Editing Titanic (1997 film) (section)

==Critical reception==
===Initial===
''Titanic'' garnered mostly positive reviews from film critics, and was positively reviewed by audiences and scholars, who commented on the film's cultural, historical, and political impacts.<ref name="Keller" /><ref name="Rosenstone">{{cite book|author=Robert A. Rosenstone|title=Lights, Camera, History: Portraying the Past in Film|publisher=[[Texas A&M University Press]]|isbn=978-1-60344-503-0|year=2007|pages=115–117|access-date=October 25, 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nlVlcwhpNXsC&pg=PA115|archive-date=April 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416110345/http://books.google.com/books?id=nlVlcwhpNXsC&pg=PA115|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Kidder">{{cite book|author1=David S. Kidder|author2=Noah D. Oppenheim|title=The Intellectual Devotional Modern Culture: Revive Your Mind, Complete Your Education, and Converse Confidently with the Culturati|publisher=[[Rodale, Inc.]]|isbn=978-1-60529-793-4|year=2008|page=361|access-date=October 25, 2014|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9KOHEPbBBbIC&pg=PA361|archive-date=April 16, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150416125243/http://books.google.com/books?id=9KOHEPbBBbIC&pg=PA361|url-status=live}}</ref> On [[review aggregator]] website [[Rotten Tomatoes]], the film has an approval rating of 88% based on 255 reviews, with an average rating of 8.1/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "A mostly unqualified triumph for James Cameron, who offers a dizzying blend of spectacular visuals and old-fashioned [[Melodrama (film genre)|melodrama]]."<ref name="www.rottentomatoes.com"/> [[Metacritic]], which assigned a weighted average score of 75 out of 100, based on 35 critics, reports the film has "generally favorable reviews".<ref>{{cite Metacritic |title=Titanic (1997) |id=titanic |type=movie |access-date=February 15, 2021}}</ref> Audiences polled by [[CinemaScore]] gave the film a rare "A+" grade, one of fewer than 60 films in the history of the service from 1982 to 2011 to earn the score.<ref name="CinemaScore">{{Cite web |first=Pamela |last=McClintock |title=Why CinemaScore Matters for Box Office |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/why-cinemascore-matters-box-office-225563/ |website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]] |date=August 19, 2011 |access-date=July 19, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210719145918/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/why-cinemascore-matters-box-office-225563/ |archive-date=July 19, 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

With regard to the film's overall design, [[Roger Ebert]] stated: "It is flawlessly crafted, intelligently constructed, strongly acted, and spellbinding{{nbsp}}... Movies like this are not merely difficult to make at all, but almost impossible to make well." He credited the "technical difficulties" with being "so daunting that it's a wonder when the filmmakers are also able to bring the drama and history into proportion" and "found [himself] convinced by both the story and the sad saga".<ref>{{cite news|last=Ebert|first=Roger|title=Titanic Movie Review & Film Summary (1997)|url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/titanic-1997|website=Ebert Digital LLC|date=December 19, 1997|access-date=December 7, 2006|author-link=Roger Ebert|archive-date=October 6, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006125018/http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/titanic-1997|url-status=live}}</ref> He named it his ninth-best film of 1997.<ref>{{cite episode|title=The Best Films of 1997|date=January 3, 1998|series=Siskel & Ebert|season=12|number=18}}</ref> On the television program ''[[At the Movies (1986 TV program)|Siskel & Ebert]]'', the film received "two thumbs up" and was praised for its accuracy in recreating the ship's sinking; Ebert described the film as "a glorious Hollywood epic" and "well worth the wait," and [[Gene Siskel]] found Leonardo DiCaprio "captivating".<ref name="bventertainment.go.com">{{cite episode|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q_rNZVuOQ4|title=Titanic (1997) Review|series=Siskel & Ebert|date=December 6, 1997|season=12|number=14|website=YouTube|access-date=February 11, 2014|archive-date=June 30, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140630074928/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q_rNZVuOQ4|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[James Berardinelli]] stated: "Meticulous in detail, yet vast in scope and intent, ''Titanic'' is the kind of epic motion picture event that has become a rarity. You don't just watch ''Titanic'', you experience it."<ref name="www.reelviews">{{cite web|first=James|last=Berardinelli|title=A Film Review by James Berardinelli|publisher=ReelViews|access-date=January 19, 2010|url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/t/titanic.html|archive-date=November 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116091024/http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/t/titanic.html|url-status=live}}</ref> It was named his second best film of 1997.<ref name="Www.reelviews">{{cite web|first=James|last=Berardinelli|title=James Berardinelli Top 10 of 1997|publisher=ReelViews|access-date=January 19, 2010|url=http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/SPECIAL/97list.html|archive-date=November 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116093546/http://preview.reelviews.net/movies/SPECIAL/97list.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Joseph McBride of ''Boxoffice Magazine'' concluded: "To describe ''Titanic'' as the greatest disaster movie ever made is to sell it short. James Cameron's recreation of the 1912 sinking of the 'unsinkable' liner is one of the most magnificent pieces of serious popular entertainment ever to emanate from Hollywood."<ref name="rogerebert.suntimes.com" />

