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
FILM NOTES
Released in 1997 by Paramount and 20th Century Fox, Titanic arrived as one of the most expensive productions Hollywood had attempted, a gamble that paid off in historic fashion. Directed by James Cameron, it swept the Academy Awards and became a defining cinematic event of the decade, pairing spectacle with a sweeping romantic narrative set against the ship's doomed voyage. Its box office run and cultural saturation made it a touchstone of 1990s filmmaking, and the picture remains a fixture of retrospectives on studio-era ambition and effects-driven storytelling.
This cell preserves a frame of Rose DeWitt Bukater, the film's central figure and the character through whom the entire story is framed and remembered. Played by Kate Winslet, Rose stands as one of the most recognizable heroines of modern cinema, making any authentic strip bearing her name a natural target for collectors of the film. A 35mm cell tied to her is a physical fragment of the release print itself, a tangible artifact from the actual reels shown in theaters, rather than a reproduction or promotional item, which is precisely what gives such pieces their appeal to archivists and enthusiasts alike.
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; spacing appears even and the punched edges look clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible running along one edge beside the picture area, consistent with an analog stereo print; Dolby Digital pixel blocks appear present in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, indicating a Dolby Digital optical composite track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote any key numbers or manufacturer text.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-tinted tint typical of modern safety stock; dye image reads as neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive color image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the subject matter is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The composite Dolby Digital plus analog variable-area optical soundtrack format and blue-base polyester safety stock are consistent with a mid-to-late 1990s theatrical release print, matching the 1997 release date of the film on record.
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 000062621
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
