Rating of
4/4
Ship of dreams
Derek Rathbun - wrote on 12/16/09
I remember sometime in grade school (early eighties) becoming obsessed with the story of the Titanic. As a kid it was always the size of the ship that drew me in and and held my fascination. In my home town I would walk whole blocks and count off the 882 ft. When the wreckage was found in 85 there was a flood of books and newspaper stories that I just devoured. I even tried to get our library to order a detailed schematics book which detailed the living quarters, boiler rooms, captain room ect. The librarians looked at me like I was nuts.
Cut to 1997 and one of my favorite directors, James Cameron, releases his film about the doomed ship. I was a junior in high school yet when I saw that first trailer I was instantly swept away and I was a little kid again. I watched that trailer over and over again building up scenes in my mind that would never be there in the final film but it inspired dreams. It inspired creativity.
The film was a tour de force. I vividly remember sitting in the theater and the end credits began to roll and overhearing several comments about how this clearly was Oscar material. It had only been out for a week then.
It did go on to become a sort of phenomenon which in retrospect was good and bad. It became a cultral touchstone but it wasn't long before the backlash began. I blame the Celine Deon song, 'my heart will go on' for ruining it for guys everywhere. I will concede that the song did tarnish it's image a little and I hear all the time it's not very good or it's a chick flick. One word. Haters.
I on the other hand think it's one of the greatest films of the 90s and think once some more time has passed it's place in film history will be forever earned.
Recent Comments
Alex - wrote on 12/16/09 at 11:24 PM CT
Titanic Review comment
You hit it right on. I agree. Great movie. It has made it into the AFI top 100 and can only imagine it will climb as time goes by. Great cinematography, good acting, brilliant story, and a vivid depiction of what could have happened for many.
