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 Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox's joint gamble on James Cameron's sprawling vision, a production so costly that industry watchers braced for failure. Instead it became a cultural phenomenon, sweeping the Academy Awards and holding the box office record for years. Its blend of historical spectacle and doomed romance made it a defining film of the decade, one that introduced a generation to the story of the RMS Titanic and cemented Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio as stars.
This cell centers on Rose DeWitt Bukater, the film's emotional anchor and narrator, whose journey from constrained aristocrat to independent survivor gives the story its shape. Collectors seek her likeness because she carries the film's memory across decades, both as a young woman aboard the ship and as the elder Rose recalling her past. A single reel segment bearing her name offers a physical fragment of that throughline, a tangible link to the character audiences followed through the entire arc of the 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; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, accompanied by what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation zone on the same edge; a DTS timecode line also appears present as a thin continuous stripe beside the optical track.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read manufacturer codes or key numbers.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight blue-grey tint consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image appears neutral with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light vertical scratching is visible running through the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; the three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the content is consistent with the film on record.
Era check
The combination of variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital data blocks between perforations, and DTS timecode stripe is 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 000062622
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
