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 (1997) arrived as one of the most expensive productions ever mounted, a Paramount and 20th Century Fox collaboration directed by James Cameron that fused a historical disaster epic with a romance built for mass audiences. Its release reshaped box office expectations, swept the Academy Awards, and became a cultural touchstone that defined mid budget-to-blockbuster filmmaking for a generation. Decades on, it remains a reference point for collectors of studio era memorabilia tied to a genuine cinematic phenomenon.
This cell centers on Caledon Hockley, played by Billy Zane, the wealthy fiancé whose presence anchors the film's class conflict and love triangle. Collectors seek him out because his role defines the story's tension between old money and new love, giving the character lasting recognition beyond the central romance. A cell bearing his name alone, without accompanying character, suggests a moment built around his own screen presence, whether drawn from footage, trailer material, or a credits sequence highlighting his part in the ensemble. For collectors, it represents a piece of the film's supporting architecture, the counterweight that gives the central story its stakes.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Titanic (1997).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame on both visible edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched holes appear cleanly cut with no visible tearing.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, and a Dolby Digital data-block strip appears in the inter-perforation gaps on the opposite edge, consistent with a dual-format optical release print.
Edge print
Upper edge reads, mirrored: KODAK 389 12 [box symbol] 1891; SAFETY designation not separately legible in this capture.
Base & colour
Base shows a light blue tint typical of Kodak Vision colour print stock; dye image appears neutral with no visible red shift or fading.
Projection history
Light horizontal abrasion lines are visible across the frame area, consistent with a print that has passed through a projector gate.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single continuous shot, and the ornate interior setting is consistent with the production design of the film on record.
Era check
The combination of Kodak Vision print stock, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks alongside a variable-area optical track, and the key-number sequence is consistent with a mid-to-late 1990s theatrical release print matching the 1997 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 000062633
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
