Reviews

I hesitate to write anything at all, since there are already more than 400 entries on this site. So let me just pop off the first few things that come to mind... 1)Hardly "Best Picture" caliber. As has already been noted, the dialog is ridiculous; the leads have no romantic chemistry; and - most shocking of all - the fx really aren't worthy of the hype. The sinking is impressively staged, but scenes of the Titanic underway don't seem much more credible than a lot of back-projected stuff coming out of Hollywood six decades ago. The computer-generated pans of the ship and the ocean are staggeringly obvious. 2)Billy Zane must give one of the most unbearable performances in film history. Granted, Cameron's script gives him nothing to work with; the viewer who noted he seems to be playing Satan has it just right. The scenes where he shoots (!) repeatedly at Jack on the Grand Staircase (wouldn't the list on the ship make it pretty damn hard to navigate the staircase by this point?) and uses a child to ensure his place on a lifeboat are just idiotic. I found myself grimacing every time I looked at Zane's sallow face and slanted eyes; this brand of villainy went out in pictures - I don't know - about the time of the real Titanic sank. 3)The leads are pretty hapless; and the fact they are able to spend so much time submerged in freezing water while unlocking doors, wielding axes, etc. beggars credibility. 4)A lot of the supporting roles are well-played. David Warner doesn't fall into the trap of over-acting like Zane does, and comes off quite well as the villainous valet. He seems to be having fun, which is pretty much all an actor can do in a flick like this. Gloria Stuart is extremely effective as Old Rose; she more-or-less singlehandedly endows the film with all its human pathos. I also enjoyed Bill Paxton's performance. He etched pretty effectively the character of a jaded adventurer. If only he had some decent dialog to work with. Victor Garber - a very fine actor - is wasted as Thomas Andrews. He is invariably excellent in all his scenes. 5)Folks who take umbrage to the fictional characters would do well to remember a similar framework was used with Clifton Webb and Barbra Stanwyck as an estranged fictional couple in Negulesco's 1953 Titanic. 6)WHERE WAS THE CALIFORNIAN? If you're looking for a movie villain, this ship fits the bill. The decision to cut scenes set on the derelict vessel is really regrettable. 7)On the whole, a decent, passable picture, with many striking images and a great last hour. But it pales in comparison with the 1958 "A Night to Remember," which better captured the human drama of the ship's final moments. On the other hand, far better than the Stanwyck-Webb opus.

It was fashionable to bash this film when it came out in 1969, and reviews remain - at best - mediocre. I've always found the hostility baffling. I loved the film the first time I saw it, and my appreciation remains undimmed after several viewings. The production is gorgeous (what awesome set design is displayed in the Harmonia Gardens and Central Park set pieces!); and the musical arrangements and choreography are first-rate. Note when Dolly tells Cornelius Hackl in the hat shop "Just give me five minutes, Mr. Hackl, and I'll have you dancing in the streets." She's as good as her word, and the ensuing sequence - with dancers leap-frogging over one another and throwing themselves off park benches into their beaus' arms - leaves you staring at the screen with an open mouth. Few of the principal actors could dance, but the hyper-kinetic Danny Lockin (playing Barnaby Tucker) is a joy to watch. I love it when he hops repeatedly over a bicycle before catching Minnie in his arms and riding off with her! Streisand and Matthau - personal animosity aside - make a wonderful couple. Their dialogue has a quality of one-upmanship that really tickles the viewer. One drawback to the film is that it typically plays on television shorn of its wide-screen format - a decision that ruins many of the compositions, especially in musical numbers. When I was a boy, I couldn't understand how the cinematographer got an Oscar nomination when he kept chopping actors on the end of a row out of the frame! Streisand's singing is to die for. It's amazing how she handles the first bars (repeating the single word "Good-bye") as she bids "So long, dearie," to Vandergelder. On the other hand, it's disorienting to hear Michael Crawford, now a superstar for his performance in "Phantom of the Opera," open his mouth and produce that grating, timorous little voice. I've always wondered, does he sing like that on purpose as part of the role. (It's probably just how Cornelius would sound in real life.)

All in all, the film's a true "10." One of the all-time great Hollywood musicals. Great score, marvellous cast, crackerjack production.