“Titanic” hit theaters by storm when it was first released on November 1st, 1997.
Known internationally as the classic American epic romantic disaster film, this film was applauded for accurately conveying the emotional message of the tragedy.
Now, nearly fifteen years later, “Titanic” has been brought back to the theaters- but this time, in three dimension.
James Cameron decided to re-release this movie to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the “Titanic”.
This revamped version of the world-famous film did not disappoint, earning a respectable third at the box office and an 87% on “Rotten Tomatoes”(a website devoted to usually accurate reviews, information, and news of films).
The original “Titanic” received eleven Oscar awards and made big box office records. It is a tragic love story about two star-crossed lovers that would make Shakespeare proud, but at the same time it had the qualities of a romance, adventure, and thriller movie.
Cameron created the characters so in-depth that viewers worldwide were able to sympathize with the relatable cast. He also crosses back and forth between two different time periods as well as uses real footage that he and his crew shot of the actual Titanic sinkage to increase the reality of the situation.
“The original movie was so great, a little long, but amazing. I normally don’t like cheesy movies because they are sometimes just too much, honestly, but the way that “Titanic” was done, really made me sympathize with the heartbroken Rose. She said she’d never let go!” said junior Sonia Reza.
Cameron, the diligent, innovative director of Avatar, clearly thought out the visuals of the 3D re-release very carefully, as the production of this new “Titanic” took over a year and 300 artists to make.
He worked hard to have the audience feel like they were on the “Titanic”, or the “Ship of Dreams” as it is referred to in the movie by Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet), with the characters, but the question is, did he do so successfully?
With 3D movies being as catchy as the latest fashion trend, critics and fans everything thought that the “Titanic” would sink in quality, but were pleasantly surprised with the outcome.
“I was expecting it to be just another 3D movie, and I was kind of hesitant at first because why should I watch a movie I already watched for an extreme amount of money? But when I watched it I was actually pretty shocked at how entertaining it was,” said sophomore Brittany Kim.
Devoted “Titanic” fans were hesitant in watching this new and improved version of the film, as they didn’t believe it could get much better than the original. However, many were pleasantly surprised with the way this 3D film seemed to accent the qualities of the movie.
“[Cameron] actually did a remarkable job with this 3D film, compared to other 3D filmmakers of today. I love this film because there’s historic and romantic elements to it, and the three dimensional effect just seemed to enhance the setting of the film, making everything that much more realistic. ” says Reza.
After the recent natural and man-made catastrophes, many will find this film even more appropriate today than they did in 1997. This is a film that deserves to be played on the big screen.
“‘Titanic 3D’ was way better than I thought it would be. To be honest, I was debating whether or not on watching it, because I honestly did not think that it could possibly be better than the original film. It was nice being able to watch a classic in theaters,” said Reza.
Some viewers, however, were displeased with the length of the film.
“I can only take so much 3D before I start to get a headache and three and a half hours is kind of way past my limit,” Kim says.
“My only problem with this film was the fact that it was tiring already knowing what was going to happen and having to sit there that long,” says junior Stephanie Chou.
The 3D film was tastefully done- but perhaps “Titanic” has had the right dimensions all along.