066 Titanic (1997) Tape 1

Retro Grade Podcast

“ITS BEEN 84 YEARS..”
On this week’s episode, we go back and revisit one of the highest grossing films of all time. The behemoth of a movie about the “unsinkable ship,“ Titanic. Written and directed by James Cameron, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane, Kathy Bates, and the late great Bill Paxton. We talk about our early memories of the movie, how it came in a two-part VHS cassette package because the film was too long, and how we reacted to seeing the romance between Jack and Rose and the destruction of the ship. We compare and contrast the multiple times we’ve seen the film throughout our lives and how each time we walk away resonating with something we previously didn’t.

We cover the story, from the very beginning of Rose stepping onto the Titanic for the first time, and how that might be one of the scenes that hasn’t aged well, to the actual framing device for the film, with an older Rose recounting her experience on the ship before it collided with the iceberg. We go into the multiple ways this framing device not only allows James to creatively insert exposition in order to keep audiences from becoming confused, but also how it creates suspense in the story, every so often remind the audience that the ships inevitable doom is coming.

We go over different elements of the story, from and Jack and Rose’s growing romance, to Billy Zane’s Cal Hockley stealing the show with his incredible line delivery, to the social hierarchy seen in the ship and how that structure may have led to the death of many people on board when the ship finally sank. And there’s plenty that we still talk about, but just like the original VHS, this episode is just too long for one recording, so we decided to split up the entire episode into two parts. So join us, as we dive in on this classic film with out special guest, Aneesa!

Music is from Triune Digital and audio clips pulled from movies we will be reviewing in other episodes.

Artwork by @jannelle_o