The originalTitanicwas a luxury ocean liner sail-
ing from England to New York that struck and ice-
berg in the Atlantic Ocean and sank on April 14,
- Thought to be unsinkable, the ship was not
equipped with enough lifeboats, and many passen-
gers, some famous, were lost in the freezing waters.
The few survivors were rescued by a passing ship.
Subsequently, the exact location of the sunkenTi-
taniccould not be found, and the wreck was assumed
to be lost.
The discovery of theTitanicin 1985 captured the
imagination of director James Cameron. By the early
1990’s, Cameron had visited the site of the wreck in a
small three-person submarine and filmed it. He
went on to make twelve descents to film the remains
of theTitanic, and some of these clips are included in
the film, lending authenticity to the project.
Cameron is known for his ability to generate both
box-office smashes, such as theTerminatorfilms, and
films noted for special effects, such as those in his
science-fiction filmThe Abyss(1989).Titanicis a
melding of both box-office appeal and historically
accurate special effects. Cameron’s passion and in-
terest in the story of theTitanic, as well as the actual
shipwreck, drove him to make this film.Film Overview and Accolades The film opens with
the elderly Rose on a ship in the present day, telling
her granddaughter the story of her journey on the
Titanicas they travel to the site of the wreck. Soon
the story flashes back to Rose as a young woman of
privilege traveling on theTitanicwith her mother
and fiancé, Cal Hockley (Billy Zane). She meets an
artistic, free-spirited young man named Jack Dawson
and falls in love with him as they explore the ship.
Historical luminaries on board, such as Molly Brown
(Kathy Bates) and John Jacob Astor IV (Eric Brae-
den), make appearances, and the scope of the ship
in its re-creation is impressive. Rose survives the
shipwreck and in her old age still possesses a neck-
lace she keeps to remind her of Jack. The film ends
back in the present day, with Rose watching the foot-The Nineties in America Titanic 859
James Cameron wins the Oscar for Best Director for the filmTitanicon March 23, 1998.(Gary Hershorn/Reuters/Landov)