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 December 1997 from Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox, a James Cameron production that became the highest-grossing film of its time and a cultural fixture for years afterward. Its blend of period romance, disaster spectacle, and technical ambition earned eleven Academy Awards and reshaped expectations for what a big-budget studio film could accomplish. The film's enduring popularity has made physical artifacts from its release, including film reels and print ephemera, objects of steady collector interest.
This piece comes from the opening credits sequence and features Leonardo DiCaprio, whose portrayal of Jack Dawson helped define the film for audiences and made him one of the most recognized actors of his generation. Opening credits material sits at the very start of the print, introducing lead cast before the story begins, and pieces from this segment are prized for marking that first formal association between actor and film. For collectors, an opening credits cell with DiCaprio represents an early, foundational moment in the print's structure.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Titanic (1997).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower edge beside the perforations, appearing as a dual-bilateral waveform; Dolby Digital data blocks are visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the lower edge; no SDDS or DTS timecode line is clearly distinguishable in this capture.
Edge print
Text reading 'LEONARDO DiCAPRIO' appears printed across each frame in stylised lettering; no manufacturer key numbers, SAFETY FILM legend, or stock codes are legible in this capture.
Base & colour
The base shows a blue-tinted clear stock; the unexposed frame area is dense black with no visible dye fading or colour shift.
Projection history
Faint horizontal streaking is visible across the black frame area, consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
The frames are unexposed or fully black — no photographic image is present; the three frames run consecutively and carry repeated title-card text reading 'LEONARDO DiCAPRIO', consistent with a main-title leader section of the film on record.
Era check
The combination of dual-bilateral optical track and Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks 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 000062577
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
