AFTER a seven month conversion process, James Cameron’s ocean going epic, Titanic, is ready to set sail again- in 3D, and with eight extra minutes of footage.
The re-release marks the 100th anniversary of the liner’s famous demise. Indeed, Titanic has dominated all media over the last few weeks, with ITV having engaged Julian Fellows to direct a four-part series. The critical knives were out long before James Cameron’s Titanic hit screens in 1995.
Spiralling costs that led to it becoming the most expensive motion picture of the 20th Century, and a cast without any big stars (Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio were not on the ‘A’ list at the time) seemed to doom the film. The final budget came in at around 240 million dollars.
However, audiences reacted positively, with Cameron proved right and many critics wrong.
What gives Titanic the Cameron stamp is the visual grandeur and scope of its detail. For sheer technical achievement and spectacle it is in a class of its own.
How it all looks in 3D remains to be seen. Just to recap: Rose DeWitt (Winslet) is an upper-class teenager talked into marriage to an American business shark, Cal Hockley (Billy Zane), by her mother. Cal is a racist and bully.
They are travelling from Europe to the USA to arrange the big day, and on board she meets penniless Jack Dawson (DiCaprio), from a small farm holding.
Even though it takes upwards of 100 minutes before we see an iceberg, there is plenty of activity on board ship to feast eyes on.
