DIRECTORS REVIEW

James Francis Cameron known as one of the best known directors for his works;
Terminator (1984), Aliens (1986), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Titanic (1997), and
Avatar (2009). He is now one of the most sought-after directors in Hollywood thanks to the
success of these movies. To analyze James Cameron's directing style and what makes
James Cameron's movies so successful, I decided to compare my favorite movie of all time
by him, Titanic (1997) and the first movie he ever directed, Piranha Part Two: The Spawning
(1981). While comparing these two movies, I picked up on a few of his key components that
tend to be his signature traits, which are usually very artistically done and entertaining to
watch. In this review of these two movies, I will focus on the techniques/forms (lighting,
color, music, dialogue, theme, setting, etc) used and what made them effective or not.
The first film I looked at was James Cameron's debut as a director, Piranha Part Two:
The Spawning from 1981. Piranha Part Two: The Spawning is about a scuba diving
instructor, her biochemist boyfriend, and her police chief ex-husband who try to link a series
of bizarre deaths to a mutant strain of piranha fish whose lair is a sunken US freighter ship
off a Caribbean island resort. This movie has a great scientifically fiction baseline story that
had lots of potential, however, it was also ridiculously fictional that it didn't quite make it as a
scary movie, and appeared more as a spoof instead. The setting of the first scene is in a
dark, isolated boat off the Caribbean island resort coast, where we are introduced to a
couple preparing to go for an "intimate" swim. This scene helps to set the atmospheric mood
of suspense because of the music, the actor's jumpiness, the lighting and the camera
angles. It immediately jumps into the horror of the "piranhas" that lurk in the water, and has a
rather fast-paced, action-packed storyline. From the unrealistic scene of the piranha jumping
out of the dead human body and attacking another victim, to the special effects of the attack
of the flying piranha to the explosion of the helicopter.
Although, these scenes didn't make total sense, they made the audience continue
watching because they were anticipating more action and expecting answers. They were left
with a feeling of longing at the end of the movie, even though the music indicated that the
"piranha" problem had been resolved, and everyone would live happily ever after. The
different camera angles used throughout this film helped to show not only what was going
on with the actors but the surrounding areas around the actors. The dialogue used

throughout the movie is somewhat believable, however could have been better. The
piranha-like creatures were so unbelievable that you couldn't help but laugh at certain parts.
The scary soundtrack plays an important and effective part throughout the entire movie,
since it helps the audience to know when the creatures are coming, and therefore builds
suspense in the audience. Although, even though the music playing in the background helps
to build suspense, the second you saw the creature, the suspense and horror was replaced
with a humorous outlook. Therefore, the suspense in the movie didn't necessarily seem to
match the thrill of being scared. This isn't a movie I would ever watch again, especially if I
was looking for a horror movie, because it didn't fulfill the thrill. However, this does not mean
that this film is the worst film ever, but James Cameron is capable of so much more, which is
clearly evident in Titanic.
The second film I looked at, was James Cameron's Titanic (1997). Titanic is about the
re-telling of a 100-year-old woman named Rose DeWitt Bukater's experience on the Titanic
84 years before. She speaks about her life set in April 10th 1912, on a ship called Titanic
when young Rose boards the departing ship with the upper-class passengers and her
mother, Ruth DeWitt Bukater, and her fianc, Caledon Hockley. Meanwhile, a drifter and
artist named Jack Dawson and his best friend Fabrizio De Rossi win third-class tickets to the
ship in a game. She explains the whole story, including the romantic storyline of her and
Jack, from departure until the death of Titanic on its first and last voyage April 15th, 1912 at
2:20 in the morning. There are three main themes in Titanic; the romantic storyline of Jack
Dawon and Rose DeWitt Bukater, the superb technical achievement which gives the
audience the full experience of Titanic, and the prominent symbolism regarding nature and
the value of time within the human experience. The dialogue is witty, humorous, and
intelligently written. It is believable and helps to create the perfect atmosphere for each
scene. Cameron uses lighting to effectively add to each dramatic atmosphere; bright and
cheerful during exciting scenes, and dark and eerie during the scary and intense moments
in the film. He used a blue light to illuminate Rose's face during her suicide attempt scene,
and uses a bright light to illuminate Jack's to help illustrate hope and optimism. Cameron
also uses the absence of light to add a dramatic atmosphere. The scene in which Rose is
frantically searching to find help to save Jack's life from the Master at Arm's room, Cameron
dims the lights to help create a scared and dramatic atmosphere.

