This is the new Q&A area for ==TitanicShack==. Please use it for any and all areas of interest concerning the sinking of the RMS Titanic and the recent James Cameron motion picture.

-- Thomas M. Terashima (tom@nucleus.com), December 15, 1997

Answers

Feel free to ask new questions. (...and if you're lookin' to diss Titanic, you should at least compare it to Gilligan's Island; Rose is the female Goddess trinity: Mrs. Howell, MaryAnn *and* Ginger!)

-- Thomas M. Terashima (tom@nucleus.com), January 06, 1998.

By far the worst movie I've ever seen. There was better dialogue in episodes of The Brady Bunch. I judge the mass ascent to see this boondoggle very similar to The Emperor's New Clothes.

Shame on you Mr. Cameron.

-- A. E. Sheridan (asheridan@bear.com), December 29, 1997.

Titanic

You Sir Are A Looney!

-- Jim Hopkins (hop@ccssys.com), February 11, 1998.

Someone didn't likt the movie... Actually I thought it was pretty good. I think Cameron's a great director -- but I think he's only a competent writer. That dialog was weak to me -- and that is a subjective opinion, but it didn't matter too much because so much else was well done. The film just worked for me, it took me through hope and sadness and tragedy, it was an experience. But I do wish Cameron would put away the writing himself and look for talented writers to do his scripts -- he might give them the ideas, tell them what he wants, but it would have better if the dialog were given to another set of writers to work out with Cameron only doing editing on it... just my subjective opinion.

-- Norman Doering (davedoer@prairienet.org), December 31, 1997.

I agree that the dialogue(mainly Jack and Rose's) was not top-rate, but I think J. Cameron had to appeal to the audience that would generate the most revenue (teenagers-young adults). I didn't have a problem with this because the rest of the movie was so wonderful, especially the supporting charachters. I do think the script will prevent it from being a classic in the sense of Gone With the Wind, but people will pay to see it again and again just for the experience.

-- Karen (ejpowell@emry.net), January 11, 1998.

Some interesting evidence for the dialog being weak is that on this site there is a question called "Best Line" and a lot of people don't even quite remember the lines they thought were best and wind up paraphrasing them and getting them better than they were originally spoken. I don't know if this weakness was because Cameron aimed at a teenage audience or because his ego got in the way... whatever, "Titanic" is a near classic, but, if only that script were given a little more polish... damn, that film would have been up there with "Gone With the Wind" for sure. Time will tell, maybe it still will be.

-- Norman Doering (davedoer@prairienet.org), January 12, 1998.

Who ever A E Sheridon is needs to take a reality check thats for sure!!! Titanic was the best movie ever made!!! The emotional part of it, the special effects and everything was wonderful. I hope that someday you get that animal that crawled up your butt and died out, cause obviously your a sick dude!!!

-- Ginger Castillo (lincolnabes@hotmail.com), January 12, 1998.

To A.E. Sheridan your idea of a move must be Beavis and Butthead Do America. Gosh you must have absolutely no idea what those people went through. I can't believe you just said that the "Greatest Movie of All Time" was the worst of all time. For your kind of movie I suggesst sticking to movies like Ernest Goes to Jail or something lower on your idea of a Good movie. Only one positive thing came out of you seeing this move, they still made money off of you.

-- Mary (n/a), January 15, 1998.

Whoever A.E. Sheridan is needs to get slapped. Titanic was the best movie ever made and you're acting like it was some foreign film from some third world communist county. I bet you like movies like Beavis and Butthead Do America. It requires little or no I.Q. and it seems like it is just your type of dialouge. One positive thing you did for the movie is make money for them. Anyways the Titanic really and just for your reason of disliking it I HOPE THEY WIN EVERY CATEGORY THAT THEY ARE NOMINATED IN!!!!!!! Have you ever been to a good movie that was worth the trip? Apparently no, because if you thought all movies with the same impact or emotional quality that Titanic had you probably rated them bad. It seems that 99.9% of the American publis likes this movie and you are in the .1% that didn't.

YOU ARE CRAZY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

-- Mary (n/a), January 15, 1998.

Please don't mention "Gone with the Wind" as having a superior script or dialogue. For comparison's sake, I recently watched that movie again. Its dialogue is at least as flawed as Cameron's. If you disagree, rent it, and watch the first 15 minutes in particular to see what I'm talking about. People have a distored view of that movie because they haven't seen it in a long time. Also, keep in mind that dialogue is only one component of a screenplay. Consider all the symbolism and foreshadowing, much of which is interwoven with the dialogue.

-- Bob Gregorio (rgregory@aol.com), January 26, 1998.

I have to ask....what was wrong with the dialogue? I personally felt that Titanic will go down as being one of the most quoted films of all time. What's wrong with that? Also, I want to say that the reason a lot of people are misquoting is that they simply don't have the movie memorized word-for-word as I have. I thought that the acting was incredible! Odd to think that some of the most amazing acting I've seen in my life were done by a couple of 21-year-olds and an 87(?) year-old...but talent is such as it is and everyone aboard James Cameron's Titanic had an incredible ability to make you believe they WERE the character. The screenplay was fabulous, the score touches me everytime I hear it my heart begins to pound and my emotions are stirred, the special effects are UNBELIEVABLE! Those of you who did not care for the movie I will not insult you. However, I will tell you this. I think you would benefit greatly from reading up the actual disaster, find out as much as you can, the facts, figures, details, then go back to see the movie again with all of this in mind...and don't even try to come back and tell me that you do not appreciate Mr. Cameron's efforts to create what I consider to be the greatest film since Gone With the Wind! One last thing....if you go through your entire life and never quote Titanic...well, you will be in the minority. "You unimaginable bastard!" :)

-- Heather Halford (HDH20@aol.com), January 27, 1998.

To Heather: Thank you! That is one of the best answers I have seen yet. You are absolutely correct, to criticize this film, you must know and study the event itself and then you will know! This is a human tragedy, not a soap opera in somebody's mind. I have been studying the Titanic for at least 39 of my 49 years and I will never, ever get bored with it and this film has just fueled the fire for me.

Regards..Peter

-- Peter Nivling (pcnivling@capecod.net), January 27, 1998.

To Heather and Peter: I couldn't agree with you more!! I didn't go see this film, because it was directed by James Cameron. I didn't go see it because it starred Leo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet (Leo I only was aware of and Kate I had no clue) I simply went because, for me, the star of the movie is...TITANIC herself! The whole story has captivated me for years, I've watched everything I could about, I've read articles about, I even remember when they found it in 1985. The story itself is the reason I went, and the reason I go back. I've seen in twice and plan to a least see it one more time. I could never get tired of the subject (People have been talking about for 86 years!) The movie for me, was an opportunity to *see*/*witness* the events that led up to the inevitable sinking of this glorious ship. I felt as if I were there, experiencing the excitement of boarding a magnificent ship, to falling in love on it, and unfortunely to be a part of it's demise. The 3 hrs and 15 min. it takes to watch this movie, feel like a lifetime, and you still don't want it to end! Jack and Rose represent a lot of people, who maybe for one day, can feel the *true* love of another. I feel fortunate to have been able to experience with my own husband (we were young when we fell in love, so we could identy with Jack and Rose) (I'm also happy to say that we've also been married for 10 years, something that I can only have wished for Jack and Rose) Glad to hear people out there are fasinated with the movie and story as much as I am.

Bye for now, Caron

-- Caron (bianchi@iserv.net), January 28, 1998.