Compare and contrast Titanic (1997) and Titanic (1953)

Around the world and particularly in Western society, the majority of popular films are produced and filmed in America (MBA, 2010). However, many people do not realise that many of these films have in fact been released before. Movies such as Shall We Dance? (1996), Three Men and a Baby (1987) and the award-winning film Titanic (1997) have all been released by the big blockbuster moviemakers in Hollywood but are actually all remakes of previously produced films. Many films have been re-released in a foreign country, such as The Ring, which was first released as Ringu in 1998 by Japanese film producer Hideo Nakata. Other films have been completely re-written, re-produced and re-distributed in the case of Titanic (Cameron, J. 1997. Titanic). This essay will provide in depth background of the RMS Titanic and explain the concept of remaking films while also comparing and contrasting the two films that are from different decades – Titanic 1953 and Titanic 1997. The question will also be posed as to which film is in fact more successful.

The RMS Titanic, 46, 000 tons of steel, was controversially dubbed to be unsinkable. But on April 14, 1912, the unthinkable occurred. The Titanic struck an iceberg in the dark of night on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England to New York City, United States. Just hours after striking the iceberg, the Titanic was lying on the ocean bed, taking with her upwards of 1500 lives (Encyclopedia Britanica, 1996). Since then, the Titanic has also been dubbed one of the most well-known ocean liners worldwide inspiring many books and films and television series after her tragedy. Within a month of the disaster the first film was released, Saved from the Titanic featuring Dorothy Gibson, a survivor of the Titanic disaster. A Jean Negulesco directed film was released in 1953 titled Titanic, followed by the James Cameron version of the event that was released in 1997 also titled Titanic.  James Cameron re-distributed his version of the film in 2012 in 3D to mark the 100-year anniversary of the tragic event, creating yet again more profit for the film.

Hollywood studios have been remaking films for decades - dating back to the 1930’s in some cases. But it is often wondered why they do this and why they don’t come up with their own ideas – and there are several answers. Big budget Hollywood filmmakers and directors will generally remake or reinvent past films to relate them to modern values and ideologies or to juxtapose the past and present cultural norm. Another reason filmmakers remake films is to modernise a popular story or event and bring forward a concept that was not previously a success. A films popularity and success is often measured by its income at the box office and James Cameron is a man that knew exactly how to maximise revenue being named as one of the most wealthy film directors of 2009 with a huge $50 million (MBA, 2010).

The 1953 Negulesco version of Titanic earned an Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay and earned $2.25 million on a budget of $1.80 million. Even though Negulesco’s film was a success at the time, Cameron’s film greatly overshadowed it in terms of profit and popularity. Cameron’s received 47 awards including the Golden Satellite award, the Blockbuster Entertainment Award and the People’s Choice award (IMBD, Awards for Titanic 1997). The film also managed to receive a huge income of $2.185 billion on a $200 million budget. Even though both films are roughly about the same true, tragic story, the point of view from which a story is told makes all of the difference.

Negulesco’s 1953 version of Titanic follows the plotline of a broken family. The parents of the family are fighting a custody battle but soon realise that their problems are nothing in comparison with what is about to happen. The father reassures his family that everything will be okay, even though he knew that the ship was about to sink. The mother and daughter survive the traumatic event while the father and son sadly perish. Cameron’s 1997 version of the film tells the story of the sinking ship from another point of view. Class and gender preferences are brought into consideration. An engaged woman from the upper class falls deeply in love with a man from the lower class despite the opinions from her family and from society as a whole in the early 1900’s. The man and woman stick together to the very end until the man sadly dies and the woman lives after the sinking of the ship. Nevertheless, variances in the plot weren’t the only differences between the two films.

