Leo Even Hotter In
Three Dimensions!
Just in time for the 100th anniversary of the first, and tragically only, voyage of the RMS Titanic, one of the greatest epic romance films returns in 3D. Can this modern “trickery” really add to what is already a classic film? Oh, yes!
I have to come clean. I love this movie. It has everything one could hope for when going to the cinema: Romance, gorgeous costumes, amazing actors, history, terror, tragedy, heroism and sacrifice. But I have to say I was a bit skeptical about watching it through a pair of 3D glasses. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the 60-week 3D conversion process to make Titanic 3D cost $18 million and this reviewer thinks it was worth every penny.
To start, the 3D in the underwater scenes, showing the battered, sunken ghost ship, only enhances the über-eerie abyss. As fish and plankton float in front of your face, you get the feeling you are down there — way down there — with the skeleton of the ship. Having recently viewed photos of some newly retrieved artifacts posted on the National Geographic website, each broken clock and listless baby doll seems all the more tangible.
Then of course, there is the romance between Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose (Kate Winslet), which doesn’t need any special effects as it is literally a rose blossoming before our eyes. The scene where he sketches her like one of his "French girls" is still my favorite. Jack smearing the charcoal on the canvass as he draws lovely Kate in the nude is just as erotic as if his fingertips were touching her actual body. This must be one of the best love scenes on film: It's steamy, intimate, carnal and still PG-13. Well done, James Cameron.
The real fun of the 3D however, kicks in when the ship cracks against the devil of an iceberg and the unsinkable does the unthinkable. The scope of the ship rising up out of the water, hull cracking, with Jack and Rose hanging onto the railing while other less-fortunate third-class passengers fall to their icy deaths is breathtaking and makes great use of the technology. I felt as if I were on a thrill ride, to the point where I had to keep reminding myself the actual Titanic did sink on April 15, 1912, almost exactly 100 years ago. Titanic remains epic and beautiful and the 3D gives it a 21st-century viewing experience.
Bottom line: If you haven’t seen Titanic in a while or ever at all, this is a must-see entertainment experience. Enjoy!
Photo credit: Paramount Pictures
