Titanic 3D

Released: April 6th 2012

Director: James Cameron

Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet

Reviewer: Ben Harris

1912 brought devastation when the “unsinkable” Titanic met its watery grave after colliding with an iceberg during her maiden voyage to New York. It’s been an unbelievable 15 years since James Cameron, the visionary director, brought this unimaginable disaster to life, which grossed nearly two billion dollars at the box office. Now with modern technology, this once beautiful ship sets sail again in 3D.

‘Titanic’ bases itself around a fictional love story between Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio), two young people from very different social backgrounds, who fight for love and their lives when the Titanic meets its end.

Although this was originally released in 1997, this epic still holds its own in regards to filmmaking and special effects. It’s dated very well considering the development in CGI but the most visually stimulating aspect is the grand scale ship model, which is still, to this day, truly breathtaking.

The overall look and feel is simply beautiful – the superb direction, editing and cinematography move the film at a brisk pace, whilst the sets and costumes ooze class. However, it’s the mesmerising, yet haunting, score that really echoes the tragedy and emotion of the devastating misfortune.

Romance is the heart of the story. Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio deliver genuine performances alongside a sterling-supporting cast – Gloria Stuart, Kathy Bates, Bernard Hill and a pompous Billy Zane. With two likeable leads falling in love ‘Titanic’ does, admittedly, become overly sentimental but it’s a film that embraces it.

The films latter half is the petrifying aftermath of the incident with water slowly engulfing the ship and finally taking it victim. Cameron skillfully captures the chaos whilst still maintaining a good amount of romance.

The 3D is good but nothing out of the ordinary. The richness of the sets and costumes benefit from the added depth, and there’s the occasional conversion that grabs your attention, but it ends up feeling unnecessary.

Nevertheless if you can handle the bum numbing three hours it’s worth the revisit. Its nice to experience ‘Titanic’ on the big screen as it will forever be a timeless classic.