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 from Paramount and Twentieth Century Fox, directed by James Cameron at a scale and cost that alarmed the industry before it opened. It went on to dominate the box office worldwide and swept the Academy Awards, becoming a defining cinematic event of its decade. Built on meticulous recreation of the doomed liner and a sweeping romantic framework, the film crossed generations of viewers and remains one of the most widely seen movies ever made, a touchstone for an entire era of Hollywood filmmaking and for the two lead performers who carried it.
This cell centers on Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, the couple whose bond anchors the entire picture. Collectors seek these two names above all others from Titanic, since their story is the emotional spine audiences return to again and again. A cell marked simply with their names points to the heart of the film rather than any single scene, representing the pairing itself as the enduring image most associated with the production and its legacy.
Authentication Findings8 checks
Consistent with a 35mm theatrical release print of Titanic (1997).
Gauge
35mm, confirmed by four perforations per frame visible on both edges; the strip holds three frames.
Perforations
Four per frame on both edges; spacing appears even and the punched edges appear clean with no torn or missing perforations visible.
Soundtrack
A variable-area optical track is visible below the picture area, appearing as two bilateral variable-area tracks, with a Dolby Digital data block pattern visible between the perforations on the lower edge.
Edge print
Not visible in this capture at sufficient resolution to read any key numbers or manufacturer codes.
Base & colour
The base shows a slight blue-violet tint consistent with a colour print stock; the dye image appears neutral with no obvious red shift or fading.
Projection history
Faint horizontal lines consistent with projection wear are visible across the frame area; no splices or cue marks are seen.
Picture
Positive colour image; all three frames appear to be consecutive frames from a single shot, consistent with a release print of Titanic (1997).
Era check
The combination of bilateral variable-area optical track, Dolby Digital inter-perforation data blocks, and blue-tinted polyester base stock 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 000062638
Original Film CaptureAs received
Photographed on the light panel at intake, before encapsulation — tap to open full size
Tap to enlarge