Another obvious differentiation when comparing and contrasting the two films is the filming techniques. Due to advances in technology, James Cameron was able to use his access to colour screens, props and sets to his advantage whereas Negulesco’s 1953 version of the film is shot in poor quality black and white footage. Because of the lack in computerized technology in the 1950’s Negulesco’s black and white edition of the film also meant poor and staged lighting quality rather than the natural and non artificial light shining through in Cameron’s film. Cameron portrays emotions through an overt use of mid-close up shots as seen in the gripping and tense death scene. The emotional and engrossing scene sees Jack, the protagonist of the film, sadly perish leaving Rose, Jack’s controversial lover, to fight for her life alone, gripping only to a piece of debris from the sinking ship.

Jean Negulesco’s 1953 version of Titanic held a preconceived idea of what the RMS Titanic looked like during the sinking and what it looked like under water, but it wasn’t until the Titanic was found on the ocean floor in 1985 that an accurate representation was actually portrayed to the public (Discovery of Titanic, 1999). Therefore, James Cameron’s adaption more accurately represents the actual happenings of the RMS Titanic. Cultural differences such as class and gender preferences and the cultural norm were also a major influence in the differences between the two films. Cameron elaborates on the social segregation of classes. This is portrayed throughout the film as the two main characters are from different classes and the opinion of Rose’ family is strongly concentrated on throughout the film.

It is renowned to be a difficult job to expand and improve on a previously released film. However, in the case of the 1997 Titanic, James Cameron created a wonderful piece of film history. The film brilliantly portrays the cultural ethics of the early 1900’s by setting the scene and introducing what was culturally deemed to be right and wrong in the early stages of the film. Cameron used the traditional standards of the time to perfectly juxtapose upper class and lower class by having the two main characters – Jack and Rose – from different classes fall in love despite the fixed cultural norm condemning upper class and lower class affiliations. Cameron also impeccably adheres to the ‘women and children first’ rule when evacuating the ship. The way in which Cameron portrays the social and cultural ethics of the early 1900’s was vital to ensure that audiences could grasp the concept and the severity of what was deemed acceptable and what undoubtedly was not. In today’s modern era, those ideologies and stereotypes have drizzled out to allow for generalized equality.

Even though both films were successful for their own eras, it is undeniable that James Cameron’s film was more successful in terms of revenue and popularity. Cameron’s film takes a modernized view upon the cultural values and class and gender ideologies that were the traditional norm when the RMS Titanic sank. Cameron’s access to advanced technology and progressive research creates a vivid and realistic storyline that Negulesco was unable to achieve. The realism of Cameron’s plot provokes the emotions of viewers and leaves them proud to be a part of the modernised world that is more so comprised of lenient and submissive social and cultural norms as opposed to the judgmental and strict cultural norm that was portrayed in the early 1900’s. 

Reference List

·      Arnaud, E. (1912). Saved from the Titanic

·      Barker, M 2000, From Antz to Titanic: Reinventing Film Analysis

·      Cameron, J. (1997). Titanic

·      Chelsum, P. (2004). Shall we Dance?

·      Codes and Conventions in Media, viewed 25 April 2012, http://www.sssc.vic.edu.au/dpd/Code%20and%20conventions%20in%20Media%20Texts.pdf

·      Ellington, A 2011, Movie Remakes Give Insight Into Social Change Over The Years, viewed 25 April 2012, http://syrinx.fresno.edu/arts/04-11-2011/movie-remakes-give-insight-social-change-over-years

·      Encycopedia Britanica: Keeping Track of a Maiden Voyage. (1996). Retrieved from: http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/

·      IMBD, Awards for Titanic 1997. Retrieved from: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120338/awards

·      MBA, Film Industry Statistics. (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.onlinemba.com/blog/film-industry-statistics/

·      Negulesco, J. (1953). Titanic

·      Nimoy, L. (1987). Three Men and a Baby

·      Parisi, P 1998, Titanic and the Making of James Cameron

·      Titanic-Titanic. (1999). Retrieved from: http://www.titanic-titanic.com/discovery_of_titanic.shtml

·      Understanding Classifications (Cinema) Queensland, viewed 25 April 2012, http://www.classification.gov.au/Documents/4626ClassificationsCinemaQLD-FinalJan2010.pdf

·      Verevis, C 2006, Film Remakes, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh.