Titanic

Year :  1997 (MCMXCVII)
Directed by :  James Cameron
Produced by :  James Cameron & Jon Landau
Studio :  20th Century Fox & Paramount Pictures
Screenplay by :  James Cameron, inspired by the tragic sinking of the RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.
Special effects :  Digital Domain
Length :  194 mins

In the night of 14 to 15 April 1912, the luxurious cruiser of the White Star Line, the RMS Titanic, hit an iceberg and sank south of Newfoundland.  She had 2,227 passengers and crew on board; only 705 survived.  A classic drama by definition, the sinking of the Titanic has inspired many novelists and movie makers.  They saw in the accident the symbol of the apogee of the industrial revolution and a condemnation of the arrogance of an era.

James Cameron is the latest to offer us his version of a night to remember.  An ambitious project equal only by it’s director’s ego, Titanic will succeed where others have failed.  Cameron has managed to get us involved and make us lose our impartial observer’s status.  We are no longer spectators, but one of the 2,227 passengers which is trying to survive.  I was blown away by the movie.

Less than a year ago, critics were attacking the movie and calling it a white elephant which would sink at the box-office.  The exaggerated production cost estimated at twenty million american dollars and the three hour predicted length seemed to prove them right.  But eleven Oscars later and one billion dollars in revenue have proven the critics wrong.  One of the best movies of 1997, Titanic is for me one of the most captivating movies of the decade.

The movie’s special F/X were done by James Cameron’s Digital Domain which did the special F/X for such movies as T2:  Judgment Day, The Abyss and True Lies. For Titanic, Digital Domain has given us impressive mechanical and cgi F/X.  As in all naval inspired movies, the use of scale models was inevitable.  Cameron’s Titanic does not deviate from this rule.  Wide shots and scenes of the sinking were done with the help of a 1/20th scale model of the RMS Titanic built with a lot of attention to details.  Another scale model was done of the wreck for the underwater scenes, because the lack of visibility at the real wreck depth prevented any kind of wide shots.  The model’s realism was accentuated by the use of virtual actors and stunt men who walked and fell on the scale model's decks.

Digital Domain has also solved one of the nagging problems of scale model photography on water.  Because water cannot be scaled down in any way, it tends to accentuate the fakeness of the F/X.  They solved the problem by creating a digital sea in which they can sail their scale model.

In brief, Digital Domain has given us impressive special F/X. They were discreet and subtle, which gives the photography of Titanic a realism never before achieved.

Titanic is more than a catastrophe movie, it’s a love and emancipation story that is sure to please everyone. &nsp;It is a must-see movie which I recommend without reserves.

    Go visit the movie official website

    Go visit Digital Domain website

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