It’s that time again for my tri-annual Titanic rewatch! Anyone who has met me, and asked what my favourite movie is, has definitely jumped back when I overenthusiastically yell, “TITANIC!” I just can’t help it. It has a little bit of everything and that everything is so, so good. And yet, it’s surprisingly quite difficult to convince people to watch it. People will answer, “It’s too long,” or “I know the ending.” But here’s the thing, those are the best parts, and if you hear me out maybe you’ll want to join me for my upcoming rewatch!
- Young Leo
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I don’t think this needs much explanation, and honestly it convinces about 50% of people. But if you need more convincing, read on…
- The titanic sinks
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Sorry for the spoiler, but apparently you already know how the movie ends. The thing is, the movie was created with that assumption; you only get about a 20 second crash course on that fact, before diving in with all the foreshadowing. And at that point, you’ll want your phone handy, so you can Google if what they just said was true or not.
- a mixed bag
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One of the hardest things is to categorize Titanic into a single set genre. Yes, it has romance, but that’s not really the main aspect — the Titanic is. But at the same time, it’s not all in-your-face with the actual history of the Titanic. Except for the foreshadowing, which in combination with the gun chase and snide jokes kind of makes it an action movie. It’s also got commentary on class, mental health and gender, albeit sprinkled in with the fashion and dancing. You see my trouble, this movie has a bit of everything which makes it hard to categorize; however, that also means that there’s a little bit for everyone!
- The oscars
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It’s important to remember how many awards this movie received. Now, this isn’t to wave in your face that it’s an “approved” good movie, but rather how widespread the excellence of the film is. Not only is the story well told and acted, but the music soundtrack is so dynamic and the audio quality still impresses me today. You can actually tell what the actors are saying! Crazy, right? That’s not all, the costume and make-up departments also won, which I totally support — seriously, where did they find such a massive hat for the scene above? And the visual effects are crazy, especially when you watch the ending credits and see only a handful of names. If this were a Marvel movie today, you would need at least two rounds of “My Heart Will Go On.”
- The Ending — and the Beginning
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The part that seems to shock people the most is when they turn on the movie and the characters are in the present-day. And this goes on for a while with its own plotline! You also get to see real footage of the Titanic wreck which I think is worth it in itself.
- It’s meant to be paused
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Trust me, I should know, I have this movie on VHS, DVD, Blue-ray, and purchased on multiple streaming platforms. The latter is the only version that will lie to you and say you need to watch this movie all at once. In fact, I don’t actually think you should watch this movie all at once. Every other format has it broken into two parts. So, while it may seem like that’s because it was too long to fit on a single track, it actually makes sense with the story. (Unlike the weird season split that Netflix has started doing.) Or, if you’re like, “Nah, I’m committed to doing this,” just remember that a) the movie’s run time is exactly how long it took for the Titanic to sink, and b) you sat through Endgame, and that was probably in a movie theatre where you couldn’t pause or go to the bathroom.
- You Can Bandwagon
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Last year was the movie’s 25th anniversary and the director, James Cameron, released special and deleted scenes to celebrate. Only 5 years before that, the 20th anniversary was celebrated. Considering that we’ve only seen 30 minutes of deleted scenes, and his original cut was over 6 hours, I can confidently say that if you bandwagon now there will be new content and anniversary events for the foreseeable future.
- Olaf, Sven, and friends
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There are so many small details in this movie which might have you tilting your head throughout. One in particular which still stumps me are the names of the men that Jack plays poker with. Their names are in fact Olaf and Sven! Is this a coincidence? You tell me!
Meanwhile, for any history buff, discussions of many other artists and theorists are made in humorous ways For example, someone uses one of Frued’s theories as an insult (not so different from today), and the insulted party whispers and naively asks if Freud is a passenger on the ship.
In addition, two shocking names which do not appear are Gwenyth Paltrow and Matthew McConohay, but it was pretty close! They were nearly cast as Jack and Rose instead of Kate and Leo. Keep that in mind when thinking of all the iconic scenes and admire how weird that could have been.
- Do it for Leo and Kate
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Finally, ending how we started, do it for their friendship. This is where it all began and they seemed to have fun! Yes, maybe Leo’s other relationships aren’t as great, but him and Kate are my true BFF ideal. Their friendship is personally one of my favourites, as it remains as one of the only ones which gets publicity because of how supportive it is. While highlights of the Red Carpet show people sneering and badmouthing, there’s also always a happy moment of Kate and Leo cheering each other on when the other wins — and let’s be real, one of them is always winning some award or another, so you get to see this — A LOT. And I never get tired of it.
As you can maybe tell, I LOVE this movie! And even though it’s not Pete Davidson’s approved “short a** movie” list, I can promise you that there is something in it that will make you laugh, smile or cry. Each time that I watch it, I consider the story differently and it leaves me in a surprising mood. I don’t know if it’s the heartfelt realizations or the applicability to today, but my thoughts of it are always everchanging. That being said, one thought always remains the same, and that is how much I adore this movie — and I think that you will, too.
Titanic is available for free through Criterion On Demand (Queen’s Omni), through a subscription on Paramount +, or for purchase (~$4.99) on Apple TV, YouTube and Prime Video.