FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE James Cameron - Titanic 

These are moving scenes of the Titanic lying at the bottom of the sea - encrusted with algae and silt. A camera travels through the corridors and cabins, which are now inhabited by shellfish. Sometimes you think you hear voices from the past, as if from a grave. They talk about the glamour, the hype of the past, because that is what this ship represented. The most monstrous ship in the history of mankind, they boast (as if the pyramids had never existed). The camera moves from bow to stern, once again illuminating a ship that was considered unsinkable. Until the tip of an iceberg found an irrefutable answer. James Cameron's blockbuster is about the last voyage of the Titanic and takes its cue from the greatest Hollywood epics of the past. We notice that he has no intention of adding anything new to these classics. Above all, Titanic wants to be perfect in filling the old formulas with new life. We all know that the Titanic must sink. But what will happen before then? James Cameron shows off his ship; we are absolutely convinced that it is real. Now we experience a love story across social classes and we learn something about the arrogance of the builders of the Titanic - but also something of their dignity. All these elements are well balanced until it comes to the sinking scenario. The Titanic sank in a period of two and a half hours. Time enough to carefully stage the catastrophe. The love story is about poor Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet). Rose from the best family and yet penniless. That is why she is forced by her mother to marry the rich snob Cal Hockley (Billy Zane). This fate seems inevitable; Rose believes, which is why she wants to throw herself off the deck of the ship to commit suicide. She is watched by an Irish lad who has not much more than what he wears on his body. His name is Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and he rescues Rose. They fall in love in the short time they have left. This brief love is in the foreground, with the magnificent prop of the ship discreetly behind it. Jack is asked by Rose to dinner in first class, later they flee from her promised husband's henchmen into the engine rooms. Titanic's management demands that they break the transatlantic speed record. The warning that icebergs could float in and be noticed too late at high speed is disregarded. The Titanic could easily break the speed record, but the ship is too massive for a short turning manoeuvre. We witness this theoretical treatise in an agonising sequence. The narrative technique is ingenious, because we know exactly what is happening -how the iceberg cuts the ship open. After all, the entire voyage has been explained scientifically beforehand thanks to modern narrative techniques. Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton), An underwater explorer, introduces us to the sinking of the Titanic with all the details. We realise that the opening scenes, showing off the wreckage of the sunken Titanic, are set during an expedition. Meanwhile, an old woman watches the images on television and recognises herself. It is Rose, who is now 101 years old. She is taken to the expedition team by helicopter and the old woman is able to bring Brock's research results to life. She remembers everything very clearly: "I can still smell the fresh paint". The computer animations that Brock creates also serve as a briefing for us viewers. We learn everything in detail and know exactly what will happen next. I can imagine that it is incredibly difficult to make films like Titanic. It takes a great director not to forget the story in the midst of all the technical sophistication! Drama and history have to be in the right balance. The most exciting thing about it: how do the individuals behave in the face of the sinking? The passengers are forced to make impossible decisions, so that even the villain still reveals a human side. He just loves the girl! Then the terrible images after the sinking. The water is completely still. Dressed in the latest fashion, hundreds of people drowned - and all this after having bought tickets for an unsinkable ship for an enormous amount of money.