3-D gives Titanic a new intimacy
This is an experience people can’t get at home or on their mobile devices.
JON LANDAU
For James Cameron, converting his 1997 epic Titanic into a 3-D version that would satisfy today’s tech-savvy audiences posed challenges similar to navigating iceberg-filled waters.
The director set the gold standard and revolutionized the industry when he shot 2009’s Avatar in 3-D. But revamping old films is a different story, and Cameron has been an outspoken critic of substandard conversions. So all eyes are on the just-opened 3-D Titanic, his maiden voyage into the conversion process.
“It’s a bit of treacherous territory,” Cameron concedes. “We knew if we were going to make a conversion, it had to be the platinum standard. I told the studios we were going to spend as much as it took.” The task required 300 artists, 60 weeks and a budget of $18 million. The company Stereo D handled the bulk of the conversion, but the perfectionist Cameron checked every frame. He says the “mindnumbing” process paid off.
“It’s not exactly what it would have looked like if we had shot in 3-D,” he says, “but it’s certainly an enhancement to the Titanic you have seen before.”
Producing partner Jon Landau is more excited about the prospect of getting the film back into theatres after a generation of moviegoers has watched Titanic on small screens.
“This is a movie that can excite people about going to theatres again,” Landau says. “This is an experience people can’t get at home or on their mobile device.”
Cameron believes that once people get into theatres, they’ll continue to be blown away with the original special effects, but the 3-D will greatly aid the “dramatic scenes.”
“It might play out for people more differently than they expect,” Cameron says. “What is interesting is that the intimacy is accentuated with 3-D. It puts you on the ship.”
Scenes such as Rose (Kate Winslet) having her corset tightened almost bring the viewer into the room, he says, and 3-D even highlights a different take on the ship’s spectacular sinking scene.
“I think we can all imagine the shots of the ship flooding, breaking in half and the stern plunging. That’s all going to be cool in 3-D,” Cameron says. But the conversion adds poignancy and a you-are-there aspect to the grim, close-up drama in the icy waters after the sinking.
“It’s the floating in the water after the ship is gone, the chaotic first struggling,” he says.
Then the scene settles down to the central love story between Rose and Jack (Leonardo Dicaprio).
“They are essentially saying goodbye,” Cameron says. “It’s the intimacy of the dialogue. You’re right there with them in those tight close-ups.”