‘Titanic’ sets sail again
The basic story had been told earlier in other films and television projects, but even though it matches a fictional romance to the facts of the ocean disaster, the Oscar-winning 1997 version of “Titanic” is the definitive one for many people. Currently streaming on Paramount+, writerdirector James Cameron’s epic is a beautifully structured saga.
The film cleverly takes the audience from contemporary times – as a treasure hunter (Bill Paxton) and his colleagues scour the ship’s sunken wreckage – back to its maiden voyage in 1912, as it’s launched with much pomp and circumstance. Various passengers are introduced, but the two key ones here are privileged Rose and stowaway Jack, roles that elevated the highly charismatic-together Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio to superstardom.