1997 Best Picture:
Titanic

Competition:
L.A. Confidential, As Good As It Gets, Good Will Hunting, The Full Monty

Other Winners:
Best Actor: Jack Nicholson, As Good As It Gets 
Best Actress: Helen Hunt, As Good As It Gets
Best Supporting Actor: Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting
Best Supporting Actress: Kim Bassinger, L.A. Confidential
Best Director: James Cameron, Titanic

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Francis Fisher, Kathy Bates,  Billy Zane, Bill Paxton, Gloria Stuart

Storyline: The infamous tale of the mighty ship that was taken out in its maiden voyage by a stray iceberg, is the backdrop to this story about love between the upper and lower class.

Did it deserve to win:  Umm ... no!  Titanic was a lot of fun, and no doubt the most popular movie of all time, and let's not forget, a technical tour de force.  The film was just not the Best Picture of the year.

As Good As It Gets was a well written and original love story, with fine performances from Jack Nicholson and Helen Hunt.  Good Will Hunting was a well written coming-of-age story by Matt Damon and Ben Affleck.  The Full Monty was a well written British comedy about a group of men who decide to become strippers.  

My pick for Best Picture was L.A. Confidential.  Not only was it the best film of the year, it was one of the best crime dramas ever filmed.  The film had a tight script, set around a first rate plot, and mixed with excellent performances all around.  

Critique:  There is no doubt about the fact that Titanic was an enjoyable film.  James Cameron is a master film maker, and knows how to appeal to the masses with dizzying special effects and non-stop action.  I just don't think that Titanic was his best example.  

The second half of the film focuses on the sinking of the ship.  James Cameron said that his goal was to bring the audience on board the Titanic, and there is no doubt about it - he accomplishes just that.   Those scenes are at times terrifying, and I defy you to take your eyes off the screen for even a second.  

The first half of the story is the films true weakness.  James Cameron puts together a half-baked plot, for no other reason than to create the special effects that come later.  The love story between Jack and Rose is hardly original, and often used as a means to talk down to the audience.  When Rose questions the number of lifeboats, or when she introduces Jack to the celebrities on board, I can't help but think that I am being pandered to.  

James Cameron proved himself years ago with The Terminator II, and if an Oscar should go to an action flick, that should be the one.  Titanic's strength is not in its writing, which could be evident in the fact that while it managed to get fourteen nominations, it failed to garner any for writing.  This doesn't bode well for the future of the film.  Titanic is a crowd pleaser today because of its special effects, and also because of the teen heart throb appeal of its star, Leo DiCaprio, however, effects become dated, and heart throbs fade.  

Behind the Scenes: Titanic was nominated for fourteen Oscar's, and won eleven of them, tying the record set in 1959 by that other splashy epic, Ben Hur.  The film one acting nods for Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart, both playing Rose in varying stages of life, but it didn't score a nod for its biggest star, Leonardo DiCaprio.  DiCaprio never commented on his feelings over being snubbed, but he refused to show up for the ceremony.

The actual production was fraught with problems, ranging from someone lacing food with LSD, to budgets of astronomical proportions.  Cameron's film garnered so much negative publicity prior to its release that critics were expecting it to fail.  At a cost of $200 million, Titanic was the most expensive film ever made, but it went on to bring over a billion dollars in box office, making it the most successful picture ever.

Billy Crystal returned to host the ceremony.  Once again he made fun of the Oscar nominated films, which included an entrance on board a replica of the Titanic.

James Cameron made the most of his success on Oscar night.  When he won the award for Best Director, he asked for a moment of silence to think about the folks on board the Titanic.  The Oscar telecast, by the way, became the longest in history.

Gloria Stuart's nomination at aged 87 made her the oldest nominee in Oscar history.

An exact replica of the Jewel of the Sea, worth its own weight in gold, was made for the Oscar ceremony, and worn by Celine Dion when she performed the Oscar winning song from the film, My Heart Will Go On.

James Cameron asks for a moment of silence when he wins Best Director.	Billy Crystal makes his entrance on board the Titanic.

Jack Nicholson became the second actor in history to win three acting awards.  Walter Huston was the only other man to have done it, with three Best Supporting Actor awards back in the forties.

Billy gets Oscar winner, Helen Hunt to take his picture with Best Actor, Jack Nicholson.

The most garish moment in Oscar history occurred at this year's ceremony, and James Cameron had nothing to do with it.  The producers arranged an assemblage of 70 former winners of the acting awards.  They were paraded on stage and saluted.  The scene became ultra-tacky when this years winners were invited to take their place on the stage, as though they were given some kind of royal proclamation.

A speechless Robin Williams gets the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Good Will Hunting.	Celine Dion performs  a heart-pounding rendition of My Heart Will Go On.

Rose poses for one of Jack's portraits.