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 on a budget that alarmed the industry before the film became its savior at the box office. It went on to sweep the Academy Awards and remained the highest grossing film for over a decade, cementing itself as a defining cinematic event of the 1990s and a touchstone of blockbuster filmmaking.
This cell preserves Caledon Hockley, played by Billy Zane, whose portrayal of the wealthy, controlling fiance gave the film its central antagonist and its sharpest counterpoint to the romance at the story's heart. Collectors seek out Hockley material because the character anchors the class conflict and tension that drive the plot, giving weight to every scene he inhabits. A 35mm cell like this one comes from the physical film print itself, a tangible fragment of the release reel rather than a promotional still, making it a direct artifact of the picture as it played in theaters.
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 both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible along one edge, with what appears to be a Dolby Digital data-block strip in the inter-perforation gaps on the same edge, and a DTS timecode line also visible, consistent with a multi-format optical soundtrack area.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to quote characters.
Base & colour
Base appears with a slight blue-violet tint typical of modern polyester stock; dye image reads as warm with no obvious fading or red shift.
Projection history
Faint horizontal lines consistent with projection wear are visible across the frame area.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, and the setting is consistent with the interior grand staircase environment associated with Titanic (1997).
Era check
The combination of polyester base, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, DTS timecode strip, and variable-area optical track 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 000062634
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
