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 1997 as a Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox co-production, directed by James Cameron on a scale rarely attempted before. Its release reshaped expectations for what a big-budget romance could achieve at the box office, sweeping through award season and becoming a cultural touchstone that endures decades later. The film's blend of historical spectacle and intimate love story helped define an era of Hollywood filmmaking, and 35mm cells from its original prints remain sought after as physical artifacts of that moment.
This cell preserves Rose DeWitt Bukater, portrayed by Kate Winslet, whose performance anchors the film's emotional core. Rose stands as one of cinema's most recognized characters from the late twentieth century, a young woman whose journey drives the narrative's themes of independence and transformation. Collectors prize cells bearing her name because she represents the heart of Titanic itself, inseparable from its legacy. As a single frame drawn from the reel, this piece offers a tangible connection to the character's presence within the finished picture.
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 each edge, evenly spaced; punched edges appear clean with no visible tearing or distortion.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, appearing as a two-track variable-area format; a blue-tinted digital data region consistent with Dolby Digital data blocks is visible in the inter-perforation gaps on the opposite edge.
Edge print
Not clearly legible at this capture resolution; faint edge markings are present but cannot be quoted with confidence.
Base & colour
Base shows a blue-tinted cast consistent with a colour print stock; dye image appears neutral with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light longitudinal lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with projection wear; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, consistent with a release print of Titanic (1997).
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, blue-base colour print stock, and four-perforation 35mm 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 000062620
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
