AFI’s top 100 Movies – Titanic (1997)

One project that I have always been interested in undertaking would be to watch some of the movies on the American Film Institute’s top 100 lists that I have either neither seen before or have not seen in a very long time. Therefore, for the next several weeks I have decided to watch one movie a week from the list and record a few of my thoughts on it.

The first movie that I decided watch is one that has been in the news quite a bit recently- Titanic (1997), which was #83 on AFI’s 2007 list. Because I can’t stand watching 3D movies I opted out of seeing Titanic‘s recent 3D release, and instead pulled out my dusty, old VHS and watched it at home. I have to confess that after 9/11 I stopped watching this movie because seeing all of the destructing and watching people jumping off the ship while it was sinking started to really bother me. In fact, my mind started to make so many random comparisons between the Titanic incident and the Twin Towers to the point that even looking at a picture of the ship would sometimes spook me out. Fortunately, it has been many years now and I am over that. In fact, seeing all of the recent previews for the film’s 3D version actually reminded me how much I used to love Titanic. Thus, I felt inspired to watch it again after over a decade.

I have to admit that being older has really changed my perspective on Titanic. I noticed how the ship started to fill up with abnormally clean ocean water while it was sinking. I started wondering how that silly necklace managed to not slip out of Rose’s pocket during all of that action. In fact, it was quite a miracle that Rose survived, wasn’t it? Do you think she caught pneumonia afterwards? Was it easy restarting her life again under a new identity?

Questions…Questions…In fact, I even questioned the whole point of the film. After all of the hours I spent sitting on my bed watching and listening to it while making duct tape rose pens, I couldn’t help but question whether Titanic is simply another tragic love story or if it was also meant to inspire an interest in a particular era in time or event. Was it James Cameron’s intention that viewers should learn from the ill-fated voyage and relate to the story on some personal level? I certainly hope so.

I saw Titanic twice in theaters as a tween, and in me it evoked feelings of mystery and wonder. I even went to the library and looked for books about the ship so I could learn more about it. Last night, however, watching it just kind of got on my nerves a little. All I could think about were grave robbers and the exploitation of a tragic event.

Yet at the same time, I am still in awe of the film’s extraordinary craftsmanship. I have always been impressed by the cinematography and the countless hours that were spent building sets and ship replicas. Titanic is truly a masterpiece and it has rightfully earned every accolade that it has received throughout the years. At the end of the day, I still can’t help but hold this movie in high esteem. I also don’t doubt for a minute that feelings of nostalgia will probably inspire me to watch Titanic again another ten to fifteen years from now.