Titanic (1997)

[magazinewhore]

The Titanic Sequel is so freakin' awesome. I like the fact that there's a guy in a Nazi uniform chasing Jack. heh.

[dwanollah]

dukeofurl said:

I saw it twice on the big screen, something I very rarely do with movies. Titanic is all about the hubris and our inability to learn what the Greeks taught us 2500 years ago. Unsinkable! They were just begging for the gods to plonk that iceberg in the way.

Which makes James Cameron's unironic "I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD" thing even MORE stupid.

admin said:

ITA, except I would also include the part where that dude falls off the deck railing and clangs into the propeller. That was awesome.

Yeah...okay...I'll give you that. I also liked the part where they were knocked over by the influx of water.

But the part where he dies? Let's just say I wasn't moved. It was more like "Dude, just knock the bitch off the raft. Drowning in icy water ain't a great way to go."

Like how could Jack not know that hangin' out in freezing water for hours = dead, dude. DEAD.

So I've decided to think he sacrificed his life for Rose because he knew The Man would never let them be togethah.

I've also decided I want Titanic costumes for me AND my Barbies.

[Deleted]

laconicchick said:

I think Titanic Heaven was a dream before she died. I don't think the other people were actually there (well, I don't believe in heaven anyway, but that's beside the point). I think she dreamed it and then died and went wherever she went.

I heard it could be interpreted either way, that Cameron did that on purpose.

I like to think it was a dream-it fits in with the song, "Every night in my dreams, I see you..." blah blah blah. So she finally threw the necklace back in the water, and maybe that was her dream that night.

Because really, she'd rather be with some kid she knew for like, a DAY, than her husband of how many years? That bothers me.

I also think it would have been more interesting had she posed for Jack, but NOT slept with him.




Oh, and you can get jewelry replicas here, although they're closed for remodeling right now.


ETA: Dwanollah, I have the Rose doll from Galoob AND the one from the Franklin Mint. Oh, and someone linked to the MovieGowns.com site? The seamstress is an online friend of mine-she's great.

[dwanollah]

Because I'm feeling snitty, here's what I wrote about Titanic on my website about movies I hate a few years back:

It's the obvious choice, I'm sure, but remember, when it was in the theatres, no one else would admit that it was 3+ hours and two hundred million dollars and 882 feet of SUCK! No, instead it was all "EPIC!" and "SPECTACTULAR" and "OSCAR!" But every single second of it was heavy-handed and predictable, bolstered by the worst dialogue committed to film (well, until The Phantom Menace and Attack of the Clones). And, pardon the pun, but there was no depth to the film or to the characters. Okay, so Cameron had 'em build a full-scale replica of the Titanic. Wow. That's big, expensive, filmmaking, innit? But it would have been nice if all the spectacular replica stuff had been matched with something even remotely interesting in regards to script.

I got dragged to this movie by The Husband-Type Man, who'd stopped in front of the Megaplex entrance to examine posters, and was curious (and was craving popcorn, which is the way I get dragged to most movies, in fact). Lordy. It was all "Spot the clichés!" time from Scene One. There's the Bohemian artist and the genteel society girl. There's the oppressive and pushy mother and the swarthy, evil fiancé (and we know he's especially dastardly because, ah ha!, he wears more eyeliner than Rose!). The only remotely interesting character was Molly Brown, and she ended up being, like, Jack's cheerleader for one scene before disappearing entirely, her already-meager storyline completely unresolved. Moreover, the action was full-body cliché too. I mean, Rose is distraught and goes running to the ship's prow, ready to throw herself to her death, until sensitive Jack talks her out of it. And I leaned over to THTM and whispered snarkily, "That's where they'll end up when the boat sinks, and one of 'em'll say 'Hey, this is where we first met.'" Yeah. Gee. Or then Rose's mother is all talking about how OPPRESSIVE and DIFFICULT it is to be a woman… while violently lacing up Rose's corset-strings. Geddit?! It's CONFINING to be a woman, JUST LIKE A CORSET! Good GRIEF! People are so dumb that anything less subtle would go over their heads? Really? (Which I guess is why the whole theatre just cracked up with the bit about the Monet and Picasso paintings! Oh, the wit! The irony!)

What was romantic about Jack and Rose, anyway? It was like Grease, but on a doomed steamer instead of at a hot-rod race or graduation carnival, where the girl has to come down from her high-horse and prove to the boy that she can party with the rest of them and keep it real, dawg. She has to get drunk and spit and fuck and sweat and show her boobies to prove that she's brave, that she's worthy of her man. Romance? For the two or three whole days of their big love affair, Rose and Jack pretty much just giggle and repeat each other's names a zillion times and run around like twerpy 12-year-olds. (For that matter, Leo LOOKS like a twerpy 12-year-old!) And we're supposed to believe that this twee 3-day "romance" had more of an impact than her marriage of how many decades…? Oh, excuse me, I forgot: soulmates!

