Titanic (1997)

[wee_mango]

I've decided that I'm going to do a film/TV review thing in this journal & have them stored under my memories section as reviews etc. I sort of got the idea off drbillbongo and __kali__ so, yeah....I've you guys to thank! :)

I think we'll start with the story/plot and then my fave quotes and moments for each one with, if possible, some piccies to brighten the reviews up! :D Let's start with Titanic as we're just around the (94th) anniversary of her sinking & I know some of you on my f-list are obsessed with this film! ;) :p

Obviously there are gonna be spoilers so YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!!












It is 1996, and a treasure hunter and his team explore the wreck of the RMS Titanic in their submersible. A safe is brought to the surface and is opened. It contains, not the fabled treasure the adventurers had hoped for, but only papers. One of them is a nude pencil portrait dated April 14, 1912, and signed "JD". It shows a beautiful young woman reclining nude with casual modesty on a couch. On a necklace around her neck is the diamond they seek: The Heart of the Ocean.



Rose Calvert (née DeWitt Bukater), an ancient but still lively woman of 100 years, watches a CNN report of the treasure hunt and sees the nude portrait. She phones the treasure hunter Brock Lovett and informs him that she knows of the diamond, the Heart of the Ocean, and also the identity of the beautiful young woman in the portrait: "Oh, yes. The woman in the picture is me." Rose, accompanied by her granddaughter Lizzy Calvert, flies out to the recovery site and proceeds to tell the treasure hunters of her experiences on the Titanic.





Rose, just 17 years old in April of 1912, boards the ship with the upper-class passengers with her mother, society matron Ruth DeWitt Bukater and her fiancé, industrialist Caledon Hockley. Rose clearly does not feel very much for Cal, but her mother pushes for the marriage for financial security, to maintain their current lavish lifestyle and bolster their social cachet among the Philadelphia elite.



Meanwhile, a drifter and artist named Jack Dawson wins third-class tickets to the ship in a poker game with his Italian friend Fabrizio.



Rose is so unhappy about her forced engagement, as well as her endlessly shallow life, that she attempts to kill herself by jumping off the stern of the ship. Jack sees her and intervenes to prevent her suicide; he puts her off by stating how cold the water is.



As she turns round to face him, her shoe gets caught in the bottom of her dress and she slips, but Jack catches her and manages to pull her over the railing.



Her screams alert several crew members who arrive to help, just as she and Jack fall back onto the deck. With her dress slightly rolled up past her knees, Jack leaning beside her and Rose shaking, they suspect something else and have Jack arrested.

Rose's company finds the pair and Rose makes up a story that she slipped because she was leaning over the railing to see the ship's propellers and that Jack pulling her back over saved her life. Cal reluctantly invites Jack to dine with their party the following evening in the first-class dining saloon in gratitude. In the meantime, Rose and Jack soon strike up a tentative friendship as he shares tales of his adventures in travelling and she expresses her own hopes, and he shows her his sketchbook of artwork.



Their bond deepens after the first-class dinner that evening when they attend a much livelier gathering below decks in third-class; a party.

The next morning, Cal, furious that Rose attended the party, forbids her from behaving like that again and when she argues, he flips the breakfast table over in a rage and storms off. Her mother Ruth also expresses her feelings about not seeing Jack again whilst doing up her daughter's corset after breakfast.



During the Sunday morning church service, Jack tries to see Rose but is refused entry since he holds a third-class ticket.



He disguises himself and waits for her as she, Ruth, Thomas Andrews (Titanic's main architect & creator) and Cal take a stroll up on deck and leads her into the gymnasium. He is clearly falling in love with Rose, but she is inclined to ignore their growing affection because of her engagement and their different social standings.





However she decides to throw caution to the wind and offers her heart to Jack. They head back to her first-class suite where she asks him to sketch her wearing nothing but the Heart of the Ocean diamond, the same portrait the treasure hunters will find 84 years later.

Cal cannot find his fiancée and sends his manservant Lovejoy to find Rose. The pair escape from him after a chase through first-class into third-class which ends when they go into the boiler rooms. They later consummate their relationship in the backseat of a car in one of the ship's cargo holds....

In the meantime, Captain Edward J. Smith and his crew have been seemingly ignoring many warnings about upcoming ice fields in the ship's path, and the Titanic maintains the high speed suggested by White Star Line managing director J. Bruce Ismay even as the ship heads into the night.



On the night of April 14, the two lookouts see an iceberg directly in the Titanic's path. Despite the many efforts of the crew and engineers, the ship strikes the massive berg, flooding the lower compartments past their "unsinkable" capacity and causing the ship to begin its unstoppable descent to disaster.


