Analysing the mise-en-scene it shows us the costumes of that period are very authentic, men are dressed in tailcoats, cravats and top hats and women are dressed in carefully embroidered long dresses of muslin, crinoline, gingham, satin and lace. This is what people from higher class wore because they could afford such clothing. But people from a lower social status wore coarse outfits that were usually dull coloured. Upper class citizens had manners and were not rude as in compared to the lower class.
Rose calls the Titanic, "the Ship of Dreams", and yet to her it was a slave ship taking her home to America. Her clothes, make-up all reflect the burden she is in. Outwardly her mother has shaped her; inwardly, she is screaming, not wanting to be married to the devil referencing here to cal, her husband. Her mother and Cal walk arm and arm with Rose, trying to keep her within their grasp. Rose is nonchalant about the Titanic. The omens of doom are present in the film at the beginning when Carl steps out of the carriage and he says, “Even God himself can’t sink this ship.” He sounded so convinced that the ship would not sink and it just shows how clueless he was.
There is some non-diegetic music used from the main sound track like a sad, melancholy humming to convey to us that the passengers aboard the Titanic are doomed which makes the audience sympathise. But music is also played when the Titanic is present to make the Titanic look magnificent. Further on there is a shot of a girl waving from the starboard of the ship this creates an emotional connection and makes the audience sympathise for the children aboard. At the dock there are various images portrayed to us there is a high angle view, which is followed by a bird’s eye view. This gives us a powerful view of the Titanic ship.
In the film we can tell that the film will establish a sense of mystery and foreboding at the start because in the first scene we can see the wreckage of the Titanic and non-diegetic music is played it is like a sad, melancholy humming, showing that it can be an upsetting film towards the audience. In the Titanic we know the director is going to balance the personal history of jack and Rose with the historical tragedy of the Titanic. Since at the beginning of the film Rose is 101 years old, she is re-telling the story the Titanic and she will tell the audience about her experience on her voyage on the Titanic to New York. Montage shots showing the wreckage as in compared to how she saw it years ago.
The Director tries to recreate the magnificence of the unsinkable luxury liner. The film shows us the separation in the two social classes. First-class people stay in the most luxurious part of the Titanic, where as the second-class people stay on the much rougher part of the Ship. The mise-en-scene is used effectively to show the immediate difference between the classes and to show an abrupt difference between their attitude and habits. There is a scene in the titanic when Jack and his friend get on the Titanic, since they are second-class citizens they get easily impressed when they find out where they are going to be staying. Even though the room is small, dull, rough and they have to share a bunk bed. A first-class person would not be very happy if they had to live under these conditions. Then the scene suddenly changes to Rose’s and Cal’s area where they will be staying. These first-class people are staying in very big, bright and clean place where the cutlery looks very shiny and expensive. Also they’re a beautiful chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling. The way it switches the scene it shows us the immediate difference between the classes. At the part of the movie when the Titanic is sinking the first class people can get away quickly and safely on a boat whereas second-class people have to scream and fight for survival to stay alive as long as possible on the ship.
The captain of the Titanic is shown to the audience typically as a bearded figure, which feels proud to be the captain of such a powerful and magnificent ship. In one of the scenes the audience see the captain standing at the very top of the Ship and he can see the whole ship and he looks on it with pride. But when the captain finds out that the Titanic is going to sink, he orders all the officers to stay calm but we could tell that the officers on board are just as scared as the crew on board. Many of the camera angles during the film show how high the Titanic is and how far down the people on the Titanic would fall down, if they were to fall. Many of the sounds during the film help express the feeling of what was going on in the scene and this made it heart warming. When Rose and Jack realised they were in love a love song came on and this showed their feelings for each other. There is a scene when Rose and Jack have long stares at each other to show that they are beginning to feel for one another and how they are starting to fall deeply and madly in love with each other. A non-diegetic sound is playing from the “My Heart Will Go On,” to express to the audience the view of forbidden love that a upper class married women has fallen in love with a lower class man. Not taking into the account of his lower status but the real loving and caring person he is on the inside that Cal is unable to fulfil for her.
There is a close up shot of the stern of the ship juxtaposed to a tiny motorboat and a yacht this shows us the variation in size between the Titanic and the motorboat and the yacht. This is used to emphasis us the magnificence and the size of the Titanic ship. They also show high angle shot of the whole ship trying to again emphasis to the audience how big and magnificent the Titanic is. There is a point of view shot when Rose is planning to jump overboard the Titanic. She is standing at the stern of the Ship and it shows us how high the ship is above the freezing cold water. This shot makes the Titanic look very powerful and a strong ship.
When the Titanic ship is going down many short and touching scenes are shown one after another to display a montage effect to the audience. One of the montages is an old aged couple lying on the bed and there is water beneath them. A high angle camera shot is used here. A similar scene is again displayed with the mother tucking her two children in to the bed. A high angle camera shot is used. This shows us the audience that some people knew that they would not be able to get of the Titanic alive. There is a medium shot of the vicar holding the hands of fellow people; the vicar is reading verses of the bible, to make God save them from death as the Titanic is beginning to sink. The priest quotes from Revelation 21:1-4: "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth passed away." This tells the audience that the people that have died on the ship will go to heaven. They will no longer be in any suffering and pain.
Suspense is built up as the ship hits the iceberg. The Captain and his crew have been ignoring many warnings about the ice fields in the ship's path. The White Star Line managing director suggests that the Titanic should maintain the high speed even as the ship heads into the night. On the night of April 14, 1912, the two lookouts see an iceberg directly in the Titanic path. Despite the many efforts of the crew and engineers, the ship strikes the iceberg. Water begins to flood the lower compartments and causes the ship to begin to sink. When the ship hits the iceberg it shows how huge the iceberg is in contrast to Rose and Jack.
Overall the Titanic is an excellent film I think that many people across the world watch films like the Titanic because it is a really popular film and puts a true story on the screen into life so that people can see it for themselves and how the people experienced the tragic moments of the Titanic while it was on its verge of sinking. People watch films for the entertainment value. The advantages of watching a film such as the Titanic are that it builds up the surround sound and the atmosphere. This all adds up and creates a bigger impact as you are watching the scene it will embed the audiences mind about how really tragic the Titanic incident was and how many people lost there lives that night. People make films to tell a story or get a message across, such as "Pearl Harbour," which tells us the story of a real historical event through the eyes of a fictional love story.
