow escape but manage to get out but by then all the boats are gone.

Jack and Rose along with hundreds of others struggle on the amssive ship with chilling water and no more boats to escape.

With absolute no escape, the 2 go to the top of the ship (the ship moves up to a vertical position, of course and I hope you have seen it).

As we know how it got split into two, and the upper part sank last, 1500 people went into the water, Jack and Rose included. Jack finds a kind of a....floating object?! I dont know, he just finds something to hold on to but its too light for the both so he lets Rose on that. And the water was freezing, so freezing that the people turned blue and had ice in their hair.
Rose feels if she will die and Jack forbids her to think so, he tells her how much he loved her, how he cherished the past 3 days and how she has to move on and live (sniff* -tear-).

Very sadly and unfortunately Jack dies, there ere 15 boats floating near by but only 1 came back, Rose sees it and keeps Jack's promise to live, she bids farewell to him and gives him to the sea, She is saved from the water along with 5 others. Out of 1500, 6 survived, 6!!

As the Old Rose finishes the story, the crew returns to the rooms, she left the impression that Cal had taken the necklace with him, but she had it, Cal had put it in the coat he gave her to wear (OOPS! Bad goes for Cal- Deserving! Hah!) Anyways, she throws the necklace into the sea, where it belongs. She returns to her room and sleeps and in her dreams reunites with Jack, on the Titanic, along with all the passengers, celebrating their love!

It was one of the greatest scenes to witness!

-The entire movie was EPIC, loved every bit, every scene, every sentence!

RESPONSE:

Prior to the release of the movie, it was considered to be a box-office disaster (specially when its the most expensive movie to be made!) So when the movie had its premiere in early October, good feedback started to come in and showed a little light of hope and when the movie releaed internationally in December 1997, the world went crazy, 100% cinema attendence was seen which is rare in Christmas weekends but it did happen and then suddenly..it was TITANIC TITANIC TITANIC everywhere! People started to get the movie's poster, which sold dramatically as if it was a duty, people started to visit the cinemas over and over to watch the 'greatest movie'. In some theatres, the movie ran for more than a year, grossing over $1 Billion worlwide, the highest grossing mvie (for 12 years till Cameron's next venture, Avatar..but for me Avatar wasnt even close to the greatness of Titanic, I mean it was nice and all but nothing like TITANIC).

Critics began calling it the best movie of the year, and it proved to be, then the movie of the decade. James Cameron and the entire team was applauded and cherished.

The picture down there became so iconic and sold thousands of posters and pictures.

Kate & Leo do look ravishing here, they always do! ^_^

Although an explicit scene, but the drawing scene, some calling it one of the highlights of the movie was greatly appreciated, Kate looked 'Au Naturel' the drawing was really made by Cameron himself. It sold recently for $16,000 in an auction, Lucky Guy!

AWARDS & OSCAR BUZZ:

Soon after its release, was the awards season and Titanic began to win it all, after sweeping the major Golden Globes and SAGs, it won awards all over the globe, from America to Japan, to Australia, literally all over!

At the Oscars, titanic was the most nominated movie ever, 14 nominations, winning 11 of the, again the highest wins of all times.

It won James Cameron 3 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director when he gave a terrific and memerable speech.

Kate Winslet was nominated for Best Actress, lost to Helen Hunt (darn her) but Kate looked G-O-R-G-E-O-U-S in the green, Alexander McQueen dress with beautuful locks and her beautiful signature red lipstick!

After winning Best Picture Oscar, producers and Winslet.

The music director who did an amazing amazing job in the movie won 2 Oscars, for Best Original Score and Best Original Song for 'My Heart Will Go On'. James Horner won BIG that night!

The song was a sensation, even today called as best romantic song and most requested on Valentine's Day. Originally, the director had no plans of adding an original song but James Horner wrote it secretly and recorded a demo with Celine Dion, after hearing it, he approved and he better have, it was sooo wonderful, it dominated the charts worlwide, where it was on #1 for 14 weeks.

The movie was amazing, the music was amazing, the acting was flawless, the direction was perfect, every minor detail was taken care of and the story stood on its own,