Titanic (1997)

In 1912 on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, an unhappy young girl (Kate Winslet) is being pushed into marriage to an arrogant millionaire (Billy Zane) by her mother (Frances Fisher). When she meets a poor young artist (Leonardo DiCaprio) from third class, she falls in love and seizes the opportunity to free herself. Written and directed by James Cameron (ALIENS). Has it really been over 25 years since TITANIC became a cinematic phenomenon? 11 wins out of 14 Oscar nominations and the first movie to gross over a billion dollars. Of course, such success resulted in the usual detractors, usually whining nonsense that it was a hit because 15 girls went to see it over and over. I loved it when I first saw it opening week but it had been over 20 years since I'd seen it and I wondered how I would feel about it now. No need to worry. It remains the greatest epic romance since GONE WITH THE WIND (no surprise but most TITANIC naysayers aren't fans of GWTW either). Running over three hours, Cameron's opus is able to balance the romantic elements with the explicit details of the Titanic sinking. The flaws are minor (did Bill Paxton's crew have to be such rubes?) and the Celine Dion song over the end credits is sappy. But its assets include astonishing art direction (you really get a sense of what it was like being a passenger on the Titanic) and costumes, superb special effects and solid star making performances by DiCaprio and Winslet. With Kathy Bates, Victor Garber, David Warner, Gloria Stuart, Suzy Amis, Eric Braeden and Jonathan Hyde.