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 20th Century Fox, a James Cameron production that became the highest grossing film of its time and swept the Academy Awards the following spring. Built on an enormous budget and years of production challenges, it fused historical spectacle with a fictional romance set against the 1912 sinking of the RMS Titanic. Its scale, technical ambition, and crossover appeal made it a cultural touchstone of the decade, drawing repeat theatrical audiences and cementing its place in film history as both blockbuster and awards contender.
This cell, marked Trapped Passengers, comes from the ship's final act, when the disaster narrows to the fates of those left below decks or unable to reach safety. No specific character is named here, so the piece stands as a moment from the film's ensemble crisis rather than a portrait of Jack or Rose. Collectors of Titanic material often seek these unnamed, situational cells for how they anchor the film's larger tragedy, offering a physical fragment tied directly to the movie's most consequential sequence rather than to its marketed leads.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Titanic (1997).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by 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 or distortion.
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 zone on the same edge, consistent with a dual-format optical release print.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue tint consistent with modern polyester safety stock; dye image reads as warm and well-saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No splices, cue marks, or prominent scratches are visible in this capture.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of Titanic (1997).
Era check
The combination of polyester blue-tinted base, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track, and warm saturated dye image 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 000062602
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