The romantic and emotionally charged aspects of the film were equally praised. Andrew L. Urban of ''Urban Cinefile'' said: "You will walk out of ''Titanic'' not talking about budget or running time, but of its enormous emotive power, big as the engines of the ship itself, determined as its giant propellers to gouge into your heart, and as lasting as the love story that propels it."<ref name="WWW.rottentomatoes.com">{{cite web|first=Jeff|last=Giles|title=Total Recall: James Cameron Movies. We take a look at the career of the visionary director of Avatar|website=[[Rotten Tomatoes]]|date=December 16, 2009|access-date=January 19, 2010|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/avatar/news/1860969/total_recall_james_cameron_movies|archive-date=December 24, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091224104453/http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/avatar/news/1860969/total_recall_james_cameron_movies|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Owen Gleiberman]] of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' described the film as "a lush and terrifying spectacle of romantic doom. Writer-director James Cameron has restaged the defining catastrophe of the early 20th century on a human scale of such purified yearning and dread that he touches the deepest levels of popular moviemaking."<ref name="rogerebert.suntimes.com">{{cite news|title=Titanic (1997) Critical Debates |work=[[Chicago Sun-Times]] |access-date=January 19, 2010 |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20000101/CRITICALDEBATE/40308080 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130311072339/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20000101%2FCRITICALDEBATE%2F40308080 |archive-date=March 11, 2013 }}</ref> [[Janet Maslin]] of ''The New York Times'' commented that "Cameron's magnificent ''Titanic'' is the first spectacle in decades that honestly invites comparison to ''[[Gone with the Wind (film)|Gone With the Wind]]''."<ref name="rogerebert.suntimes.com" /> Adrian Turner of ''[[Radio Times]]'' awarded it four stars out of five, stating "Cameron's script wouldn't have sustained [[Clark Gable]] and [[Vivien Leigh]] for 80 minutes, but, somehow, he and his magical cast revive that old-style studio gloss for three riveting hours. ''Titanic'' is a sumptuous assault on the emotions, with a final hour that fully captures the horror and the freezing, paralysing fear of the moment. And there are single shots, such as an awesome [[albatross]]-like swoop past the steaming ship, when you sense Cameron hugging himself with the fun of it all."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-zxcmgb/titanic/ | title=Titanic | work=Radio Times | first=Adrian | last=Turner | access-date=November 20, 2021 | archive-date=November 20, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211120054235/https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-zxcmgb/titanic/ | url-status=live }}</ref>

''Titanic'' suffered backlash in addition to its success. Some reviewers felt that while the visuals were spectacular, the story and dialogue were weak.<ref name="Kidder" /> [[Richard Corliss]] of ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazine wrote a mostly negative review, criticizing the lack of interesting emotional elements.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Richard |last=Corliss |author-link=Richard Corliss |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |url=http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987509,00.html |title=Down, Down to a Watery Grave |date=December 8, 1997 |access-date=July 22, 2008 |archive-date=September 29, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929015522/http://content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,987509,00.html |url-status=live }}</ref> [[Kenneth Turan]]'s review in the ''Los Angeles Times'' was particularly scathing. Dismissing the emotive elements, he stated, "What really brings on the tears is Cameron's insistence that writing this kind of movie is within his abilities. Not only is it not, it is not even close."<ref>{{cite news |last=Turan |first=Kenneth |title='Titanic' Sinks Again (Spectacularly) |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=December 19, 1997 |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-19-ca-39-story.html |access-date=September 15, 2019 |archive-date=December 19, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219072503/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1997-dec-19-ca-39-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He later argued that the only reason that the film won Oscars was because of its box office total.<ref>Lubin, pp. 8–9</ref> Barbara Shulgasser of ''[[The San Francisco Examiner]]'' gave ''Titanic'' one star out of four, citing a friend as saying, "The number of times in this unbelievably badly written script that the two [lead characters] refer to each other by name was an indication of just how dramatically the script lacked anything more interesting for the actors to say."<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/TALK-ABOUT-DISASTERS-3084709.php |title=Talk about disasters |work=The San Francisco Examiner |last=Shulgasser |first=Barbara|date=December 19, 1997 |access-date=February 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019054324/http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/TALK-ABOUT-DISASTERS-3084709.php|archive-date=October 19, 2013}}</ref>