Camera angles used in this film were just as important as the lighting used in this
movie, Cameron was very specific when he chose the placement of the camera; he not only
showed the actions of what the actors were doing and their point of view, but tended to
zoom out and show the overall picture of the surroundings and what was going on. An
example of this, is the scene when Rose comes up from beneath the water's surface,
frantically looking for Jack. The camera then zooms out to show that hundreds (1,500) of
others are experiencing the same panic as she is. The camera angles helped to add
definition to every scene, and allowed the audience to get a real idea of what the experience
would have been like, if they had actually been there. On top of the highly effective use of
camera angles, lighting and dialogue, the soundtrack helped to set the mood. The music
played throughout the movie, was rather repetitive, however this was done on purpose.
Throughout the movie, Cameron used the same song repeatedly to remind the
audience of events that occurred earlier in the movie, and to remind them of certain
characters. Every song played had a particular role and was used to inflict emotion on the
audience. The filming of Titanic was very artistically done; from the graphic reconstruction of
the sinking of Titanic, to the smooth transitions between the wreckage to the "new" Titanic,
to the shots incorporated in the film itself. Especially the shot of the girl dressed in white
floating in the water inside the Titanic. Only James Cameron can take such a horrific event,
such as the sinking of the RMS Titanic and tell such a beautiful story with it.

MOVIE REVIEW
James Cameron's 194-minute, $200 million film of the tragic voyage is in the tradition of the
great Hollywood epics. It is flawlessly crafted, intelligently constructed, strongly acted and
spellbinding. Titanic directed by James Cameron presents a fictional love story on the
historical setting of the Titanic. The plot is simple, non-complicated, or not for those who love
plots that twist and turn and keep you in suspense. The end of the movie can be figured out
within minutes of the start of the film, but the love story is an interesting one, however. Kate
Winslett is wonderful as Rose, an aristocratic young lady betrothed by Cal (Billy Zane). Early
on the voyage Rose meets Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio), a lower class artist on his way to
America after winning his ticket aboard Titanic in a poker game. If he wants something, he
goes and gets it unlike the upper class who are so concerned with their social worries. The
two fall in love and the audience sees the sinking of the Titanic primarily through their eyes.
The movie begins in modern times with the exploration of the wreck by a group
searching for treasures that sunk with the Titanic, which has recently occurred. One of the
survivors of the Titanic, Rose DeWitt Bukater, who had heard of the exploration of the wreck
on television and is flown to the boat where the search is being led from to tell of what she
remembers to help the search. She gets to tell her memory of the one and only voyage of
the Titanic. With this, the scene shifts to Southhampton, Ireland where the Titanic set sail
from on April 10, 1912 as all the passengers are boarding. After another stop on the Irish
coast Titanic went out to see on its maiden voyage across the Atlantic bound for New York.
Historically the first few days of the voyage went by uneventful, but the fictional plot of the
story is developed during this time as Rose sees the hopeless entrapment of an
engagement that she is in to the wealthy Cal Hockley and falls in love with third class
passenger, Jack Dawson.
Captain Smith allegedly as shown in the movie was urged by the White Star Line
Director to increase the speed of the ship so they would make the newspaper headlines and
receive extra publicity by arriving in New York on Thursday night and not on Friday morning
as planned. Smith then ordered the fateful decision going against his thirty-two years of
experience to stretch the Titanic's legs out to full speed. The Titanic had reports that the
waters in the Atlantic they were sailing in were full of icebergs, but they ignored these
warnings and proceeded at full speed as shown in the movie. On April 15, 1912 at 11:39, an

iceberg was sighted. They attempted to shut off the engines and turn the ship out of the path
of the iceberg but there was not enough time and the ship hit the iceberg on the starboard
side as depicted in the film.
The portrayal of the many small holes in the side of the ship and not one large gash
along the side is accurate. The crew of Titanic sent out distress calls and set off distress
rockets as shown until 2:18 when the lights finally failed. The lights of the California were
spotted six miles away but they failed to realize what was going on and did not respond to
Titanic's many pleas for help. The California had tried earlier in the day to warn Titanic of the
severe ice that had caused them to stop their trip but Titanic had brushed them off causing
the California to turn off its radio and leave the Titanic on its own. The first class women and
children were the first as depicted to be put into the twenty lifeboats that were on the ship.
Overwhelmingly the third class passengers suffered the most amount of deaths of any class
and the crew was hit hard in this tragedy too. The word of White Star Line employees and
first class passengers was believed over that of second and third class passengers when
authorities were trying to gain information of the sinking. Also, the metal that was used to
build the Titanic has been found in recent years under conditions of severe cold, which were
experienced the night Titanic sank to be extremely brittle. Overall, the basic plot is very
accurate in its portrayal of the events and the times at which these events took place on the
Titanic.
Many of the characters in the story were not real and created simply for the purpose
of the movie or as composite characters to represent possible characteristics and ideas of
people on the ship. The core group of Rose, Jack, Cal, and Rose's mother all were fictional
characters added into the story as they represent different groups of people from the time.
Yet many characters such as the Unsinkable Molly Brown; Captain Edward Smith; the ship
designer, Thomas Andrew; the White Star Line Representative, Bruce Ismay; and all of the
Titanic's officers were real. The maiden voyage was going to be Captain Edward Smith's last
voyage anyway as he planned to retire afterwards. He had been a part of the White Star
Line since 1880 where he worked his way up to his status as the Millionaire's Captain when
the Titanic sunk. The portrayals of the officers is accurate as only four survived the tragedy
except for the officer who threatened to kill all of the passengers of the ship with his pistol.
He is on record as acting heroically and was misportrayed to the point that James Cameron
apologized and evoked a monument in his honor in the officer's former Canadian hometown.

As shown in the movie there was a language problem between the crew and many of
the lower-class passengers from non-English speaking nations. In addition, Officer Lowe
was the only officer who came back in the lifeboat as depicted. The old people shown in
their bed as the water came in their room were based on the Strauss'. Not wanting to leave
her husband's side Mrs. Strauss refused to get in her lifeboat and died with her husband on
the Titanic. Furthermore, Mr. Goggenheim who was shown sipping his brandy and smoking
a cigar reportedly did go out like this dressed in his best. The richest man on the ship, John
Jacob Astor, who owned most of Manhattan died nonetheless as well, but his much younger
wife was saved in a lifeboat. In addition, Molly Brown was saved and later had medals made
up for the crew of the Carpethia that picked the survivors of Titanic up from the water. Her
ticket on the Titanic had cost over four-thousand dollars and by the end of her life she ended
up broke. All of the interiors of the ship were masterfully replicated down to the last pieces of
china and silverware. The gymnasium, which is hardly seen is recreated perfectly with all of
the machines reproduced to match those seen in old photographs.
The wonderful outfits and costuming were an excellent re-creation of the PostVictorian era of 1912. The rich at this time practically ruled everything, as the women's
suffrage movement had not quite gotten moving yet. Women during this time often married
for financial security as Rose was considering doing and normally took a back seats status
to their husbands as Cal wished for Rose to do. The rich did not take well to `new money'
such as Molly Brown as depicted. Everything of the time was very formal. Women had to be
escorted to dinner by a male figure as seen with in the dining scenes. Smoking was not very
common among women of the time but holders of cigarettes, which were just coming in at
the time were used as seen with Rose in the movie. Men of the time generally smoked
cigars not cigarettes. Women were constrained physically by their corsets and socially by
society. Although James Cameron had no background in historical films he brought in
experts of Titanic coupled with two years spent cross-referencing the history of the Titanic
and few liberties were taken. The beautiful cinematography and special effects also helped
to make the film even more breathtaking.
A recognizable message can be seen in the movie Titanic as the people on the ship
had about three hours to contemplate their demise. The director, James Cameron, shows
the various reactions to this time of crisis in people's lives. Everyone reacts differently and
he gets you to think of how you might have reacted had you been in that situation on the

Titanic on that fateful night. In addition, this film is a reflection of the 1990's when it was
produced as it gives a look into the wreck of the Titanic. Only in the past fifteen years has
the site of the actual Titanic been found and explored. This movie was able to give us a
deeper look into a disaster that many would not have viewed. However, the moral question
of whether people today should be taking treasures from the wreck of an underwater
graveyard is posed. There have been attempts to stop treasure seeking missions such as
the one portrayed in Titanic but all have failed. As it stands today anyone can make a
voyage to the Titanic and take whatever valuables they as portrayed in the film showing the
general values of our time on this matter.
Technically the film is very well done. To get footage of the wreck at the bottom of the
ocean it took twelve dives to get all of the footage needed for the movie. In addition, a
special camera had to be created to withstand the intense pressure at the bottom of the
ocean. Cameron did not plan on using the probe to go as far inside Titanic as anyone has in
the 88 years since the ship sunk but it worked out that this provided an unique perspective
into the ship. Furthermore, throughout the film fade ins and outs from the wreck of Titanic to
the scene of Titanic during its actual voyage. This shift between the modern scene to the
past scene during the voyage works as an excellent transition that makes the story easy to
follow in a clear manner. At the very beginning of the movie a septum recreation is used to
recreate the scene when the actual people left the European coast on Titanic giving it
distinction from the rest of the events of the film.
Titanic plays almost like a historical biography and is like a work of art, a true epic.
Like most history novels, we know the ending, but it doesn't take away from the wonderful
treats that can be found in this picture. Certain aspects of this film are Academy Award
material including costuming, sound, cinematography, and editing. If you like interesting
characters that will give you an insight into the life of characters in the early 1900's and how
they face disaster, then this movie definitely is for you.