When Titanic was
re-released in the theaters for the 100-year anniversary of the boat’s sinking,
I bought tickets in advance for opening night.
There was no way I was missing it.
Besides the fact that my husband never saw it in the theater the first
go-around in 1997 (and he was probably the only one who hadn’t), it has been my
favorite movie of all time. And mostly,
I was looking forward to seeing it in the theater with the different eyes of a
married adult as opposed to the dreamy teenager I was back then.
Boy, did I get made fun of for going to see it again. Especially for buying the advanced tickets
and waiting in line for a good seat. Titanic is one of those things, like
listening to light rock or watching soap operas, which nobody wants to admit to
liking, but many secretly do. What’s the
shame, really?
It’s the 2nd
highest-grossing film of all time. It
was in the theaters for nearly a year.
It was the number one film for months.
And let’s not forget, it won the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Those facts alone should be enough to justify Titanic as a great film. But here is why I really think it’s the best
of all time. And have I mentioned? I’ve seen A LOT of Oscar-winning Best Pictures. As a bucket-list goal of mine is to see all
86 winners, I have seen nearly 40 of them.
Titanic undoubtedly still tops
the list (I mean, The English Patient,
really?).
The era
I love the early 1900’s.
Practically all my favorite movies and shows take place in this
era: Downton
Abbey, Legends of the Fall, Fried Green Tomatoes, Mr. Selfridge. I love the wardrobe. I love how simple the times seemed without
television and mobile devices. I loved
how people were more family-oriented.
How people were more honorable and selfless. I mean, in today’s world, can you picture as
many guys giving up their chance at life to women and children on
lifeboats? Or women staying behind to
die with their husbands? I honestly
can’t.
The shout-out to my
home state
Who doesn’t love when their home state is mentioned? Jack Dawson was from Chippewa Falls, WI. And while the film may not have been
historically accurate about the lake he fell in while ice fishing, it was nice
for a change to be mentioned for something other than beer, cheese and the Green Bay Packers.
A movie that teens,
adults and elderly love
Many Americans saw Titanic
in the theater more than once. I saw it
twice. Some saw it dozens of times. But most amazingly to me, it got my
grandparents to shut off their TV and visit the local multiplex for the first
time in over 10 years. Now that’s
something. For one reason or another, Titanic had the ability to draw in
viewers at all ages from all walks of life.
Whether it was to zone out and focus on Leonardo DiCaprio’s looks, to
watch the budding romance between Rose and Jack, or to see a legendary tragedy
unfold. Titanic was for everyone – and that’s why everyone saw it.
It makes you feel
Not only did the audience feel for Rose when she lost Jack,
but we also felt for everyone else. We felt
for the millionaires who stood in their tuxes awaiting their untimely
demise. For the third class passengers
locked below decks, not even having a chance at safety. For Thomas Andrews, who watched the boat he
designed sink on its maiden voyage. For Bruce
Ismay, who cowardly hopped into a lifeboat and watched events unfold in
horror. For Rose’s mother, who probably
never knew that her 17-year-old daughter actually did survive. For Lizzy, who realized what an amazing story
her grandmother had been hiding all her life.
And for the survivors,who, as Rose said, “waited for an absolution that
would never come.”
The lovers DIDN’T end
up together
Sure, many Best Picture winners don’t have the leads ending
up together. But so many movies DO. They’re predictable and unoriginal. But Titanic
let the lovers get together halfway through the film, only to be torn apart
near the final scene. So, instead of
ending with a happily-ever-after, we got to imagine what kind of life our
heroine Rose lived as an independent woman.
Sure, in the final seconds we saw her walk the grand staircase back to
Jack after she dies, but there was also 86 years of living a full life in
between then and the sinking.
Rose is the ultimate
heroine
For every 10 movies where a male lead is the hero, there is
maybe one that has a strong female heroine.
Rose is definitely that. She’s
strong not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. Rose isn’t the typical size 0 beauty. She’s well –read. She stands up for what she believes in and
speaks her mind. Most of all, Rose isn’t
afraid to start over with the new life she really wanted. Just try to find a better example for all the
teenage girls that flocked to theaters to not only swoon over Leo DiCaprio, but
also budding star Kate Winslet.
The movie has
EVERYTHING
And I mean EVERYTHING.
It has tragedy (“I’ll never let go Jack, I’ll never let go”), comedy
(“With the size of that rock, you would have gone straight to the bottom”),
romance (“Where to Miss? To the stars”),
history (“Titanic will sink – it’s a mathematical certainty”), a villan
(“I make my own luck”), a hero (“We’re going to make it, Rose”), a heroine
(“I’m going to do this – with or without your help”) extravagance (“It was the
ship of dreams”), and loss (“1,500 people went into the sea that night”). What more could you possibly ask for from a
movie?
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