Episode 101: Titanic (1997)

Whew! We conquered episode 100, now we go forward . . . to the past! Welcome to a new series on “Max, Mike; Movies” where we check out films of a surprisingly innovative and influential decade, back in the dim and distant misty times: the 1990’s, in a series we’re calling “In Ancient Times: the 90’s” (we were going to do the 1890s but there’s only so much you can say about a film showing Thomas Edison’s assistant sneezing). The 90’s were, in our opinion, one of the last decades of truly experimental, daring films, before studios began focus-grouping the hell out of everything and basically just trying to establish easy-to-replicate cash-pooping formulas.  This is not to say there isn’t still innovation out there, but it’s harder to get such movies made.  This week we’re starting off with Max’s pick of a cinematic achievement that chronicles one of the greatest maritime tragedies of the 20th century.  Of course, I’m talking about Boaty McBoatface.  I don’t think any of us will ever lose the scars from that . . . wait, hang on, that’s not right.  No, we’ll be yammering about the movie that made James Cameron the king of the world, a quiet, small-scale little period piece called “Titanic.” Sit back and let us paint you like one of our French girls!

And please, do keep in mind:

George Floyd Memorial Fund:  https://www.gofundme.com/f/georgefloyd

ACLU: https://www.aclu.org/

Black Lives Matter: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/ms_blm_homepage_2019

Southern Poverty Law Center: https://donate.splcenter.org/

3 thoughts on “Episode 101: Titanic (1997)”

  1. Not only am i Canadian, but from Quebec and even with Celine Dion singing I could not wait for the iceberg to hit the boat. Everything else was lovely to look at but just super dull to me. I was so glad Max pointed out the CGI people on the deck, it really took me out of the film first time I saw in theatres but n0 one else seemed to notice. The throwing the diamond into the sea instead of giving it to her daughter YEARS BEFORE has prevented me from watching this again!

    1. Well, you’re Canadian NOW! I know it’s not the movie for everyone. But it did kind of work for a lot of people. Often, weird little effects like the people on the deck can make a big impact when they’re not even meant to be noticed. This was fairly early on in this kind of thing, so I can forgive them. I can also see why one couldn’t. Celine ALMOST makes me not want to watch it again! Maybe if the iceberg had a song in there…

      Thanks, Vince!

      1. I did go to a restaurant where drag queens were the servers and they had a little show where one lip-synced that song and the rest of the queens threw ice cubes at her, so that song did eventually bring a smile to me face. I never bought into the love story which is essential to liking this movie. Anything I say should be taken with a grain of salt. When watching Jurassic Park with a couple friends in the cinema, I apparently didn’t show enough empathy by yelling “eat the kids next! ” after the rex ate the lawyer. Titanic for the iceberg, Jurassic Park for dinosaurs eating people, I say!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *