National Film RegistryLibrary of Congress · Inducted 2017
“James Cameron's epic retold the story of the great maritime disaster and made mega-stars of both its leads, Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Their upstairs-downstairs romance transported the audience to another world and time via spectacular sweeping scenes in the bow of the ship and beyond.”
Selected for preservation as culturally, historically or aesthetically significant.
Directed by
James Cameron
Studio
Paramount Pictures · British Film Institute · 20th Century Studios · 195 min
Sources: Wikidata · Library of Congress · OpenAlex. The record of the motion picture, not an assessment of this cell.
FILM NOTES
Titanic arrived in 1997 as a Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox co-production, released amid famously inflated costs and industry doubt about its commercial prospects. Directed by James Cameron, it went on to dominate the box office worldwide and swept the Academy Awards, becoming a defining cinematic event of the decade. Its blend of historical spectacle and romantic drama, anchored by a massive practical production, cemented its place as one of the most-watched films in history and a touchstone of late-1990s studio filmmaking.
This piece comes from the opening credits, the portion of the reel where the studio names, key cast, and title appear before the story begins. DiCaprio refers to Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays Jack Dawson, the young artist whose romance with Rose forms the emotional center of the film. Early credit appearances of leading actors are prized by collectors for marking the film's formal introduction of its stars, tying a specific frame to the moment audiences first saw the name that would carry the picture.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Titanic (1997).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge; a DTS timecode line also appears present as a thin stripe beside the optical track.
Edge print
Text reading 'LEONARDO DiCAPRIO' is printed within the picture area as a title card; no manufacturer key numbers or SAFETY FILM edge text are legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base shows a blue-violet tint consistent with a dye-based colour print stock; the dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks or cue marks are seen in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the on-screen credit 'LEONARDO DiCAPRIO' is consistent with the title sequence of the film on record.
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and DTS timecode stripe is consistent with a mid-to-late 1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1997 release date of the film on record.
Read from the original intake capture shown below. Observations only — film is authenticated, not graded.
This original motion picture film element has been examined and authenticated by Crown Grading in partnership with National Film Vault, and encapsulated for archival preservation.
Why so little survivesRelease prints were leased to theaters, not sold. When the run ended they went back to the distributor to be destroyed, and most were. What collectors hold today came from the prints that escaped that order, and no new 35mm prints of these films are being struck.
CROWN SERIAL 000062574
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
