I recently ran a question survey via SurveyMonkey and Goodreads to discover people’s ‘most romantics’. For the ‘Most romantic film’ question I offered a choice of the following (plus respondents could note down a different film if preferred):

An Affair to Remember

Titanic

Dirty Dancing

Gone with the Wind

Casablanca

The Notebook

City of Angels

Twilight

The clear favourite across the survey platforms, with 40% of the votes (all female), was Titanic, followed by Gone with the Wind.

I confess I was rather surprised by the result. I had expected a classic romance to top the list. But given the sheer magnitude of the Titanic spectacle, and its tragedy, I see why it has affected so many people.

Personally, I struggle to watch Titanic because I can’t bear sad endings. Indeed, I recently started a thread in the Goodreads Happily Ever After Cafe group entitled ‘Titanic: Is it me or is the ending unbearable?’ that sparked quite a discussion, with plenty of other romantics admitting they love the film but hate the ending. They too found themselves wanting to shout, ‘Don’t give up climbing onto that floating door, Jack!’ I think perhaps although we all went to see it at the cinema prepared for tragedy (imagine if James Cameron hadn’t sunk the ship!), but knowing that it was a love story, we hoped for a happy ending for those characters at least. I suppose they get their happy ending in the afterlife, but it’s not quite enough for a romantic like me.

Still, there is so much in the film that is wonderfully romantic. The beautiful costumes, the breathtaking special effects and scenery, the class divide, the drama, the passion, the heroics, the bravery, the chemistry between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, the seminal ‘King of the world’ scene at the bow of the ship. And all underpinned by Celine Dion’s haunting song ‘My Heart Will Go On’, which became an international sensation and is to date the tenth bestselling single of all time, with sales totalling 15 million.

For me, what makes Titanic so special is the intensity of the narrative – the lovers meet, fall in love and are separated in so short a span of time. Jack’s words, spoken early on in the film, echo throughout the disaster that unfolds:

Well, yes, ma’am, I do… I mean, I got everything I need right here with me. I got air in my lungs, a few blank sheets of paper. I mean, I love waking up in the morning not knowing what’s gonna happen or, who I’m gonna meet, where I’m gonna wind up. Just the other night I was sleeping under a bridge and now here I am on the grandest ship in the world having champagne with you fine people. I figure life’s a gift and I don’t intend on wasting it. You don’t know what hand you’re gonna get dealt next. You learn to take life as it comes at you… to make each day count. 

Tragically, news reports emerging after the film’s release and at the time of the one hundredth anniversary of the ship’s sinking indicate that Jack and Rose’s story is not pure fiction. For an example of a real-life romance that unfolded on the doomed vessel, see this article in the Telegraph. It’s stories such as these, I’m afraid, that make it just too difficult to re-watch Titanic; because I can never escape into the fictional world as I’d like to, knowing as I do how much truth the film incorporates.

What do you think? Is Titanic your favourite romantic film? If so, why do you love it? If not, which film do you prefer?