A Movie of Titanic Proportions

One of the world’s greatest tragedies occurred on April 15, 1912 when the “unsinkable” Titanic sank after striking an iceberg, killing more than 1,500 people.

Decades later, movie director James Cameron set to bring the disaster to the screen in an epic format.

“My goal in making this film was to show not only the dramatic death of this infamous ship, but her brief and glorious life as well,” says Cameron. For Titanic is not just a cautionary tale – a myth, a parable, a metaphor for the ills of mankind. It is also a story of faith, courage, sacrifice and, above all else, love.”

Jack and Rose – The Characters and Casting. James Cameron’s mythical story follows the characters of Jack and Rose, a third class and first class passengers meet and fall in love despite the social ramifications of their different classes.

“Their connection on an emotional level is what transforms Rose from this sort of Edwardian first-class geisha who is dying on the inside into this spirited young woman on the cusp of a new life,” says Cameron. “Jack possesses this natural energy and purity of spirit which makes that transformation possible.”

Cameron looked for two up and coming stars to fill the roles of Jack and Rose. He finally settled on Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

“Luck was a major factor in casting Leo,” says Cameron. “I just felt you would care about him a lot more. He has tremendous vitality on screen. Leo has a kind of wiry, survival quality about him that’s pretty cool. As for Kate, there was such a luminous quality in her face, voice and eyes that I knew audience would be ready to go the distance with her, which was critical because it’s a hell of a journey and she’s ultimately the person you’re making that journey with.”

Every good relationship story has obstacles and in Titanic there are several that Jack and Rose face. First of all is the fact that they come from different classes and to first class people of lower status are virtually non-existent (which is why third class passengers couldn’t freely roam the ship). Another obstacle that Jack and Rose face is the fiancé of Rose, Caledon Hockley (played by Billy Zane).

A Return to Titanic’s Grave. In preparing for the production of Titanic, the filmmakers spent more than five years doing in-depth research on the ship’s history and the disaster. And during this time, Cameron set in motion a plan for 12 trips to Titanic’s real grave, insisting that the production of the movie would not occur until he had seen the real ship. At the time there were only five submersibles that were capable of reaching the depth of Titanic’s final resting place, two and half miles deep.

As the dives were being arranged, through the chartering of a Russian scientific vessel, Cameron wanted to take footage of the Titanic to use in the movie. The only problem is that most cameras can’t survive at that depth outside of the capsule. “No one had ever taken a camera that deep before,” says Cameron. “The crushing force of the water would implode any normal camera housing. I wanted to have it outside in the water, attached to the submersible, but be able to pan and tilt naturally and be able to use wide-angle lenses to get the most out of the shots. So we had to create a camera system.”

At the depth of two and a half miles deep, lighting became a major issue, particularly the type needed for a Hollywood production. The solution was the use of a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) that would carry a special lighting system. The ROV could be launched outside of the sub and piloted into position to assist in the shoot.

The insight Cameron gained from the submarine trips was invaluable to the creation of the film. “We literally saw things that no one has seen since 1912, since the ship went down,” says Cameron. “We’ve integrated these images into the fabric of the film and that reality has a profound impact on the emotional power of the film.”

An example of this was the camera’s ability to go inside the ship at Titanic’s grave. There it was able to navigate to places no one has seen since the ship sank. In one suite, the camera filmed a bronze fireplace box. He was able to restore this image to its original glory for the film, thus adding to the accuracy of the sets.

“When you see the interior and exterior of Titanic in this film, it is absolutely accurate,” says Cameron. “It is as close as you can get to being in a time machine, going back and being on that ship.”

A Titanic Set. The main set for the movie Titanic was built at Rosarito Beach, in Baja California, Mexico. The exterior set of the ship was nearly full size at 775 feet. In addition, a 17 million gallon seawater tank was built in which the movie crew could sink the ship for the climax of the film.

The enormous complexity of the Titanic exterior and interior sets were amazing. “It took us a long time to really get our minds around how big Titanic really was,” says Cameron. “It was huge. 880-feet long. In weight, it was 48,000 tons in displacement, but in physical weight of steel, it was closer to 60,000 tons. This thing was a monster.

To capture the awesome visual angles of the ship, a massive tower crane was constructed. “We could go right over the top to the funnels and reach a point on the ship from end to end in a space of five minutes. We could put a camera anywhere over the whole length of that ship,” says Cameron. The stability of the crane and camera was also essential in shooting scenes that would have digital visual effects incorporated.

A Mammoth Undertaking. From pre-production days through the final edit, the creation of the movie Titanic was a massive undertaking that required many unique elements coming together to form one amazing adventure. And the payoff was huge as audiences embraced the epic adventure and propelled it to a success that the real ship never found.

( Tracy J. A Movie of Titanic Proportions

[Electronic Resource] / J. Tracy . —

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2. Read the text again and answer the questions. Prove your point of view using the information from the text.

1. What was J. Cameron’s goal in making this film?

2. What type of film is it?

3. Why did he choose Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet to play the roles of Jack and Rose?

4. What was the purpose of J. Cameron’s returning to Titanic’s Grave?

5. What difficulties did the team meet in the process of shooting the real ship?

6. What do you remember about the Titanic exterior and interior sets?

7. What innovations were used to make the film?

8. The author calls the production of “Titanic” a mammoth undertaking. Why?