Cal discovers the relationship (and the portrait) between Jack and Rose and gets even by framing Jack for stealing his diamond. Even though she has the chance to escape the sinking ship early on with her mother, Rose runs away from Cal — and her chance at getting into a lifeboat — to find Jack. She frees him and they try desperately to make their way back above decks to escape the rapidly sinking ship. They find many obstacles, including locked gates that are used to keep the third-class passengers from reaching the upper decks to safety.

Cal puts his own overcoat on Rose who is then put into a lifeboat with Jack 'promising' "Go on, I'll get the next one", she jumps out at the last minute and races to the Grand Staircase, meeting him there. Cal realises he has lost Rose for good and his violent temper forces them to retreat to the lower decks (he tries to shoot them). They finally make their way back to the top deck having attempted to try and save a little Latvian boy and his father but to no avail, however the lifeboats are gone and they, along with hundreds of terrified passengers, have no choice but to head aft and stay on the ship for as long as possible before the Titanic sinks completely into the water.







The stern of the ship rises higher and higher until its weight causes the ship to break in two, the bow sinking immediately and the stern finally going under shortly thereafter at 2:20am on April 15.

Rose and Jack get separated as the strong suction from the sinking Titanic drags Jack away. Rose surfaces and looks desperately for him. A fellow passenger is under the opinion that Rose would be somewhat of a lifeline; he almost drowns her by attempting to climb on top of her, forcing her head underwater. Jack finds her amongst the chaos and punches the man off Rose. They find a broken door floating nearby, Rose gets on top as there is only room for one and they both wait with the hundreds of other passengers thrashing helplessly in the water, shouting desperately for those in lifeboats to row back and rescue them. None of the lifeboats will go back and help, save one, as they think that the dying will swamp the boats and drown them.





By the time 5th Officer Lowe (played by none other than Hornblower's Ioan Gruffudd) decides to row back and help those in need, almost all of the passengers have died of hypothermia in the freezing Atlantic Ocean.



Rose, lying on a large door, sings quietly to herself to pass the time whilst waiting to be rescued. When lifeboat 14 comes into view, she rolls onto her side telling Jack that help has arrived. When she repeatedly calls his name and he never responds, she is heartbroken to realize that he has succumbed as well.





She bids him goodbye by releasing him into the dark water, then manages to get the lifeboat's attention to come back and rescue her by swimming over to Chief Officer Wilde's frozen body and takes his whistle from his hand - last year this scene was voted 3rd in the Channel 4 poll of 100 Greatest Tear Jerker Moments (in film and TV).

The survivors in the lifeboats wait for several hours until the RMS Carpathia, the closest ship to answer and heed the Titanic's radio distress signals, arrives to save them. Cal wanders round Carpathia's decks searching for Rose but she hides herself from him and he assumes she is dead. We later learn that the Wall Street Crash of 1929 left Cal bankrupt and he committed suicide.





Upon arrival at New York City, Rose discovers that she still has the Heart of the Ocean tucked into the pocket of Cal's coat.



As an old woman in 1996, Rose finishes her story and is told by Lovett's team that they couldn't find any records of Jack. She replies "No there wouldn't be would there, and I've never spoken of him until now. Not to anyone....But now you know there was a man named Jack Dawson and that he saved me, in every way a person can be saved. I don't even have a picture of him. He exists now only in my memory...." Later that night, she goes onto the deck of the salvage ship and throws the necklace into the ocean where Jack and so many others perished.



Back in Rose's room, the viewer sees pictures of her life, including a photograph of her riding a horse at the Santa Monica Pier with a roller coaster in the background, referring to the plans she and Jack made. Rose lies in bed nearby, a scene where fans have debated whether she is asleep or has passed away....







Underwater, the Titanic looms out of the darkness and everything turns new again. A steward opens the doors from the promenade deck to the Grand Staircase, where all those who had died on the ship smile in greeting. At the top of the staircase stands Jack, facing the clock just as he had earlier in the movie. Jack turns and smiles at Rose, a young girl of 17 again, smiling back as he helps her up the last few steps. They kiss as the crowd applauds, and it fades to the ending credits.





If indeed this scene is depicting Rose's death, it is assumable that she has entered heaven, where Jack has been waiting for her for 84 years. On the other hand, the lyrics of the film's theme song, "My Heart Will Go On" begin with, "Every night in my dreams, I see you, I feel you," which could indicate that Rose is only asleep and is dreaming of Jack....

