Wednesday 9 June 2021

Titanic (1997)

I was living in Montreal when James Cameron's "Titanic" came out, although saw the movie with my family when I came home for Christmas.  (The "draw me like one of your French girls" scene was a little awkward).


Movie poster for "Titanic" (1997)


I first learned of the sinking of the Titanic in a book that my mother got for us when we were young, "Strange Stories, Amazing Facts" (1975), which included "The Fiction That Came True: Strange case of the two Titanics".

The next time was in the pages of the first "Choose Your Own Adventure" book, "The Cave of Time" (1979), in which it's possible to be transported on board, just before the iceberg is struck (you choose whether to stay or leave).

I remember when the wreckage of the Titanic was discovered, in 1985.  We saw the IMAX documentary film "Titanica" several years later, at Ontario Place (which was re-released the same year that "Titanic" came out).

Something people nowadays probably don't recall is that most critics absolutely panned "Titanic" after its opening weekend (check the newspapers), which only reinforced to me how wrong film critics can be.

This was my fourth "favorite movie of the year" (the third in a row) that went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture (it's only happened a couple more times).  Were my tastes becoming more mainstream, or was the industry targeting my demographic?

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