Published on
Updated
Reading 2 mins.
This is a debate that regularly resurfaces, so much so that the director of the film himself wanted to close the debate. In the movie Titanic, at the end, could the board have saved Kate and Jack or one of the two protagonists was condemned to die? James Cameron speaks on this subject and even commissioned a scientific study to support his remarks.
If the film Avatar: the way of the water is currently in promotion, it is not for him that James Cameron recently spoke with our colleagues from the Toronto Sun. It’s for another of his big hits, the movie Titanic.
A debate that ends thanks to a scientific study
Since the film’s release 25 years ago, fans of Rose and Jack have been discussing the ending given to the feature film: could Rose leave Jack a place on the board? Could they both have survived, married and had children? “We wanted to put an end to all this speculation,” explains James Cameron, who chose to commission a solid scientific study to definitively answer the question.
Two stuntmen instead of actors
For this, the scene was faithfully reproduced by two stuntmen weighing the same weight as the actors Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslet at the time of the film, in order to try different postures and determine if Kate could have saved Jack from this tragic end in the frozen water.
“We did a thorough forensic analysis with a hypothermia expert who replicated the raft from the movie. We did some tests to see if they could have survived by various methods and the answer was that there was no no way they both survived, only one could survive“he assures.
Only one survivor, the proof in a documentary
Would James Cameron have wanted another ending for his film? “No, he had to die, he decides. It’s like Romeo and Juliet. It’s a film about love, sacrifice, death. Love is measured by sacrifice”.
And for those who are still skeptical after these explanations, the filmmaker indicates that the experience was filmed and will be broadcast in the form of a documentary next February, on National Geographic in parallel with the release of the restored version of Titanic. “Maybe…maybe…after 25 years, I won’t have to deal with this anymore” the director still had fun. A documentary that would allow this time to definitively close the debate? Nothing is less sure.