James Cameron's Titanic became the first motion picture to gross more than $1 billion at the box office and was the top grossing film for 16 consecutive weeks. The soundtrack recording became the best selling instrumental movie soundtrack of all time. The book about the making of the film remained at the top of the New York Times best seller's list for several weeks. In February of 1998, Titanic was nominated for 14 Academy Awards, winning a stunning 11 of them, and tying the record previously set by Ben-Hur in 1950. Cameron's $200 million gamble paid off.
WINNER OF 11 ACADEMY AWARDS
Best Picture - Best Director - Best Original Dramatic Score - Best Original Song - Best Cinematography - Best Film Editing - Best Costume Design - Best Sound Effects - Best Sound Effect Editing - Best Art Direction - Best Visual Effect
The Movie
Opulence and optimism are the watchwords as every department from Construction to Wardrobe participates in what can be best considered a practical exercise in time travel. At the same time, however, James Cameron spins his tale from the informed perspective of the present and gives voice to the unseen force that will ultimately lead to the era's downfall...arrogance. It is for this reason that the Titanic will endure as one of the most potent symbols of the 20th Century, more so, perhaps, than either World War or the atomic bomb. For the ship was not destroyed by an iceberg alone...it was also destroyed by a state of mind.
The year is 1912 and the White Star Line's most luxurious ocean liner, the RMS Titanic, is about to set sail on her maiden voyage across the Atlantic. Crewman move across the decks dwarfed by the awesome scale of the grand ship. White Star's dock swarms with activity. Most passengers are already on board and the pier is choked with onlookers, luggage, and last minute provisions arriving. A Renault stops and the liveried driver scurries to open the door for a young woman dressed in a stunning white and purple suit, with an enormous hat. She is 17 years old, regal of bearing, with piercing eyes. Her name is Rose DeWitt Bukater. Deep in debt after her father's death, her mother is forcing her to marry Caledon Hockley. "I hope that when the audience meets Rose, they'll think she is rather spoiled," shares Kate Winslet. "Then we'll come to know why she is so mysterious around Cal, because boarding the ship is very much like she is walking to her execution, really. She's a very spirited girl and has a lot to give. She wants to explore the whole world, but she knows that is never going to happen because she is engaged to Cal, and she is being pressured into his limited world of what is proper and 'acceptable'."
He is an American, a lanky drifter with his hair a bit long for the standard of the times. Unshaven and his clothes wrinkled from sleeping in them, Jack Dawson is a very self-possessed artist for the age of twenty, and has been on his own since he was 15. He wins his ticket to board Titanic at a lucky hand of poker. "I didn't really think of this film as something I would do until I realized that I was discriminating against it purely because of it's scale. For all the epic size of this production, at it's heart is a great love story," admits Leonardo DiCaprio. --James Cameron's Titanic