Titanic - 1997

I'll assume anyone reading this post has seen this movie, so I'll skip the synopsis. And if you haven't seen it, you probably should. I mean, it's part of our cultural heritage, so what's your problem?
Firstly, I'm a sucker for love stories. And I fell for this one. There's nothing quite like young love. Fierce, idealistic and uncompromising. The idea of a penniless artist and a beautiful society girl falling for each other isn't new, but it is quite effective here. DiCaprio and Winslett are very cute together. And they're both better actors than they are given credit for. (The FP Gal thinks DiCaprio looks like Steve Buscemi. I thought she might be the only woman in the world to think so, but one of the ladies at work agrees. I don't see it all.)
This is a great movie. The combination love story/action flick/disaster movie works very well. The early story is interesting as you watch the lovers come together. The stage is set well with the enormous ship. And knowing that it's going to sink brings a deadline. The first time I saw it, morbid thoughts about who would make it and who wouldn't kept creeping into my mind. Once the iceberg hits, the action part begins. Watery escape sequences interchange with shocking scenes of the ship sinking. It holds your interest.
Does it hold up over time? I think so. The key to understanding the general feeling to this movie is to remember how successful it was. It was enormous. It was record breaking. It topped the box office charts for seemingly ever. And it created a backlash. Critics dismissed it's popularity as being fueled by teenage girls with crushes on Leo. It became a symbol of low (American) culture. It was criticized for mixing disaster with a love story.
The most interesting angle on this movie is the intention of director James Cameron. He wanted to make a movie that highlighted class distinction. The Titanic was used as a metaphor for overbearing invincible wealth and the folly and fragility of same. I wonder if he was disappointed that almost no one cared about this part of his story. Class distinctions were simply much more important in 1912 than in 1997. The idea of being locked into societal position by birth is as alien today as it was commonplace then. At most people shook their heads over how bad things were then.
But a funny thing happened while Cameron was telling this story. He went out and made one of the most expensive movies in history. And, even worse, made a pile of money out of it. And Hollywood turned against him. Ironic, no?
The other wonderful thing about this film is the music. Haunting and lovely. It was capable of bringing tears to people even out of context. True story, when this movie came out I was working at a B&N in Colorado Springs. They sold out of the soundtrack by midafternoon of opening day. Two months later, you still had to be on a waiting list to get it. Very good stuff.