25 years ago, on November 1, 1997, the legendary disaster film Titanic by Canadian director James Cameron premiered at the Tokyo International Film Festival.
This is one of the largest projects in the history of cinema.
In the center of the plot is the poor guy Jack.
He wins a card ticket for the maiden voyage of a newly built ship called the Titanic.
His goal is to return to his homeland in the states.
On deck, Jack meets a young and incredibly beautiful girl, Rosa, a wealthy heiress who is going to America to marry of convenience.
She knows that she will not be happy in this marriage and feels helpless.
One evening on the ship, Rose desperately tries to jump into the ocean, but Jack witnesses her weakness and dissuades the girl.
Thus begins the story of two young people whose love story touched the hearts of millions of viewers.
As you know, the film about the “unsinkable” Titanic is based on the real story of the collision of a passenger liner with an iceberg.
To make a really high-quality film, perfectionist James Cameron thoroughly studied all the events related to the disaster.
Despite the existing facts and details of the Titanic's only flight, which were put together in one puzzle according to the stories of surviving passengers, much in this story remains a mystery to this day.
Therefore, before filming the film, James Cameron conducted his own investigation.
The director said that for an accurate image of the ship, he studied the materials and photographs of that time and sought to repeat every detail on the screen.
“For the movie Titanic, we took all the known photographs, studied the design drawings, and assembled our ship down to every rivet so that everything was in its place - according to the ideas that existed in 1996,” the director said in a conversation with USA Today.
In addition, Cameron himself dived to the bottom where the Titanic rests more than once in order to bring his masterpiece to perfection.
The budget of the tape was $200 million, which exceeded the originally planned amount by more than $60 million. As a result, the director donated his fee and a percentage of the total fees in order to avoid conflicts with the producers.
History of the disaster
The British liner Titanic was wrecked on the night of April 14-15, 1912.
At that time it was the largest ship in the world.
Its length was 269.1 meters.
The liner could take on board 2439 passengers.
In the media in those years, journalists called the Titanic practically unsinkable: there was a double bottom in the bottom of the liner for safety, and the hull itself was divided into 16 watertight compartments.
The steamer left for New York on April 10, 1912 from the port in the city of Southampton.
There were about 2200 people on board.
Four days later, the crew began to receive messages from other liners about the proximity of icebergs along the route.
The warnings did not force the captain to take the necessary measures, and on April 14 at 23:40, the Titanic nevertheless collided with an iceberg.
Six of the 16 available compartments were damaged, the ship began to fill with water.
After examining the damage, the crew realized that the ship would inevitably sink.
It had only 16 lifeboats, which was not enough to save even half of the passengers.
Radio operators sent out distress calls, but the closest ship to the Titanic, the Carpathia, was too far away.
The Titanic sank at about 02:20, and the Carpathia did not arrive at the disaster site until 4 in the morning.
The death toll was about 1.5 thousand people.
Only 712 passengers survived.
Until now, the events of that time are being studied by experts, disputes are ongoing, and the story of the “unsinkable” liner inspires directors and writers from all over the world.
Shot from the movie "Titanic"
Legion Media
© All Star Picture Library
Other Lead Candidates
Initially, Fox and Paramount studios wanted to see Matthew McConaughey in the role of Jack, but Cameron convinced them by insisting on the candidacy of Leonardo DiCaprio.
Moreover, DiCaprio himself was not sure that he should play Jack.
The actor considered the role quite simple.
Then Cameron persuaded the artist, appealing that it would be a real challenge for him, since it was necessary to play an ordinary person, without grasping at the same time for any disorders or exaggerated emotions.
It is also known that Christian Bale and Macaulay Culkin auditioned for the role of Jack.
The first Cameron quickly rejected, while declaring that he was looking for an American.
Culkin also failed the casting.
And Kate Winslet, on the contrary, herself aspired to play Rose: she sent notes to the director from England every day, called him and even came to Los Angeles.
The actress stated that she is Rosa and it makes no sense for the director to look for someone else.
When Cameron gave her the role, the artist sent him a rose as a token of gratitude with a note: "From your Rose."
Along with her, Gwyneth Paltrow claimed the role.
Filming Difficulties
The most difficult thing for James Cameron was to recreate the image of a sinking ship.
The director wanted to show not only how it walks, but also the catastrophe itself, and in detail.
Therefore, preparation for filming was difficult.
At that time, it was not known how the liner actually went to the bottom of the ocean.
So during preparations, Cameron ran tests with a model steamboat in a tank of water to see how it could have been.
As a result, the director found out that the ship's stern could sink vertically, or it could fall back with a big splash, but these options were not suitable for the film.
“There are some mistakes in the film.
I am inclined to believe that one of them concerns how the stern fell, judging by the appearance of the bow of the remains of the ship, ”said Cameron.
As a result, for this, a life-size replica of the liner was divided into several sections, which made it possible to use each of them for different angles of inclination, depending on the course of the ship's flooding.
At the same time, the back of the steamer could turn 90 degrees - this was necessary for filming the final moment when the stern rose vertically, and then sank under water.
In the scenes where the liner breaks down and falls into the water, the team used a miniature of the Titanic.
Filming took place in several locations.
Even before writing the script, Cameron and his team made an expedition across the Atlantic Ocean to the crash site of the real Titanic.
It was there that the director was filled with emotions and a sense of loss, which he sought to display in his tape.
