Where does one start with all the reasons that Titanic is not the greatest movie of all time? Technically, it’s amazing…the ship looks real, the sinking looks real. But so so much of it is just wrong.
First, the idea that a drama had to be superimposed on an event that is one of the greatest real dramas of all time…it’s just ridiculous. From the point where the ship hits the iceberg, the scenes without Jack and Rose are compelling, heartbreaking, tearjerking, frightening. The scenes where they are running around yelling “Jack!” “Rose!” at each other are just…dumb. And worse, they are unnecessary and detract from the moments that will truly resonate, such as when Mr. Andrews realizes what is ultimately going to happen, or the mother telling her children a bedtime story, knowing it was the last time she will ever do so. Those moments tell the true story of Titanic, and we should have had more of them instead of the Jack/Rose nonsense.
Second, part of the Titanic story is certainly the era of history in which it happened. The old guard was on it’s way out, progressivism was on it’s way in. Working the social conflicts into the script is interesting and realistic, but not in the way it was done. It could not have been more heavy-handed and obvious. Every character was a one-dimensional caricature. Cal represented all that was bad, evil, small-minded, petty…and Rose was everything forward-thinking, modern, genuine, and true. No nuance at all.
Third, the dialogue, oh lord the dialogue. Too modern, too banal. Awful awful awful.
Take Jack & Rose out, tell the real story of Titanic, and it could have been one of the greatest movies of all time. As it is, no. Not even close.
That part where Jack and Rose are gettin’ it on (in the rich guy’s car) was kind of silly-why not just bang Jack when the fiancee is at one of those brand and cigars sessions?
Rose was just wild like that. She couldn’t do anything without some extra drama or flair.
I have this personal addendum to the ending that I choose to believe. Rose became pregnant with Jack’s baby during that encounter and went on to have the child. She covered for it by hooking up with some guy named Mr. Calvert shortly after she arrived in New York and forced him to marry her claiming that she was pregnant with his child. They moved to the Midwest and had a few other kids but Rose was never much of a mother and spent much of her time touring around the country claiming to do acting gigs but she really just used that as an excuse to fly planes and ride roller coasters like Jack told her about (look closely at the pictures at the very end of the movie to see documentation for that). Her poor husband was a dutiful father however and always picked up her slack.
Rose’s oldest child was a son she named Jack as well and he went on to father her granddaughter Lizzy who we meet escorting Rose to exploratory vessel. Even though Rose never admits it directly, she is really telling Lizzie about the story of her romance with her true grandfather that she had never mentioned to anyone else before.
Also, through a huge stroke of luck, the Heart of the Ocean happens to plop down at the bottom of the ocean right where they send the remote sub the next morning and the crew retrieves it easily. Brock Lovett becomes very wealthy and eventually marries Lizzie to complete the circle. Back at home, the grandchildren of her original fiancee Caledon (Cal) Hockley see news reports about the Heart of the Ocean find and have Rose murdered just out of spite.
The End.
I never understood the hate for Titanic. I thought it was awesome, and saw it four times before it left the theaters. Then for some reason it became hip to bash it.
But I still wouldn’t call it the best movie ever. That title goes to Eraserhead, which has moodier moods, scarier scares, higher highs, lower lows, quirkier characters, and the most squirm-inducing mise-en-scene ever committed to celluloid. Plus a bitchin’ looking baby.
Actually, I kind of appreciated that they didn’t use the “impregnated by the one and only go-round with the hyperfertile dying hero” trope that’s been used in other movies and tales such as Cold Mountain, Pearl Harbor, Pirates of the Caribbean 3 [sort of], etc.
Either that or Lovett, who’s been watching her on a monitor, freaks out, morphs into Yosemite Sam, storms the deck and tells her “When you throw a fifty million dollar diamond off my ship you’re a goin’ in after it!” and tosses her overboard as well. Upon learning what has happened Rose’s granddaughter decides it’s fair. They still get married and dedicate their lives to finding where in the ocean that damned thing landed.
I only saw it once in the theater in 1997 and I missed it completely during its 3D release unfortunately. All of the other times have been at home starting with a VHS tape and then two DVD editions as I wore the previous ones out.
For me, Sergeant York qualifies. Every time I turn it on, or it happens to be on TCM, I sit down and say, “I’m just gong to watch until the turkey shoot”. Before I know it, Alvin and Gracie are walking down to their homestead, with a real pump inside the house.
There are so many wonderful quiet moments in that movie - Margaret Wycherly as Mother York passing a bag of salt to Alvin, saying “You’ll be wanting some salt on your pone”, proud and happy that they have salt (she’d just traded some eggs at the general store for it). Dickie Moore, laconic and straight-faced, going to “Kentucky” to fetch Alvin home from the bar. Some guy makes a crack about Alvin going because his ma wants him. Dickie just holds out his hand for Alvin’s coat, knowing Alvin’s going to fight. This movie is one I can watch any time and come back better for it.
Actually, there was a scene shot and processed where Lovett does know she has the diamond prior to Rose throwing it into the water. He argues, pleads, etc… but to no effect: she still tosses the thing over the rail.
i think it’s a good film, deserving of the success and recognition it’s gotten. i think the extreme attention to detail is often overlooked because there are some people who have the mindset that anything wildly popular is automatically bad. but i can’t agree that it’s the best movie ever. it certainly deserves a place among other acclaimed movies on whatever lists are floating around out there, but i wouldn’t put it at number one. i’m not entirely sure citizen kane belongs at number one, actually, but i understand why it usually ends up there. (that’s really another thread, though)
for what it’s worth, titanic is one of the few movies that i feel i’ve “used up”- meaning i doubt i will ever voluntarily sit down and watch the whole thing ever again. don’t get me wrong, i’m one of those people who can watch movies over and over and over, but i’ve just seen it too many times. i know every line of dialogue, every scene. i did see it last year when it returned to theaters, but otherwise the moment has more or less passed.
The only way “Titanic” is the best is the costumes. I’d kill for Kate’s wardrobe. I can’t think of any other movie costumes I love more. (And I LOVE costume movies!). There are a lot that are close, but “Titanic”'s are my favorite.
My big long favorite saga though, is “Star Wars”. Maybe not the greatest made movies of all, (and yes, I’ll cop to liking the prequels!), but way better than “Titanic”.
I confess to not having read the entire thread, and it will take me a while to come up with my favorite, but honestly, right from the opening scenes, the dialogue in Titanic was so poorly written, it hurt my teeth.
In my opinion, Titanic is a great movie. It deserved its best picture Oscar. But I wouldn’t put it in my top ten list.
My number one favorite? Casablanca. And a comparison of Casablanca and Titanic shows why the latter isn’t in the top ten. Both movies had good romance stories - but Casablanca also had better dialogue, better characters, better pacing, a better setting, and better music. In Titanic’s defense, it did have better nudity.
