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 at a scale that reshaped what a studio picture could cost and earn. It became the highest grossing film of its time and swept the Academy Awards, cementing itself as a cultural touchstone that crossed generations. Its blend of historical spectacle and romance made it a defining release of the decade, one that turned its two leads into global icons and its story into a permanent fixture of popular memory.
This cell centers on Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater, the couple whose bond forms the emotional core of the entire picture. Collectors seek frames pairing these two because their relationship is the story's driving force, the thread that carries audiences through the ship's fate. A cell simply marked with their names points to a foundational scene between them, a piece of film that captures the pairing itself rather than any single plot event. For archivists and fans alike, that pairing is the heart of what makes Titanic endure.
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; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean throughout the strip.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running 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 clearly legible in this capture; no key numbers or manufacturer text can be read with confidence.
Base & colour
Base shows a blue-violet tint typical of modern polyester safety stock; the dye image reads as warm amber-brown with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
No visible scratches, splice marks or cue marks are seen 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 film on record.
Era check
The polyester blue-tinted base, variable-area optical track combined with Dolby Digital data blocks, and four-perforation 35mm format are all 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 000062612
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
