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, directed by James Cameron on a budget that made headlines before a single ticket sold. It went on to dominate the box office worldwide and swept the Academy Awards, becoming a cultural touchstone that redefined what a big-budget epic could achieve emotionally as well as commercially. Decades later it remains one of the most recognized films ever made, its imagery instantly familiar even to those who have never seen it in full.
This cell pairs Jack Dawson, the film's steerage-born romantic lead played by Leonardo DiCaprio, with his loyal friend Fabrizio De Rossi, played by Danny Nucci. Their bond represents the immigrant optimism and camaraderie woven through the ship's early voyage, a friendship collectors value for grounding the larger romance in warmth and humor. As a 35mm frame drawn directly from the source print, it preserves an authentic slice of the release rather than a reproduction, offering a tangible artifact tied to a specific screened moment of the story.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Titanic (1997).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on the top edge; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on the top edge; bottom-edge perforations are also present but partially obscured by the soundtrack area; spacing appears even and punches appear clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along the bottom edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation gaps on the bottom edge, consistent with a dual-format optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any text or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-violet tint typical of modern polyester stock; dye image reads as neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks, or cue marks are apparent in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from the same continuous shot, and the subject matter is consistent with the 1997 film on record.
Era check
The combination of polyester base with blue tint, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track, and the positive colour print format is consistent with a mid-to-late 1990s theatrical release print.
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 000062595
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