Director James Cameron only knows whether or not the character of Rose dies but he isn’t revealing anything. Apparently he has stated that it was made clear what happens but if that's the case, why is there so much debate on it, hmmm....? ;)






This has to be one of my favourite films; in my top 5 at least and was I think, the first film I ever became obsessed with. I went to see it when it first came out and then again on my 13th birthday, ironically on the 14th April....talk about coincidence! I was also proud of the fact that the lead female character had red hair, like myself, since there aren't many movies with redheaded leads are there? ;) The funny thing was, when I seen this movie for my birthday, out of those of us there with me, I was the only one crying (for the last 15 minutes of it)! o____O This film also made me into a complete Leo fangirl LMAO but I think I've moved on, though I still love his character :D



Anyway....some of my fave/most memorable moments and quotes from the film:

- the very first scene; the opening one - I love what they've done to make the shots appear real and authentic and as for the female solo playing in the background....ooooh I adore it! Die hard fans will know exactly what piece I'm talking about! ;)

- the whole story; how they managed to create that romance rich girl meets poor boy sub-plot alongside the real event of the ship sinking.

- the second half of the film which revolves around the sinking; it was superbly done. It's part of the reason why this film is fantastic when viewed in the cinema as you feel like you're really on the ship.

- the nice little 'dissolves' from one scene to the next e.g. from Titanic's wreck to the newer past version as we go into the boarding scene; when the camera slowly goes to a closeup on young Rose's face and changes into her 84 years on just after the portrait scene.

- The violin band players wishing each other good luck before they part as the ship is sinking, then as Wallace Hartley, the lead violinist begins playing "Nearer My God To Thee", they all come back again and play with him.

- When Rose is afloat on the wood looking up at the stars, there is a vague image of the necklace. It is outlined by brighter stars shaping the heart loosely, and a few bright stars shaping the chain.

- The scene with the 2 adorable Irish kids being told a bedtime story by their mum in their third-class room as they couldn't get out :(

- The whole soundtrack :)

- Tommy Ryan: (whilst running past the band up on deck) "Music to drown by. Now I know I'm in first class."

- Tommy Ryan: (trapped with hundreds of other third-class passengers behind the locked gates) "For G*d's sake man there are women and children down here! Let us out so we can have a chance!"

- Ruth: "Will the lifeboats be seated according to class? I hope they aren't too cramped."
Rose: "Oh mother, shut up! Don't you understand? The water is freezing and there aren't enough boats. Not enough by half. Half the people on this ship are going to die."
Cal Hockley: "Not the better half."
Molly Brown: "Come on Ruth, get in the boat. First-class seats are right up here."
Cal Hockley: (talking about Rose's portrait) "You know, it's a pity I didn't keep that drawing. It'll be worth a lot more by morning."
Rose: (very coldly) "You unimaginable bastard...."

- Ruth: (whilst doing up Rose's corset) "You're not to see that boy again. Do you understand me? Rose, I forbid it."
Rose: "Oh stop it, mother. You'll give yourself a nose bleed."

- When the pair force a door open as Titanic is sinking, a steward goes on about how they'll have to pay for it & both turn around and tell him to "SHUT UP!"

- Smith: [as the Titanic is sinking] "Well I believe you may get your headlines Mr Ismay...."

- When the lights on the ship go out, just before she breaks in half, gives me the chills....*shudders*

- The image of the frozen woman & her baby gives me the creeps every time....:'(

- Poor Fabrizio (and several others) getting killed when the first funnel breaks loose from the wires holding it in place and flattens him.

- Rose's costumes; I want her outfits! Why can't that be the fashion nowadays? :p



Screencaps from http://www.gallery.make-it-count.org/
Plot from Wikipedia and partially done by me :D

Comments

[dreamybritactor.livejournal.com]

This is so cool! All the favorite moments you spoke of are the ones I think of -- that and the spitting contest.

Like I said in my post about the Titanic, when I saw this the first time, I saw it to see if they got the facts straight, but I loved the movie so much, that I watched it time and time again just for the movie, itself.

[wee-mango.livejournal.com]

Thanks hun! :D Never thought anyone would actually read this as it's so long haha! :p

Pst....is that a Princess Bride icon I spy? O.O


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[dreamybritactor.livejournal.com]

Pst....is that a Princess Bride icon I spy? O.O

Yup! I made two Rose from Titanic icons, but I didn't put them on my user list and I thought this was the close to the subject matter. :D

If you like it my may swipe it. :D

[wee-mango.livejournal.com]

Ooooh may I see the Rose ones??


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