Titanic

When I first saw the film on television, I didn't really like it, as it seemed to come from some rebellious protest. But Cameron simply cannot be denied that he captured the sinking of the ship perfectly and convincingly. You feel the weight of knowing that not everyone will be saved, that they are doomed, simply because there are people there who are incapable or have made big mistakes. But after the battle, every general is a hero... Plus, you also have one of the most iconic romances. (26/10/2014)

I avoided Titanic like a demon a cross, but eventually it caught up with me... And oddly enough, it wasn't a head-on collision, but rather a light miss. The story is sweet and protracted, but as soon as the overgrown steamer began to sink, there was plenty to watch - I finally recognized it as Cameron's work. Surprisingly, I quite liked the unruly Leonardo DiCaprio, but I didn't know much about the bourgeois maiden Kate Winslet. It's just shabby love story that Cameron painted gold. In places the paint is sparse, so rust shines through. Definitely a classic seasonal hit... Edit 2012: beautiful proof of how often a person is wrong. To see this film as a kitsch love story actually hides the essence of what Titanic really is: the product of Cameron's massive fetishism and a metaphorical path to the coveted object that comes to life with the power of the film and allows the filmmaker to lead the viewer through its lost nooks. The director simply captures the feeling that still seizes me today when I look at a dead wreck in the depths - a burning longing to "give faded matter meaning and shape with a story". The result is a film full of contradictions, but above all a film extremely precisely constructed and economically told. All the pleasure from it comes from pure rationality. If Rose says: "It doesn't make sense, that's why I believe it," I say "Everything makes sense here, that's why I believe it (but I do not succumb :-))". (26/01/2004)

I’m giving one star for the ship itself, otherwise, it’s a mockery of all those who died in the tragedy. I can only imagine Cameron thinking: "Lots of dead people. Awesome! Let’s just throw in some famous actors, a love story, and epic music, and we'll make a killing." Hooray! Mission accomplished. (26/06/2016)

An opulent, spectacular picture which is simply flawless in technical terms. The outrageous length surprisingly didn’t break Titanic’s back, mainly thanks to Cameron’s directing. The end result flows by nicely, although there were a couple of places that could have done with more keen editing. The first half is more for the female audience, but then, after the collision, the disaster movie pandas more to the male audience. The characters are so terribly flat here, but thanks to their charisma, this isn’t boring. The most expensive movie ever and the greatest ever box office success, which is neither the highest quality movie ever, but it certainly is well above average. (16/03/2022)

With Titanic, Cameron finally achieved his benchmark in the field of the grandiose chick-flick, and its success then confirmed to him who really makes the decisions here about what’s worth a visit to the cinema.  Except that Titanic is also an insanely polished diamond in this regard, and it is almost irritating how clearly this can be seen in everything. Apart from the main love story, everything feels terribly mechanical, staged, stereotypical, and lifeless. Every character here has only one purpose: Rose's fiancé, for example, is almost comical in his villainy, always safely taking the worst side in every situation. Interestingly, the characters of Jack and Rose don't work on their own either, but thankfully they work perfectly safely together where it's surprisingly believable how Rose takes the initiative over Jack from a certain point onwards, to the point of motherly binding him to her bosom after their romp in the car leaves the boy so moved he's shaking. Unfortunately, the fateful night itself is terribly studio lit, the trick photography has aged a bit, and the whole space of the Titanic feels compromised to the point of theatricality. (06/11/2022)