During this trip, footage was taken of divers exploring the vessel and finding a safe with a sketch of a drawing.
It is these scenes that the viewer sees at the beginning of the tape.
By the way, the portrait of Rose, which Jack painted in the film, was actually made by James Cameron himself - it is his hands that the viewer sees on the screen.
However, since the director is left-handed, the frames had to be mirrored during editing.
All other drawings in Jack's album were also made by the director.
The scenes in real time, with an aged Rose, were filmed in Halifax, Canada.
Most of the film was filmed in Mexico, on Rosarito Beach, where they built a massive ship-shaped set, now known as Baja Studios.
This is a life-size replica of the Titanic.
For filming in the water, two tanks were used, installed next to the ocean.
Thus, the team was able to capture the real horizon and save a little on special effects.
Drowning heroes were filmed in a tank one meter deep.
Crew members and actors who were forced to sit there for several hours were given wetsuits.
However, some refused them, for example, Kate Winslet, who subsequently fell ill with pneumonia.
Some scenes were filmed in California, at the Belmont Olympic Pool and on the SS Lane Victory museum ship in the San Pedro area.
Shot from the filming of "Titanic"
Legion Media
Difficulties also arose when shooting scenes when the ship begins to fill with water inside.
For these personnel, 40,000 gallons of water were initially prepared.
Already in the process, Cameron realized that this was not enough, and asked to increase the volume of water three times.
As a result, some decorations were damaged, in particular, a wooden staircase with a clock was torn out of its metal base.
“The stairs had steel supports.
When we sank the ship, parts of it surfaced.
After all, wood does not sink in water: it broke away from the support, floated up and squeezed two stuntmen.
Fortunately, they were not injured, but at that moment it was very scary, ”said Cameron.
Accuracy and perfectionism
James Cameron is famous for his attention to detail.
With regard to the Titanic, he tirelessly strived for the accuracy of the reproduction of the entourage.
So, for example, various props - silverware, an ashtray, tea mugs - were stamped in the frame with the emblem of the White Star Line shipping company, which participated in the construction of this ship.
Many of the interior items that the viewer sees in the frame were created under the direction and supervision of Cameron himself: carpeting, wallpaper, furniture, and even davits used to launch boats on the water.
Every little thing was of great importance for the director.
The upper deck of the liner has also been recreated to the smallest detail.
It is known that some interior items were specially produced by the same companies that had previously developed similar things for the “unsinkable” Titanic.
The same davits were made by one of these companies.
The wooden piece of furniture on which Rosa was waiting for the arrival of the rescue liner was also made very accurately: following the model of the original, which is in the museum.
Many viewers probably remember the wooden staircase with a clock where Jack invited Rose to have fun on the lower deck - it is also reproduced quite accurately, differing only in size.
Despite the fact that the film is mostly fictional, historical accuracy is also present there.
Cameron had a clear idea of how the ship sank and how long it took - the director hinted at this on the screen as well.
The fact is that all the scenes on the Titanic in the timing tape last two hours and 40 minutes - about the time the real Titanic sank.
It was also reported in the media that the collision of a ship with an iceberg in real life lasted 37 seconds, which corresponds to the duration of a similar scene in the film.
Shot from the filming of "Titanic"
Legion Media
Criticism, re-release and colossal success
Before the premiere of the film "Titanic" it was expected that it would be a failure.
In 2017, James Cameron told The Hollywood Reporter that due to the postponement of the premiere and the huge budget, Paramount thought the film would not break even.
“Everyone assumed that they would suffer losses, and all efforts were directed simply to ensure that their scale did not become fatal.
No one, including me, counted on success, because no one could have imagined what would happen next, ”the director recalled.
The press did not believe in the success of the picture either - the media at that time spoke negatively about the upcoming premiere.
The first shows were held outside the United States.
The Titanic was first seen in Japan.
According to Cameron, this helped to circumvent the preconceived negative opinion of the American press, since reviews after the premiere were positive.
Then the film was shown to the royal family in London, at Leicester Square.
Once again, the feedback delighted the Titanic crew.
In December 1997, the film was released in wide distribution in America, having already established itself abroad.
The picture was a huge success - she led the American boxing for 15 weeks.
As a result, worldwide fees amounted to more than $ 2.2 billion.
Currently, on Kinopoisk, the tape occupies 41st place in the ranking of the 250 best films and has a high rating (8.4).
Titanic received 14 Oscar nominations in 1998 and won 11 statuettes, including Best Director and Song (My Heart Will Go On).
This is still a record - 11 figurines were also received by the films "Ben-Hur" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King."
Not a single picture managed to receive even more awards from the American Film Academy.
Shot from the movie "Titanic"
Legion Media
In 2012, on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Titanic disaster and the founding of Paramount Pictures, the film was re-released in 2D, RealD 3D and IMAX.
Ahead of the re-release, Cameron edited one of the shots in the film after an American astronomer pointed out an error in the original version of the tape by sending a "bitter" email to the director.
The expert clarified that in the scene when Rose is lying on a piece of wood in the water, the stars in the sky are not located correctly for that date and time.
The astronomer wrote that Cameron had to test this.
“Having a reputation as a perfectionist, I had to know this and use the image of the sky with the correct arrangement of the stars,” the director admitted then to The Telegraph.
In a response letter, the director asked the specialist to send him the correct arrangement of the stars.
Thus, in the re-released version, viewers already observe the sky corresponding to April 15, 4:20 am.