JAPAN/FILE:THE MOST EXPENSIVE MOTION PICTURE EVER MADE, "THE TITANIC", IS WELL-RECEIVED AT ITS WORLD PREMIERE IN TOKYO

Record ID: 424792

  • Title: JAPAN/FILE:THE MOST EXPENSIVE MOTION PICTURE EVER MADE, "THE TITANIC", IS WELL-RECEIVED AT ITS WORLD PREMIERE IN TOKYO
  • Date: 1st November 1997
  • Summary: BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND (ARCHIVE) (REUTERS) (MONOCHROME - MUTE) TITANIC LEAVING BELFAST LOUGH FOR SOUTHAMPTON ON APRIL 2, 1912 ICEBERGS AT SEA IN AREA WHERE TITANIC SANK
  • Embargoed: 16th November 1997 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: TOKYO, JAPAN/ FILM lOCATIONS
  • Country: Japan
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAJNAQOTL1WPCVU7UUE6YNUE2H
  • Story Text: "Titanic", the most expensive motion picture ever made, was warmly received by critics at its world premiere in Tokyo on Saturday (November 1) much to the relief of director James Cameron.
    Speaking at a news conference on Monday (November 3), an obviously delighted Cameron said he "had an instinct" that the Japanese audience would like the film's "serious" subject.
    The director said high expectations and bad luck had caused production costs to rise and forced the delay in the release date for the disaster epic.
    He also defended the reported 200 million U.S. dollars reportedly sunk into the picture and said rather than hurting social causes, the studio money spent would only mean the loss of "maybe three (action film star) Steven Segal films." The movie is to have its London premiere later this month (October) and Cameron said he's leaving it up to movie goers to decide if production costs for "Titanic" was money well spent, never mind the film's length - three hours and three minutes.
    The film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet Boasts a distinguished cast and tells the true story of the fateful maiden voyage of the "Titanic".
    DiCaprio, who was met by screaming, mostly female fans outside the premiere, said he thought the love story behind all the expensive effects "worked 100 percent." A large contingent of Japanese teenage girls at the screening seemed primarily interested in catching a look at DiCaprio.
    "I think the Japanese fans are the best and most loyal in the world," DiCaprio said to screams of delight at what sounded at times more like a Beatles concert than a film extravaganza.
    He described making the film as a "long journey" and added "it made a man out of me." The film had been delayed from a summer release, sparking the usual Hollywood rumours of a disaster in the making. It is now set to start its run with a mid-December release in the United States (U.S.).
    Some critics also suggested that the decision to premiere at the Tokyo International Film Festival was staged to attract the usually polite Japanese media and win positive reviews before diving into the potentially chillier waters of the London debut on November 18.
    Historical purists will likely take some umbrage that the monumental disaster has mainly become a backdrop for a love story bringing together the high-toned Winslet with drifter DiCaprio, who gets on the ship only because he won a steerage ticket in a poker game.
    Winslet meanwhile gets the chance to make an obscene gesture using the middle finger, not a common action for women in 1912.
    The two also share a scene where DiCaprio teaches Winslet, who feels locked into the sterile world of high society, how to spit overboard.
    But the film does pay respect to the enormity of the Titanic disaster, noting that only one lifeboat returned to try to find those left in the water after the sinking, rescuing only six people.
    Cameron struck a sombre note at the premiere, pointing out that the audience for the viewing was about the same size as the 2,200 on board for the maiden voyage of the ship.
    "If we were all here on the Titanic, three-quarters of us would be dead by tomorrow," he said.
    "I would like to dedicate this film to the 1,500 people who died on the Titanic," he added.
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