Final Film Critique

Film Crtique: Titanic
Eng 225
Laura Carter
August 11, 2014

Film Critique: Titanic Millions of people go to the movies each year to view new films, but how many of those people actually stop to analyze the film. Analyzing a film is very essential in that it is an important factor, in fully understanding the film you are viewing. In the essence of the film’s development and production there are a lot of key people that bring all the aspects of a film together. Not only do the actors’ skills bring success to the film, but all the people behind the scenes do as well. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the 1997 film Titanic written and produced by James Cameron. Through the incredible use of lighting, sound, and visual effects, the story of Titanic brings the viewer front and center for a daunting visual of the dramatic death of the infamous ship. Paramount’s blockbuster film Titanic grossed over a billion dollars and was the most expensive film ever made. The epic romantic disaster film Titanic was based off of a fictional love story, but was established due to the event of the RMS Titanic which sunk on April 15th, 1912. The story that James Cameron created follows the characters of Jack Dawson played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Rose DeWitt Bukater played by Kate Winslet as they fall in love regardless of the different level of social class. Cameron’s ambition of creating this film was that “he wanted to make an exact replica of the "unsinkable" liner in order to best recreate the terrifying final hours to make filmgoers believe they were actually there at the time of the tragedy.” Titanic and Company (2014) The story begins with Deep Sea Explorer, Dr. Brock Lovett who is leading a team to search for legendary blue diamond known as “the heart of the ocean”, prevailing to have been lost when the Titanic sank. With the use of a submarine and an unmanned remote control submersible,

References: Anlimara. (2014) The Making of Titanic. The Dream Page. Retrieve from: http://www.anlimara. com /dreampage/titanic/makingtitanic.html Goodykoontz, B., & Jacobs, C. P. (2011). Film: From watching to seeing. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Pacific Cinémathèque. (2014) What is Narrative Structure? In Point. Retrieved from: thecinematheque.ca/.../wp.../LanguageofFilm01 Titanic and Company. (2014). RMS Titanic Ship of Dreams. The Making of James Cameron’s Titanic. Retrieved from: http://www.titanicandco.com/filmtitanic.html Reflection Analyzing a film comes from so much more than just what the movie itself is about and the content that it consists of. Things that can be gained through analyzing films is the hours and thought it takes into creating a film. Producers think about what the audience is going to see and how to make it even more elaborate with the use of lighting, sound, shots, angles, special effects and so on. This class has completely changed how I view movies because originally all I paid attention to was what the movie was about. In my introduction at the beginning of this class all I talked about was what the movie Blindside was about not any of the mise en scene details mainly because I didn’t even know what that word meant. Searching for film critiques on the internet often show what films are interpreting, but at the same time we all have our own opinions and may interpret a film differently than others. That being said we should all critique a film ourselves rather than go off what other people have to say about a movie. This class really hasn’t change my understanding of the effects a film can have on society because my views have remained the same. All films have a different effect on society whether they are good or bad. For example although the story of Titanic is horrific I think it had a positive effect on society because it gave the audience a reality check of how times used to be and also just how quickly life can be taken from you. The skills that I have developed from this course are that sometimes you need to look beyond the big picture and analyze the smaller details that make the whole picture. I think those skills can be used in any profession and that they will cause a positive effect on anyone.