The tragedy of the Titanic sinking acts as a backdrop for a romance between a socialite and an artist. Qualifies for this site on a technicality (the last scene).
Subgenres: nostalgia, action
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I'm going to be honest in this review--I think Titanic was a nicely directed, at times awe-inspiring film that has moments of eerie beauty and chilling terror. It's also well acted, especially by the leads (though the usually solid Billy Zane is pretty bad), and represents a return to old-fashined Hollywood romance. Unfortunately, Titanic is also badly written. The concept is solid, but the dialogue is horrible and throws the pacing of the film off. In addition, making the romance between DiCaprio and Winslet the focus of most of the story necessarily takes away from the sense of tragedy. When the film does get down to the effects of the sinking, it decids to kill one of the main characters in a way that doesn't entirely make sense but works for the film (that's called "awfully convenient," ladies and gents). All criticisms aside, Titanic has a wonderful final scene: appropriate and optimistic, lovely and spiritual, it is the perfection the rest of the film only aspires to be. (Sep 29, 1999/Oct 4, 1999) philjohn.com - approaching the unexplained 
Is there anyone who doesn't love this movie? It is worth all the money that was spent, it is worth all the money it made, it is worth all the Oscars it will get. It is a remarkable movie, but then it is also a very simple idea. Love story on a sinking boat. I didn't want to see this film, but I had to as I learned that it had gained such a fellowship. I managed to view it in English, as there are some theaters in Berlin that feature the original versions. (The German versions are almost everytime horrible. But I will discuss that on the Star Trek discussion pages, as 'Star Trek Classic' is a major victim of that process.) I didn't really like Aliens which was also the result of Cameron/Horner, but this one is perfect. This time it is without non-human monsters, this time the music is more interesting. It is the details what make this film a masterpiece. Still the photography and atmosphere of Millennium and The X-Files is unbeatable (Yes, I know that this is tv), but this movie is a real piece of art. The scene where one single lifeboat returns to the site, navigating around the dead bodies [. . .] there are no words that could describe those moments. It is moments we live from, it is moments we remember. Titanic consists of such moments, of moments that enfold the entire universe within the wink of an eye. But then Titanic is not a movie that has a lot to tell. It tells via atmosphere, it tells via pictures, it is a simple love story. It is in a way a silent movie (well, not counting the sinking boat scenes) and allows not deep thought but deep feelings. It is a classic tale, and classic tales are almost always simple. It is a movie that speaks via images, not via words. And it is a movie that makes one hate a world that is artificially divided into classes. E pluribus unim is part of the film's philosophy. I just hope that there won't be a monster film that's more succesful than this piece of work. (Oct 31, 1999)
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As if you need me to tell you this, Titanic is the most successful film in box office history, speaking in unadjusted dollars. In adjusted dollars, it still has to beat Star Wars and Gone with the Wind, if I'm not mistaken.
