#83: Titanic (1997)

Oscar Winner:

Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Sound Effects, Best Visual Effects, Best Music (Original Dramatic Score), Best Music (Original Song), Best Sound

One of the great things about seeing films multiple times is that it can evoke an entirely different sentiment the second time around. People will always have films that they will revisit time after time, but I'm talking about a response that is the complete opposite of what you originally felt. How many times have you revisited a film from your youth and it wasn't quite as good as you remember? I had the exact opposite reaction to Titanic on second viewing. Like everybody else in 1997, I saw Titanic, but as a teenager, the romantic air of the film made me want to gag. Although I thought it was a good film, I didn't quite understand why it broke so many Oscar records. I wasn't necessarily looking forward to seeing it again, but much to my surprise, I couldn't believe how much I was swept into…. yes, I'm going to say it… a movie masterpiece.

Yes, even a young child probably knows that the Titanic was the ship that was said to be unsinkable, but the director James Cameron uses a forbidden romance between two social classes to guide us through the disaster. Torn between being her own person and high expectations of a fortune-bound marriage, spoiled Rose (Kate Winslet) reluctantly comes across an artsy, yet poor star-crossed lover in Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio). Jack slowly, but surely, starts to crumble the walls of society that Rose is so bound in, but just as the two decide to take the giant leap into forbidden devotion, an iceberg comes along and ruins their party.

Even though every movie pretty much has a three-act structure, people don't mind dividing this movie into two-halves; the romantic story and the disaster story. Although I think that the sinking of the ship is a far better part and as close to perfect filmmaking that there is, I was surprised by how much I got caught up in Jack and Rose's story. This film had to have a strong foundation for you to invest in a journey where you already know the outcome. Cameron does a brilliant job of flipping the tables and makes the unknown into what happens to this young couple. Although this romance can't help but reek of cheesiness (and is the reason for not quite making it a five-star movie), I emotionally bought into these characters as my teenager soul mocked me in the back of my mind. I'm sure Winslet and DiCaprio have to shudder a bit when they watch this film because their performances aren't necessarily the best ever, but you can for sure see the talent budding that has now made them the top tier of the acting world.

Now that I got that sappy stuff out of the way, I have to expound on how gripping the visuals of the Titanic going down were. Cameron uses special effects mixed with live action to perfection. You can definitely see the budget of this film on screen, but I was shocked at how well everything holds up here. It's been a long time since my eyes were literally glued to the screen and I was totally swept up by the impact of the impending doom. The editing of the disaster scenes are near perfect and I think what really draws you in is the secondary characters that bring a realness to the screen that is very much needed.

Titanic is a film that contains humor, romance, action, big-screen effects, drama, sadness, and most importantly, entertainment. I'm not quite sure why all those elements weren't so clear to me when I was sixteen, but thank goodness for this list to help me see the way.

I give Titanic, 4.5 out of 5 scandalous portraits.

#100: Ben-Hur (1959)

*Oscar winner:
Best Actor (Charlton Heston), Best Supporting Actor (Hugh Griffith), Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, Best Director, Best Effects, Best Film Editing, Best Music, Best Picture, Best Sound   *Unequaled until 1997’s Titanic

I may have been my own worst enemy on this one. Yeah, I know you are supposed to go into a movie with no expectations, but I’m sorry, the fine print on the back of the DVD cover which said 212 minutes scared me a little bit. I had seen the chariot scene well over 25 times throughout my lifetime and was amazed every time, but I had to still get into a decent mindset for this movie.

Ben-Hur is a Biblical epic in which a Jewish prince of Jerusalem, Judea Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston), has his whole life turned upside down when his old friend Messala, a high-ranking officer of Rome, throws Ben-Hur into slavery after he is wrongfully accused of trying to murder the Governor of Rome, and for good measure, locks his mother and sister in jail as well. Told alongside Jesus’ ministry on Earth, the film follows Ben-Hur’s incredible journey to find those closest to him and seek revenge on Messala.

It’s a great plot. You can’t help but think of other epic films like Braveheart and Gladiator, but the big thing for me was that it took 3 1/2 hours to tell this story when it could have just as easily been told in 2 1/2 hours or less. It’s hard to adjust to the theatrical acting in the film because it just makes the scenes seem that much longer. But it is amazing to watch just for the set design, and oh yeah, have I mentioned the chariot scene yet? This movie really was truly an amazing feat for something made in 1959. If it was made today, I can imagine all the sets just being computer effects, like 300. Ben-Hur is a movie that has its ups and downs, but like many roller-coaster rides, you are glad that you stepped out and took the ride.

I give Ben-Hur 3.5 out of 5 spiky wheels.