===Retrospective===
According to Dalin Rowell of ''[[/Film]]'', "With complaints about its lengthy runtime, observations that certain characters could have easily fit onto pieces of floating furniture, and jokes about its melodramatic nature, ''Titanic'' is no stranger to modern-day criticism."<ref name="rowell">{{cite web | url=https://www.slashfilm.com/617886/every-james-cameron-film-ranked-from-worst-to-best/ | title=Every James Cameron Film Ranked From Worst To Best | work=[[/Film]] | first=Dalin | last=Rowell | date=September 28, 2021 | access-date=November 20, 2021 | archive-date=October 27, 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027075000/https://www.slashfilm.com/617886/every-james-cameron-film-ranked-from-worst-to-best/ | url-status=live }}</ref> In 2002, filmmaker [[Robert Altman]] called it "the most dreadful piece of work I've ever seen in my entire life".<ref>{{cite news|last=Friedman|first=Roger|title=Altman: Titanic Worst Movie Ever|publisher=[[Fox News Channel]]|date=March 23, 2002|url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/altman-titanic-worst-movie-ever|access-date=December 2, 2008|archive-date=December 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219072506/https://www.foxnews.com/story/altman-titanic-worst-movie-ever|url-status=live}}</ref> Similarly, [[French New Wave]] director and former ''[[Cahiers du Cinéma]]'' editor [[Jacques Rivette]] referred to it as "garbage" in a 1998 interview with [[Frédéric Bonnaud]] and was particularly critical of Winslet's performance, who he said was "unwatchable, the most slovenly girl to appear on the screen in a long, long time."<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bonnaud |first1=Frédéric |title=The Captive Lover – An Interview with Jacques Rivette |url=https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2001/jacques-rivette/rivette-2/ |website=Senses of Cinema |date=October 28, 2004 |access-date=18 August 2022 |archive-date=August 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220818042449/https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2001/jacques-rivette/rivette-2/ |url-status=live }}</ref> In 2003, the film topped a poll of "Best Film Endings",<ref>{{cite news | title = Titanic voted 'best' film ending | work = BBC News | date = October 15, 2003 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3194176.stm | access-date = June 15, 2007 | archive-date = March 17, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070317035318/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3194176.stm | url-status = live }}</ref> but it also topped a poll by ''[[Film 2003]]'' as "the worst movie of all time".<ref>{{cite news | title = ''Titanic'' sinks in worst film poll | work = BBC News | date = November 5, 2003 | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3242607.stm | access-date = June 15, 2007 | archive-date = March 2, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070302082215/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/3242607.stm | url-status = live }}</ref>

In his 2012 study of the lives of the passengers on the ''Titanic'', historian [[Richard Davenport-Hines]] said, "Cameron's film diabolized rich Americans and educated English, anathematizing their emotional restraint, good tailoring, punctilious manners and grammatical training, while it made [[romantic hero]]es of the poor Irish and the unlettered."<ref>{{cite book|last=Davenport-Hines|first=Richard|title=Titanic Lives: Migrants and Millionaires, Conmen and Crew|year=2012|publisher=HarperCollins|location=UK}}</ref> The British film magazine ''[[Empire (film magazine)|Empire]]'' reduced their rating of the film from the maximum five stars and an enthusiastic review, to four stars with a less positive review in a later edition, to accommodate its readers' tastes, who wanted to disassociate themselves from the hype surrounding the film, and the reported activities of its fans, such as those attending multiple screenings.<ref>{{cite journal |doi=10.5204/mcj.2423 |doi-access=free |last=Stephenson |first=John-Paul |date=October 2005 |title=Reviewing Symbolic Capital |journal=M/C Journal |volume=8 |issue=5 |url=http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0510/06-stephenson.php |access-date=September 11, 2009 |archive-date=October 7, 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091007172335/http://journal.media-culture.org.au/0510/06-stephenson.php |url-status=live  | issn = 1441-2616 }}</ref> In addition to this, positive and negative parodies and other such spoofs of the film abounded and were circulated on the internet, often inspiring passionate responses from fans of various opinions of the film.<ref>{{cite news | title = Clash of the Titanic | url = http://www.ericdsnider.com/snide/clash-of-the-titanic | access-date = October 14, 2007 | archive-date = October 17, 2007 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20071017020427/http://www.ericdsnider.com/snide/clash-of-the-titanic | url-status = live }}</ref> Benjamin Willcock of DVDActive.com did not understand the backlash or the passionate hatred for the film. "What really irks me{{nbsp}}...," he said, "are those who make nasty stabs at those who do love it." Willcock stated, "I obviously don't have anything against those who dislike ''Titanic'', but those few who make you feel small and pathetic for doing so (and they do exist, trust me) are way beyond my understanding and sympathy."<ref name="www.dvdactive.com" />

