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Cameron'stitanic: The “Unsinkable” Love Story

Titanic (1997) is a magnificent, epic motion picture depicting modern history's most infamous disaster retold amid romance and adventure. The screenplay was written by James Cameron, with cinematography by Russell Carpenter, music by James Horner, direction by James Cameron, and co-produced by James Cameron and Jon Landau. The cast stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, and costars Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, Frances Fisher, Gloria Stuart, Bill Paxton, Bernard Hill, and David Warner. Titanic is based on the true story of the ill-fated voyage of the Titanic. The movie opens in the present day aboard an exploration ship hunting for lost treasure at the Titanic’s wreckage site. The actual story then begins on the day that the Titanic embarks on her maiden voyage. The movie switches between present day and flashbacks, which compose nearly 80% of the film.
On board are the three main characters: Rose, a 17-year-old girl trapped in a relationship with Cal Hockley (Billy Zane), and Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a broke, penniless artist who won his ticket in a poker game. The focus of this film's action is the ship's sinking, but its heart and soul is the beautiful, yet forbidden love affair between Rose and Jack. Because Cameron keeps the focus firmly on Rose and Jack, he stays away from too many characters involved in too many stories. According to Cameron, “when a film tries to chronicle the lives and struggles of a dozen or more individuals, it reduces them all to cardboard cut-outs” (Berardinelli, Sec. 1). Rose and Jack remain the focus of the film from beginning to end.
Then tragedy strikes halfway through the film. The Titanic hits an iceberg in the icy waters of the North Atlantic and sinks, killing 1500 of the 2200 on board. The sinking is presented in a magnificent fashion, and Cameron’s use of camera angles and strong use of darkness and contrasts allows the viewer to experience the panic and horror that the passengers had to face.
The use of camera...