And what about these multi-million-dollar special effects…? The falling bodies and green-blue corpses looked so fakey GCI that it was nearly impossible to muster up any real horror for the actual lives lost.

To make it worse, Cameron just left a whole pile of things unexplained. What happens to Rose's mother and erstwhile fiancé after Titanic? Rose's mother never saw her daughter's picture in newspapers, never saw the movies Rose acted in or nothing? Never tried to find out what happened to her own DAUGHTER, for pity's sake? Swarthy Eyeliner Guy never did either, before he croaked (especially when the necklace was in the pocket of the jacket he gave to Rose)? And what about Molly Brown; they couldn't show or mention anything about her remarkable life? I suppose the framework plot with Old Lady Rose had potential to be interesting, but even that blew. I mean, wow… at the end… how (*rimshot*) DEEP! Does Old Rose die, or is she just dreaming?! Isn't ambiguity RAD? *eye roll* Of course, the whole movie is Symbolism and Irony for Retards, what with the stars showing the pattern of the stupid heart-necklace, and Jack still having the handcuffs on when he dies, and roses and dolls and art objects and flying- But then again, when the director of a movie that is ostensibly about the hubristic foibles of human arrogance re: making things then proceeds to declare himself "King of the World!" after winning an Oscar without blink or blush, one can only assume that he's wading in the shallow end of the irony and symbolism pool, along with all the 13-year-old fans of the movie.

And, all the more, the movie that I saw the week after Titanic was The Godfather. From one directorial extreme to the other, man. Jayzuz.

I still hate it, btw, even if I do love the costumes. But that has more to do with my current Edwardian Obsession.

[petals]

shanmac said:

The dolphins looked kind of cheesy, too.

While watching this movie in the theater, two older women behind us kept making comments. Annoying, but they weren't too loud. Then the scene with the dolphins started, and one woman said, "Oh, look! Sharks!"

Hubby and I looked at each other with wide eyes, and started to laugh. In a packed movie theater, we sat there and snickered for at least 15 minutes.

[ladymadonna]

Because really, she'd rather be with some kid she knew for like, a DAY, than her husband of how many years? That bothers me.

That always bothered me, too. Like, ok, she survived the Titanic and went on to have a full life with a man she obviously loved. But it was all a LIE, she was really in love with ship-rat JACK for umpteen years and fuck you Rose-hubby!

I have to admit, I get caught up in this movie, but only when I am in the right mood. I like to watch it when I am in full-on PMS, weepy, scarfing cheesecake and beer, taking everything my friends say to me too seriously, mode. It was SOO made for emo teens. Rose has really pretty dresses, though. Props to the costume dept.


The whole movie is SOOO emo. The teens I work with love it, just for that reason.

[laconicchick]

You just don't understand their love, because you're old and bitter and jaded!! *emo tear*

I don't think I will ever stop loving this movie. It's just so pretty.

[Baby Fish Mouth]

guinastasia said:

Because really, she'd rather be with some kid she knew for like, a DAY, than her husband of how many years? That bothers me.

I can't believe I'm defending this movie, but I found the idea kinda poignant actually. Rose didn't choose Jack's death; it was an unfortunate circumstance and she went on living because of her promise to him. I'm sure she loved her husband, but he wasn't the love of her life.

The ending of Bridges of Madison County was along the same lines - a woman who gave her life to her family but chose to spend eternity with her "soulmate."

[jynni]

To make it worse, Cameron just left a whole pile of things unexplained. What happens to Rose's mother and erstwhile fiancé after Titanic?

They might've never explained what happened to Rose's mother but it was mentioned that Cal "arried and inherited his millions". During the stock market crash he lost all his money and "put a pistol in his mouth - or so I read".

I don't get the bad CGI comments. There's really only one bad shot in the movie and that's the long shot of the ship at the beginning right after it sets sail.

[Mutagen]

petals said:

While watching this movie in the theater, two older women behind us kept making comments. Annoying, but they weren't too loud. Then the scene with the dolphins started, and one woman said, "Oh, look! Sharks!"

LOOOOOOOOL!!!! I am barely keeping my laughter within my cubicle walls!

I thought Super Mario (hah!) was the hottest guy in the movie. Then again I've always had a weakness for Mediterranean-looking men. I found myself lusting over Danny Nucci when he appeared on House M.D. and was shocked to find out he was the same guy from this movie.

As for the rest of Titanic, I couldn't care less about the romance or plot or TWU WUV, but I have to hand it to James Cameron: I always find myself totally engrossed by the ship-sinking sequence.