IT IS almost impossible to overstate the cultural impact that Titanic had upon the world when it was first released in 1997. Its breathtaking visual effects, tearjerking romance between Rose and Jack (played by Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio), and of course, the unforgettable theme song by Celine Dion which topped international music charts for months, all contributed to the film’s record-breaking US$1.8 billion worldwide box office gross.
The record stood for well over a decade, and was only broken by Avatar (2010), which happened to be directed by the same man who helmed Titanic – James Cameron. Cameron would eventually re-release Titanic in 3D in 2012 to mark the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the real-life Titanic.
Now, the visionary auteur is once again bringing a newly ‘remastered’ version of the film to global audiences to coincide with the 25th anniversary of its original release, this time in both 2D and 3D HDR. The film’s arrival in theatres around Valentine’s Day also pays tribute to the love story between Rose and Jack.
theSun was given the opportunity to speak to Cameron for five minutes via Zoom, and we decided to ask him for his thoughts about his most iconic work.
Q: Considering that you already released a 3D version over a decade ago, what was it about the current technology that made you decide to revisit the film again?
A: “Well, really the aggregating principle here is the 25th anniversary, the silver anniversary of a movie that has [an] evergreen quality in global culture. We released the 3D version 10 years ago, it was very successful. What we found out from that release was that a lot of people who had a nostalgia for the first time they saw the movie, if they’d seen it in theatres previously, and there was a lot of curiosity from younger viewers about what this whole Titanic thing was all about.
“And so, I guess we’re feeling a decade later, a lot of that might still be true, and releasing it on Valentine’s Day I think addresses the romantic quality of the film, and might appeal to a younger audience who hasn’t seen the film in a movie theatre, maybe hasn’t seen the film at all, but certainly hasn’t seen the film in a movie theatre, because it hasn’t been available for over a decade.
“And of course, we brought it up to the absolute state of the art of today by releasing it in [Dolby] Atmos Sound, which is the new 27-channel that’s available in a lot of systems these days. It looks good, or better, than it ever has; it looks absolutely gorgeous.
“It’s also one of those movies that you want to see in a theatre, and I think right now, at this moment in history, where we’re coming from just having been shut inside for two or three years, [people] are just now coming back to the cinema ... [and] Titanic is one of those films that’s guaranteed to be a greater experience in a movie theatre than if you just see it on video.”
Q: Why do you think the film has remained so iconic over the years? Is it the spectacle, the performances, or the way the story was told?
A: “I think it’s hard to say it’s one thing or another. I think absolutely, if I had to rank the experience of the movie, I would put the emotion first. You know, you can have a beautiful movie that doesn’t make you cry, but this film – certainly, a lot has been made about [the young female] audience crying. Okay, fine. What about the older male audience that was crying as well? And they can try to revise history and say they didn’t, but they did.
“So it’s a powerful emotional experience and it seemed to be that in every culture around the world ... So, that won’t have changed. That emotional reaction won’t have changed, it’ll still be there. And certainly it’s a more emotional experience, and a more spectacular experience in a movie theatre.
“And so we’ve got a whole decade now of people who haven’t had a chance to see it in a movie theatre, either they know it from before or they may be curious about it. So, I definitely think it’s a worthwhile experience.”
Q: In these 25 years, has your opinion of the film changed? Is there anything technically or narrative-wise that you wish you could redo?
A: “You know, I think we – I achieved all my artistic goals in that film. And I’m not the same person I was 25 years ago in a lot of ways, but in a lot of [other] ways, I am. Looking at it artistically, I’m very happy with the look of the film, I’m happy with the decisions that we made; in what to build full scale, in what to do in miniature, in what to do in visual effects, in what to do for real.
“I’m very happy with our casting obviously, I think that was a big part of the success of the film because you really believed in Jack and Rose, in Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio’s performances. They took us on that journey, [and also] all the other characters as well. [I’m] very happy with who we cast, and what they did, in terms of their acting work.
“So, no, there’s nothing I would change. Even some of the forensics work that we’ve done since has revealed small things that aren’t 100% accurate, but they’re so tiny, that we were maybe off by one or two percent. It doesn’t change the validity of the film historically. I don’t have to second guess what we did now. I think the historical accuracy of the film still stands today, even though we know a lot more [now] about what happened in those final hours and minutes than we did then. I think we made a lot of the right decisions, even then. So, no, there’s nothing I would change.
“There’s one thing: I would have made that raft that they were floating on at the end of the movie a little bit smaller, so there was no question about whether Jack could have survived or not!”
Titanic returns to Malaysian theatres for a limited run beginning Feb 9.
