Titanic. Rated M (mature themes and coarse language). 195
minutes. Written and directed by James Cameron.
Verdict: ‘Pop-up’ Titanic
betrays the splendid original, but it’s an undeniable pleasure to see it on the big screen
where it belongs.
Following its original release
in 1997, James Cameron’s epic telling of the fate of the legendary,
‘unsinkable’ RMS Titanic went on to create motion picture history. Until Mr
Cameron’s Avatar (2009), Titanic was the highest-grossing film of all time – raking
in over $2 billion dollars in box office receipts worldwide. Titanic was also nominated for a record-equalling fourteen
Academy Awards (a record shared with All About Eve), of which it won eleven (as did Ben-Hur and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the
King), including Best Picture. Its
stars – Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet – were catapulted to unequivocal movie
stardom.
Re-released in retrofitted
3D to coincide with the centenary of the ill-fated ship’s catastrophic maiden
voyage, Titanic remains a
stunning cinematic achievement. Apart from providing some younger audience
members with the opportunity to see it on the big screen for the first time,
the timely re-release provides others of us with the opportunity to revisit an
old friend – and Titanic (in 3D
or not) demands to be seen at least once in the cinema.
