While it may not be my very favourite Kate Winslet moment it was, for whatever reason, the one that immediately leaped into my mind when Nathaniel asked us to share. Perhaps it is residual Avatar love, but the Kate Winslet moment I wanted to highlight was the cold and watery goodbye between Winslet's Rose and Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack. By now I think the pendulum has swung back in Titanic's favour, especially with Avatar reminding everyone just what it is and was that James Cameron does so well so hopefully you guys don't try and bury me in the comments.
This scene in particular is not even the best in the film, but you have to admit that it's probably the moment that solidified Kate as a face that will be forever recognised around the world. Come to think of it, it's quite amazing to think that KATE WINSLET is the star of the highest grossing movie of all time, isn't it? The same woman who would go on to make Hideous Kinky, Holy Smoke!, Little Children, The Reader and Romance & Cigarettes.
I still think Titanic is a fantastic movie - I'd say it's better than Avatar, but is that pushing it? - and I still tear up with Winslet's Rose tries to call for help and she paddles towards that whistle and tries to hardest to get the rescue boats attention. I'm sure it's uncool to say so, but my heart goes on for Titanic and Kate Winslet in it.
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I saw the movie when I was 7, and the only thing I really remembered about it until I saw it again many years later was Kate Winslet. I think that says something.
Ah, Glenn I love you for admitting this. Titanic is better than Avatar [from where I'm sitting], and I liked Avatar much actually. That particular scene when she swims for the whistle and calls for the boats=good acting. I watched this Saturday so, I'm still on a high :) Titanic is a fantastic movie.
I generally agree. In fact, one of the first things I thought coming out of Avatar was "wow, that was awesome... but Titanic was better." Better acting (despite Billy Zane), better music (despite "My Heart Will Go On"), and just more moving overall. Though both scripts leave something to be desired (perhaps more to be desired in Titanic's case).
I have to sorta disagree with you, though, on the specific moment. For me (and most people, I'd wager), it's all about her jumping back onto that boat and running for Jack. Totally shocking (at least to me when I first saw it at 14), utterly moving, and just teetering toward the limit of "too much" without quite getting there. Waterworks.
Agreed. What's most amazing about that scene is that you can see it all in her face-- exactly what she's thinking, so much emotion-- so that you know what she's going to do even before she jumps back on the boat. GIves me chills EVERY time.
And despite the inevitable backlash, Titanic is a very good movie.
I thoroughly enjoy Titanic. I think that the woven love story is well-woven into historical figures and events, that it was beautiful and evocative of a different time (even with some anachronisms of character/speech), and that Billy Zane is an f'ing scary villain.
My favorite Kate moment in that movie is actually near the beginning when she is at dinner and watches the little girl put the napkin in her lap, then we pan back to Kate and see her realize the ridiculous futility of her class. The helplessness in her eyes has haunted me for a long time.
I also think that people who say Avatar's pitiful, preachy plot should be ignored in favor of how beautiful the movie is are wrong. Not that anyone has done that in these comments so far, but really, is it so much to expect both beauty AND brains in a film with so much budget and hype, and from such an experienced filmmaker?
Completely agreed. For me, Titanic is a masterpiece. A flawed masterpiece, yes, but an absolutely vital piece of cinema all the same.
My favourite Kate moment in that movie isn't even on screen. It's the sound of her breathing as the lights go out. Stunning.
I shamelessly love Titanic, flaws and all.
One of the moments that left the biggest impression is the first time we see Kate...the white glove, the giant gorgeous purple hat, and her utter disdain "I don't see what all the fuss is about. It doesn't LOOK any bigger than the Mauritania" :-)
"I'd say it's better than Avatar, but is that pushing it?"
Glenn, pushing it?? I'd say it's the obvious truth but I guess not many people will agree with me.
fave scene "I'm not a foreman in one of your mills you can command".
I love how all of these Titanic lovers are coming out of the woodwork! Why is it that there's something embarassing about saying one loves Titanic, anyway? I think sometimes we cinephiles are automatically turned off by anything that demonstrates populist appeal. Sometimes it's okay to like what the gross, uneducated masses like! In short, I'd like to coax other closeted Titanic lovers to reveal themselves. Come on, it's okay!
My favorite moment of Kate in that film is a difficult call, but it's probably when she jumps back onto the ship. On paper, nothing about that would have seemed believable, but Kate had me convinced that that was the only option.
Titanic and Showgirls are the only two films I will stop to watch on television--they are on all the time too! Anyway my favorite Rose scene is when she is listening to her mother talk about her upcoming wedding and looks over at a little privileged girl is who is being raised the same way she was. It all clicks across her face...amazing.
Loooove Titanic!:)As well as Kate in it.And I loved Avatar, but Titanic is definitely better.
The first thing I think of with Kate is HEAVENLY CREATURES, with her and her girlfriend running like a couple of crazies thru the forest.
I love how one critic wrote after seeing Kate in Heavenly Creatures that she'd never escape or surpass her role in that film, and would be remembered only for that.
How very silly that seems now.
Byran, I have never wavered in my love for Titanic. I have been defending it for 12 years.
Titanic is one of those movies that sits in the collective memories of an entire generation; when you hear people talking about this movie it often goes beyond the discussion of how great or godawful it is, people remember when they first saw it, how many times they saw it, who they went on a date to see it with. If a movie can do that then it deserves a special mention.
It doesn't pretend to be anything other than a good old-fashioned epic historical melodrama, and as a good old fashioned epic melodrama it's pretty darn good, at 3 hours long it's tightly directed and paced. As much as it probably didn't do many favours for Kate and Leonardo Dicaprio more comfortable in more indie stuff, they (especially Kate) made it work. The romance parts in the script were hammy, but from start to finish you believed her all the way. I thought she was perfectly cast.
I was 13 when the movie came out. It played in the theatres for nearly 6 month where I lived. I remember the critical response was initially actually pretty good-- but I guess the backlash was inevitable and at the time it was fashionable to accuse anyone who sneaked into watch it more than once of being a mindless teenage sheep i.e. it was the trend to go against the trend (so what's new? ) It's not my favourite movie, but it was definitely worth the 3 X ($6 +$5 worth of popcorn) I paid for it back then. But then again, this is coming from someone who loves The Sound of Music. ;)
anon -- never waver in your love for THE SOUND OF MUSIC. The people who tried to pretend it's a bad film are off their rockers.
Hey Nathaniel R, on a completely Kate Winslet/Titanic-unrelated note, I see that SOM is right up there on your Crush of the Week. Great to know that there's a cinephile out there who dares to disagree with Pauline Kael's assessment of it. We must stand in solidarity! :P
I cannot comment on Avatar since I have not seen it, however I wanted to applaud all the positive comments for Titanic. Though the story is fictionalized for creating a movie, the important points such as Kate watching the little girl at dinner is in my opinion significant so that we can pause for a moment and remember that the original story is a true story. I read a "Night to Remember" when I was in junior high school and it forever impacted me. I debated for a long time to even see the movie because for whatever reason it is very emotional for me - I am glad I saw it, I felt it was wonderfully done to help us remember the lives of the many that were lost that tragic night. If anyone ever gets a chance to see Titanic artifacts at a museum, I highly recommend it (Halifax Nova Scotia has an amazing display I was fortunate enough to be able to see a few years ago while on a business trip to that area. Wonderful movie and I thought Kate did a wonderful job!
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