Definitely not the last word on Titanic

The current and most ambitious recycling in moviedom is that of James Cameron’s re-creation of Titanic into a 3D version which joins the entire world in celebrating the 100th anniversary of its sinking.

Apart from James’ reboot and a documentary with relatives of those who died, there is an actual cruise retracing the exact route, eliciting anger and shock from some and tearful recall from others.

Journalists all over the world can’t help but come up with their own piece on the most famous ship ever built. We ourselves didn’t particularly like the love story focus in Titanic’s original 1997 version and thought there was no need for its now 3D format, but no way would this be the last word on the tragic ship.

Everyone will have his own self-serving reaction, which is not to say that director James did not come out with the most tragic spectacle in scale and form of a real-life catastrophe rendered in dazzling detail.

It was and still is a loving ode to the greatest maritime project yet attempted, thwarted by human opportunism. Our objections range from the fact that James, possibly in his desire for authenticity, overdid the slow death of the “unsinkable” ship on its maiden voyage by almost an hour (actual sinking was two hours and 40 minutes, the film three hours and 20 minutes); and we kept taking off our 3D googles to watch the original which was clearer and sharper.

We felt there was too much exposure given to the unhappy, rebellious society girl Rose (Kate Winslet) and penniless artist Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio), who draws her nude with a rare blue diamond necklace on her bodice. This starts off the love story as 102-year-old survivor Gloria Stuart, energized by the discovery of her nude portrait regains perfect memory of the past.

We would have preferred focus on too many unheralded heroes we never got to meet who went down with the ship — the 1,500 passengers, rich and poor, swimming for their lives through 12,500 feet of below freezing water; the musicians on deck continuously playing their instruments to help calm a panicking mob; the pastor leading the prayers of hope and acceptance.

In the staterooms, the rich chatter, unbelieving that a problem exists; Kate’s fiancé is convinced money can buy anything (it would have been riveting in the hands of a more competent actor); an elderly couple in bed accepts their fate; and a mother puts her children to sleep (that couple of minutes of dialogue could have been humanized). We found ourselves hoping for something more from the rescue scene at the end amongst the thousands of frozen bodies in the dark.

Stardom came to Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet overnight via the film

There are just too many options one could take with such a monumental event as this. Raymond de Asis Lo, The STAR L.A. correspondent reported on last year’s Fox preview, that Cameron stated Titanic is “like a perfectly written novel that really happened.”

The cruise ship MS Balmoral recently retraced the exact route of Titanic, complete with food, music and costumes, with passengers paying between $4,445 to $9,520 to commemorate the event.

Lectures from people like Philip Littlejohn, whose grandfather rowed Lifeboat-13 with a group of passengers to safety, were an attraction. There were 2,435 passengers and 892 crew members. The lifeboats numbered 20, good for 1,178 people, a number well within the limit set by maritime law.   

A documentary Titanic: The Aftermath (check out Discovery Channel today and on April 21) got interviews from the tragedy’s descendants: Jock Hume who died playing his violin; John Jacob Astor IV, richest man on the ship; and the Halifax coroner John Henry Barnstead who developed a detailed system to identify bodies and safeguard personal possessions.

Other celebrities in first class were industrialist Benjamin Guggenheim, Macy’s owner Isidor Straus, Denver’s unsinkable Margaret “Molly” Brown, couturiere Lady Duff-Gordon, silent film actress Dorothy Gibson, etc. J.P. Morgan, Titanic’s owner, was scheduled to join the maiden trip but cancelled at the last minute. Imagine how their participation in the film would contribute to the myth and mystery of the Titanic mania in the years to come. But then again, this would be a completely different film from the one that obsessed James. And so far, for all his harebrained excesses, he has been right.

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