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Film Review: Titanic 3D

In my opinion, Titanic 3D has to be the most insensitive idea since The Iron Lady, where screenwriter Abi Morgan clearly forgot that Margaret Thatcher was still alive. The public appeared to be sceptical about James Cameron re-releasing his 1997 blockbuster in glorious 3D to commemorate the tragedy of the Titanic, but was it worth a re-release, in 3D or even in 2D?

Surprisingly, I really like Titanic. It’s not the best film for those looking for an historical account of the event, but then there are a wealth of programmes/docudramas that provide that (I’d recommend this brilliant docudrama). What the film excels at is creating that old-fashioned Hollywood film: you can imagine this film being made in the fifties as a weepie – maybe with Elizabeth Taylor in dazzling costumes. Nowadays such a long running film would be crazy but the fifties and sixties were filled with epics. With overtures and intermissions, these films were like a night out at the theatre. Whilst Titanic is not quite the romantic epic that Cameron may have wanted it to be, it still offers many of those pleasures, such as the beautiful interior of the ship and stunning costumes.

Kate Winslet and Leonardo Di Caprio’s acting is not as convincing on second-viewing: Kate looks too old to play seventeen-year-old Rose and Leo is really just a pretty face. Perhaps it’s because of overfamiliarity: Rose standing on the front of the ship with her arms out; Jack sketching nude Rose (the sketches were done by Cameron), etc. To be honest, I’ve always loved Billy Zane as Rose’s fiancé Cal, the moustache-twirling villain of the film, who gets a lot of the best lines.

How does it hold up in 3D then? Well, it’s not the type of 3D film which throws things at the screen and it’s all the better for that. The opening shots of the wreck of the Titanic look amazing in 3D. As the camera whizzes through the grand rooms, it genuinely feels like you’re walking inside the Titanic. The other element that the 3D adds to is showing the size of the ship: Titanic really does look titanic. When Rose looks down into the watery ocean that is soon to become a mass grave, it really does look a very long way down. Having said that, the cinematography of the original film does a lot of the work- the 3D only adds to it.

If you’ve seen Titanic in 2D, I’d recommend seeing it in 3D. The film was an event the first time around but in 3D, it’s even more of one: considering the price of 3D tickets, you do get your money’s worth here. If you’ve never seen Titanic or you get seasick easily, I’d still go and see the 2D version, as this really is a film to be seen on the big screen.

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