In 1998, Cameron responded to the backlash, and Kenneth Turan's review in particular, by writing "''Titanic'' is not a film that is sucking people in with flashy hype and spitting them out onto the street feeling let down and ripped off. They are returning again and again to repeat an experience that is taking a 3-hour and 14-minute chunk out of their lives, and dragging others with them, so they can share the emotion." Cameron emphasized that people from all ages (ranging from 8 to 80) and from all backgrounds were "celebrating their own essential humanity" by seeing it. He described the script as earnest and straightforward, and said it intentionally "incorporates universals of human experience and emotion that are timeless – and familiar because they reflect our basic emotional fabric" and that the film was able to succeed in this way by dealing with [[archetype]]s. He did not see it as pandering. "Turan mistakes archetype for cliché," he said. "I don't share his view that the best scripts are only the ones that explore the perimeter of human experience, or flashily pirouette their witty and cynical dialogue for our admiration."<ref name="Los Angeles Times">{{cite news|title=He's Mad as Hell at Turan. James Cameron Gets the Last Word on Our Critic's 'Titanic'|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=March 28, 1998|access-date=February 22, 2010|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-mar-28-ca-33428-story.html|archive-date=March 26, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326202354/http://articles.latimes.com/1998/mar/28/entertainment/ca-33428|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2000, Almar Haflidason of the [[BBC]] wrote that "the critical knives were out long before James Cameron's ''Titanic'' was complete. Spiralling costs that led to it becoming the most expensive motion picture of the 20th Century, and a cast without any big stars seemed to doom the film before release. But box office and audience appreciation proved Cameron right and many critics wrong." He added that "the sinking of the great ship is no secret, yet for many exceeded expectations in sheer scale and tragedy" and that "when you consider that [the film] tops a bum-numbing three-hour running time, then you have a truly impressive feat of entertainment achieved by Cameron".<ref>{{cite web|title=Titanic (1997)|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/12/19/titanic_1997_review.shtml|publisher=BBC|last=Haflidason|first=Almar|date=August 2007|access-date=December 26, 2008|archive-date=January 2, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090102212402/http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/12/19/titanic_1997_review.shtml|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Empire'' eventually reinstated its original five-star rating of the film, commenting: "It should be no surprise[,] then[,] that it became fashionable to bash James Cameron's ''Titanic'' at approximately the same time it became clear that this was the planet's favourite film. Ever."<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Adam|title=Review of Titanic|date=January 2000 |url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/empire-essay-titanic-review/|publisher=Bauer Consumer Media|access-date=September 15, 2019|archive-date=December 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191219074005/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/empire-essay-titanic-review/|url-status=live}}</ref>

In 2017, on the 20th anniversary of its release, the film was selected for preservation in the United States [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]] as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".<ref name="NFR">{{Cite news |title=2017 National Film Registry Is More Than a 'Field of Dreams' |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-17-178/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171213180919/https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-17-178/ |archive-date=December 13, 2017 |access-date=December 13, 2017 |work=The Library of Congress |language=en}}</ref> The same year, Cameron reviewed the accuracy of the film for the [[National Geographic (American TV channel)|National Geographic]] program ''Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron''.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Titanic: 20 Years Later With James Cameron |url=https://www.disneyplus.com/movies/titanic-20-years-later-with-james-cameron/133QEwnfPqw5 |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=www.disneyplus.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=9 things we learned from 'Titanic: 20 Years Later With James Cameron' |url=https://ew.com/tv/2017/11/26/titanic-20-years-later-james-cameron-what-we-learned/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=EW.com |language=en}}</ref>

