One of the greatest Oscar-winning films of all time is on TV this weekend | Films | Entertainment
Few Oscar Best Picture winners stand the test of time, but without a doubt, Titanic is one of them. Writer, director and producer James Cameron defied the naysayers who claimed his over-budget (a record-breaking $200 million) historical epic would be a disastrous shipwreck of a film.
Not only did Titanic match the 14 Academy Award nominations record, but the film went on to win 11, with Cameron declaring Leonardo DiCaprio’s iconic line, “I’m the King of the World!” to the press while clutching his multiple Oscars. If that wasn’t enough, the 1997 blockbuster made over $2 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing movie ever made, until Cameron beat his own record with his next movie, 2009’s Avatar.
The key to Titanic’s success lies in how Cameron combined a first-half romance with a disaster-movie second half, making it the perfect tentpole movie for men and women. Kate Winslet stars as Rose, a 17-year-old wealthy American engaged to Billy Zane’s villainous billionaire Cal Hockley. Yet upon boarding the Titanic on its fateful maiden voyage in April 1912, she meets Leo’s third-class passenger Jack, who won his ticket in a poker game as the ship was setting sail. In a whirlwind couple of days, the pair fall in love before the ship hits an iceberg and all hell breaks loose.
The story is told by an elderly Rose in the modern day as a research vessel explores the wreck of the Titanic, searching for her diamond necklace known as the Heart of the Ocean. A good old-fashioned epic from modern Hollywood, complete with James Horner’s classic score and end theme My Heart Will Go On sung by Céline Dion, Titanic – which runs at a whopping 195 minutes – is on Channel 4 this Saturday night at 6:30pm
