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Author
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Topic: Titanic (1997)
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Mike Blakesley
Film God
Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99
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posted 05-04-2012 03:44 AM
I'm a little surprised that there isn't a thread on this movie, given the recent 3-D reissue.
We played it last week in 3-D to "fill a hole" in the schedule before the summer movies onslaught. I haven't seen the movie since we played it on its original run.
It had the same effect on me this time as before. It's one of the very few 3-hour movies that doesn't feel like a 3-hour movie. Even if you aren't into the love-story aspects of the movie, the views of the ship and all the mechanics of it are fascinating to watch and make the time go by quickly. The engine room scenes are impressive, and the detail in the sets is amazing.
After the ship sinks, I found myself feeling short of breath, as if I'd been holding my breath without thinkng about it. The sinking scene is that intense, as everyone knows by now. It's just heartbreaking to know that the event really happened, and in fact was probably even worse for the victims than the movie makes it look. One benefit to the length of the movie is that it gives you time to get to know a lot of the people on the ship besides the main characters, leading you to feel for them more than you might otherwise.
The first time I saw the movie, there was one small bit of it that drove me bananas because it was SO STUPID, and that's the bit where Rose uses a fire ax to chop a handcuff chain to free Jack. First, that's impossible to do with an ax. Second, there are a ton of other, more believable and less stupid ways to accomplish the same thing. Rose using a hairpin to pick the lock would have been more believable than the ax thing.
On this particular viewing, something bugged me that hadn't before....and that's the part where Rose drops the necklace in the water. It dawned on me that if this was a real story, there's no way they'd have hauled this 100-year-old lady out onto that boat in a helicopter. They would have loaded up the computers and the videos and done the whole interview with her at the nursing home, or wherever she was living. The ONLY REASON the movie brought her to the boat was so she could be there to throw the necklace into the water. In other words, it felt really contrived. But, overall it's really a small quibble. It makes for a great end to the movie, in fact turning a sad ending into a happy one with "closure."
Now having said that, my favorite part of the ending comes later, after she drops the necklace. That whole sequence, the overview of all of the pictures of her life, her dreaming of being back on Titanic (or is she in heaven?) is just a great coda.
I thought the 3-D conversion looked great. Kind of funny, during the nude scene, when it would show Rose's body being partially blocked by Jack, I found myself tilting my head to one side trying to look around him!
Overall, four out of five stars.
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Sam Graham
AKA: "The Evil Sam Graham". Wackiness ensues.
Posts: 1431
From: Waukee, IA
Registered: Dec 2004
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posted 05-04-2012 12:46 PM
(Eh...what the hell.)
CINEMA: Regal Aliante Stadium 16 & IMAX, North Las Vegas, NV
AUDITORIUM: I dunno...whatever the IMAX auditorium is
PRESENTATION: LIEMAX 3D
PRESENTATION PROBLEMS: It was LIEMAX
Rating: Four stars (out of four)
I saw this again on April 15, 2012 (the 100th anniversary of the sinking) for what I think is my thirteenth time in theatres if I remember correctly. Six of those times were in Auditorium 6 at Act III's Kansas City 18. The rest scattered about. Once much later than the original release at what was known at the time as Cricket Super Screen at Megaplex 17, who did a special run because the traveling Titanic artifact exhibit was in town.
The Luxor now has the good stuff as part of their "Titanic...The Artifact Exhibition", which is scheduled for a 10-year stay. It includes the "big piece"...a chunk of the hull. Went there after watching the movie again. Most of the pieces are interesting enough, but the hull piece...that's amazing to see. I sat there for probably a half hour staring at it. They've also built a replica of the famous staircase within, where you can get your picture taken (for loads of money, I assume).
Regal went all out for Titanic. They gave a 'boarding pass' card with the ticket that included information on pre-ordering the upcoming Blu-ray release (September 14. Also, Grosse Point Blank hits Blu-ray August 7, which has nothing to do with anything, except that everybody needs to know this.)
So I'm here for the first show of the day, it's twenty minutes to showtime, and the ticket taker won't let customers in because the auditorium isn't ready. HUH? So we wait another five minutes or so, and somebody on the radio sounds the all clear. So we go in, and there are ALREADY OTHER PATRONS IN THERE.
Unlike most of the Regals operating in town, this is an actual Regal build, not an old Act III. The IMAX auditorium is a basic Regal auditorium with an enlarged screen. Standard cloth Regal seats and layout otherwise. Because frankly, they're just laughing at us now.
THE PLOT: A ship sinks. Wackiness ensues.
The only reason I went to see this originally was because I accidentally discovered one night that Act III had put up a multiplex within driving distance, and I had to go experience it immediately. The theatres in and around Des Moines were universally crap. In Portland, I'd go to a movie or two a week. In Des Moines, two or three a year outside of drive-in season. This was a life-changing event for me.
What I knew about the movie was that it was way over budget and everybody had predicted it was going to bomb. And like pretty much everybody else, I was completely blown away upon actually seeing it.
There are so many amazing scenes. The most effective one I'd forgotten about is where the ship has just sunk and they pan back on the passengers screaming in the freezing water.
It's too bad I saw it this time in this godawful room. Usually I notice screen door effect during the green bands or a static shot with a solid background, but during the regular feature it goes away. Not in this room. All the way through. Pixels were blatant, particularly on smaller objects. Completely inadequate. And the sound wasn't all that great either. Easily the worst presentation I've ever experienced with this movie.
It would have been nice if one of the old Act III's in town were running this in 2D/4K, but nobody was. Everybody went 3D. I would have gone if they had.
I once had an idea for a Titanic sequel that involved zombies rising from the cemetery in Nova Scotia that has a bunch of Titanic passenger graves for the purpose of taking back the artifacts and returning them to the ship, but James Cameron wouldn't take my calls.
If you haven't gotten enough Titanic fever yet, Criterion released "A Night to Remember" on Blu-ray recently. The stunning clarity of the shots of their extremely cheesy model iceberg are...well...a little too good really.
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