The film's climax has sparked many debates over the years on whether both Jack and Rose should have been able to fit on the floating door and survive, becoming among the most talked about aspects of the film.<ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2019-07-16 |title=A Timeline of the 'Could Jack Have Fit on the Titanic Door' Debate |url=https://time.com/5627345/titanic-door-scene-debate/ |access-date=2024-03-23 |magazine=TIME |language=en |archive-date=March 23, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323041635/https://time.com/5627345/titanic-door-scene-debate/ |url-status=live}}</ref> While at the time of the film's 20th anniversary Cameron stated that it was "kind of silly, really, that we’re having this discussion 20 years later,"<ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Keegan |first=Rebecca |date=2017-11-26 |title=James Cameron on Titanic's Legacy, the Avatar Sequels' Progress, and the Impact of a Fox Studio Sale |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/11/james-cameron-titanic-20th-anniversary-avatar-terminator-fox-studios-sale |access-date=2025-01-18 |magazine=Vanity Fair |language=en-US}}</ref> in 2023 he conducted a study for the film's 25th anniversary that aired as part of an updated National Geographic retrospective, which suggested it was possible but unlikely and depended on numerous variables.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Watch James Cameron recreate 'Titanic' floating door scene to see if Jack fit with Rose |url=https://ew.com/movies/james-cameron-recreates-titanic-floating-door-scene-jack-fit-with-rose/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240323041635/https://ew.com/movies/james-cameron-recreates-titanic-floating-door-scene-jack-fit-with-rose/ |archive-date=March 23, 2024 |access-date=2024-03-23 |website=EW.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jXHFEy-ibc |title=Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron (Full Episode) {{!}} SPECIAL |date=2023-03-05 |last=National Geographic |access-date=2025-01-18 |via=YouTube}}</ref>, after a previous test  had been conducted in 2012 by [[MythBusters|''MythBusters''.]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=James Cameron conducted forensic analysis to prove Jack's 'Titanic' death: 'He needed to die' |url=https://ew.com/movies/james-cameron-titanic-jack-death-forensic-analysis/ |access-date=2025-01-18 |website=EW.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVgkvaDHmto |title=Titanic Survival Results {{!}} MythBusters |date=2012-10-16 |last=Discovery |access-date=2025-01-18 |via=YouTube}}</ref> 

It was listed among the 100 best films in an ''Empire'' poll and in a later poll of members of the film industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-movies/|title=The 100 Greatest Movies|date=March 20, 2018|website=Empire|access-date=April 25, 2019|archive-date=October 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013202030/https://www.empireonline.com/movies/features/best-movies/|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/100-best-films-ever-hollywood-favorites-818512/item/vertigo-hollywoods-100-favorite-films-818447|title=Vertigo – Hollywood's 100 Favorite Films|website=[[The Hollywood Reporter]]|date=June 25, 2014|access-date=April 25, 2019|archive-date=April 25, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190425060530/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lists/100-best-films-ever-hollywood-favorites-818512/item/vertigo-hollywoods-100-favorite-films-818447|url-status=live}}</ref> In 2021, Dalin Rowell of ''/Film'' ranked it the third-best film of Cameron's career, stating that it is "easily one of his best films, simply because it defied the odds", and considering it "a legitimately remarkable achievement — one that, despite its large budget, has a humble, earnest center. Even with all of the jokes the Internet loves to throw its way, ''Titanic'' demonstrates that Cameron is truly capable of everything he can imagine."<ref name="rowell" />

In 2024, ''[[Looper (website)|Looper]]'' ranked it number 44 on its list of the "50 Best PG-13 Movies of All Time," writing {{blockquote|Cameron's immersive visuals, achieved using groundbreaking special effects, transport viewers back in time to the opulence of the Titanic and the heart-wrenching chaos of its final hours. The sheer grandness of the film, combined with its tragic tale, pushed the boundaries of storytelling and visual effects, paving the way for future blockbusters.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.looper.com/806086/best-pg-13-movies-of-all-time-ranked/ | title=50 Best PG-13 Movies Of All Time Ranked | website=Looper | date=October 3, 2024 }}</ref>}}

=== Other ===
In 1998, Chinese President [[Jiang Zemin]] praised the film during an address to the [[National People's Congress]] in order to demonstrate his endorsement of Western cultural imports.<ref name=":02">{{Cite book |last=Tu |first=Hang |title=Sentimental Republic: Chinese Intellectuals and the Maoist Past |publisher=[[Harvard University Asia Center]] |year=2025 |isbn=9780674297579 |pages=242}}</ref>