Titanic (3D): Technology Scores Balanced Effect

It’s always a little risky when people attempt to re-create, or re-vamp a classic. Why mess with a good thing? Titanic was the highest grossing film of all time, up until 2009 when James Cameron topped himself with Avatar. It birthed two of the biggest movie stars of our generation, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, and remains one of the greatest love stories ever told, comparing with Casablanca and even Gone With the Wind. So why take us back to the Titanic? Why should we pay nearly double a regular price ticket to see Jack and Rose fall in love again? Because there’s nothing like Titanic on the big screen, and 3D only enhances what was already a captivating cinematic experience.

I really had no idea what to expect. Call me a baby, but Titanic scared me the first time around. Maybe it was because I was in 4^th grade when I saw it, or that the sinking of a massive ship is actually, yes, terrifying. 3D films these days come in a spectrum of intensity. Hugo was a much different experience than Toy Story 3, the latter jumping out and into your face as much as is visibly tolerable. Would the stern of the Titanic be jutting out at the audience and the waters swelling around me?

No. Cameron’s goal with the 3D enhancement was not to bombard his audience with a visual rollercoaster; it was much simpler than that. I was relieved.

The film begins in a pleasant familiarity. Yes, I remember this. But that washed away the moment I saw the ship. It was incredible. Cameron has not only employed the 3D technology, which makes the crowds of passengers pop against the massive steamer, he’s also completely re-mastered the images. The footage is noticeably more crisp and colorful, as it was enhanced pre-3D conversion. For the generation who didn’t experience Titanic on the big screen, it doesn’t compare to your home blue-ray player, let alone it’s initial VHS release.

The technology is worth paying the price, but does the story still remain as strong? 15 years later, the dialogue might be slightly cheesy and the characters a little cardboard, but the chemistry is as hot as ever.  It’s wonderful to see Leo and Kate back in the roles where we first fell for them. Lately, Kate has played colder, more serious women in The Reader and Mildred Pierce and Leo can’t keep away from emotionally tumultuous men with furrowed brows and angry tendencies. But here, they’re young. It’s important that audiences are still swept away on their journey; otherwise the tragedy of the sinking ship isn’t as devastating as the first time around. God forbid, “I’ll never let go, Jack,” ever become cheesy.

And the other characters actually seem more realistic the second time around. With the current distaste for the 1% and the economic crisis, Rose’s fiancé Cal (Billy Zane) is a more believable villain. Could it be possible we root for her escape of the bourgeoisie life even more because our own social times have evolved? Perhaps it’s so…

But after walking away from a truly electrifying experience, where both the love story and the sinking of the ship was amplified by the updated technology, the greatest satisfaction came from the realization that Titanic didn’t need it in the first place.

Yes, the re-release in 3D was wonderful, but it wasn’t necessary. The film stands on its’ own. It’s a classic whose images have always been incredible and filmmaking precise and poignant. If you’ve never seen Titanic in theatres, you absolutely must go. And if you have, don’t go to be “wow-ed” by the technology, but to re-visit a film you fell in love with the first time around, because it’s worth it.