One hundred years ago, one of the most famous ships in history was sunk on April 14, 1912.  Presently, people are still fascinated by the tragedy of this majestic and enormous ship.  In honor of this great incident, the movie Titanic (directed by James cameron and first released in 1997) was released to theaters in 3D!

Usually, I have no love for movies remade in 3D- they always seem like some thinly veiled attempt to make buckets of money, and they usually turn out poorly.  However, in the case of Titanic, the 3D version was able to enhance the whole movie and add to the awe of the screenplay.  Think about it: the biggest ship of the time, sailing towards you out of the screen? It almost seems like Titanic was made for the big screen.

At first, audiences may be underwhelmed by the 3D, but as soon as Rose takes the audience “back to Titanic,” it becomes clear that this is an example of 3D done right.  The Southampton Port scene is filled with eye-popping (not eye-hurting) 3D visuals that successfully add to the energy and anticipation of the moment. The effect is extremely subtle – and, as a result, natural and pleasing to the eye. Even in the non-action scenes, where the camera might merely pan around a dinner table or the set, the depth of field makes even the most familiar moments fresh and captivating.

The climax, of course, hits you when the ship finally sinks.  The raw emotion and feeling that was captured the first time around was compounded with the added effect of the 3D.

While I wasn’t a huge fan of the movie to begin with, I can hardly deny that the screenplay was amazing, as well as the detail and attention that was put into the movie.  In my opinion, the fact that the sinking of the Titanic was an actual historical event may have something to do with the reason that so many people are captivated and fascinated by it.  Any Titanic obsessed history buff will be pleased by the fact that, through the 3-D, they can virtually ‘live’ through the Titanic.

Of course, all details aside, this movie deserves the type of praise that can’t even be compared with the recent deluge of bad 3D remakes. It’s one of the few movies where the 3D was done right.