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 then-unprecedented budget that made studios nervous ahead of release. It went on to dominate the box office worldwide and swept the Academy Awards, cementing itself as a cultural touchstone of the late 1990s. The film's blend of historical spectacle and romance introduced a generation to the doomed voyage of the RMS Titanic, and its lasting popularity has made memorabilia from the production highly sought after by collectors decades later.
This cell centers on Rose DeWitt Bukater, played by Kate Winslet, in the moment she poses for Jack. It captures a scene tied to the film's central romance, one of the most referenced sequences in the picture and in popular culture surrounding it. Rose's arc as a woman breaking from societal constraints makes her a favorite among collectors seeking pieces tied to her character specifically. A 35mm cell like this preserves a physical fragment of the actual release print, offering a tangible connection to a moment audiences immediately recognize by name alone.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Titanic (1997).
Gauge
35mm, four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds four frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along the lower edge beside the picture, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation zone on the lower edge; a DTS timecode line also appears present as a fine dotted line along the lower edge.
Edge print
Upper edge reads 'KODAK 389 12 1997' (partially mirrored); 'SAFETY FILM' not legible at this capture resolution.
Base & colour
Base shows a light blue-grey tint consistent with a colour print stock; dye image appears warm and well-saturated with no visible fading or red shift.
Projection history
Light horizontal surface lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all four frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of Titanic (1997).
Era check
The combination of Kodak 1997-dated stock, variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and DTS timecode line 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 000062614
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
