James Cameron, the director of Titanic, has been listening to people's criticisms of the film's ending for 25 years. Many have argued that the character Rose (played by Kate Winslet) could have moved over and made space for Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) on the floating door, which would have allowed him to survive. The ending of the film has been a topic of debate among viewers since it was released in 1997. Some people think that there was enough room on the door for both characters.
Cameron has been defending his decision to have the character Jack die in the film for 25 years, saying that it was necessary for artistic reasons. However, he is now planning to show that Jack could not have survived in an upcoming documentary. In an interview to promote his new film Avatar: The Way of Water, Cameron stated that they have done a scientific analysis to put the whole thing to rest and drive a stake through its heart once and for all, as reported by Canadian media.
Alongside his team, Cameron has conducted a scientific study to definitively determine whether or not both Jack and Rose could have survived on the raft at the end of Titanic. As part of this study, they reproduced the raft from the film and tested it with two stunt people of similar body mass to Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.
The Science in Jack's Death
They placed sensors on and inside the stunt people and immersed them in ice water to see if they could have survived in various scenarios. According to Cameron, the results of the study showed that only one person could have survived, not both. The documentary featuring this study is set to be released in February.
Despite the enduring popularity of Titanic and the continued debate over its ending, James Cameron maintains that Jack needed to die in the film. He compares the ending to that of Romeo and Juliet, saying that the film is about love, sacrifice, and mortality and that the depth of love is measured by sacrifice. Cameron does not express any regret for not giving Jack a happier ending.
When Titanic is re-released in theaters on Valentine's Day next February, the documentary featuring James Cameron's scientific study on whether or not Jack could have survived will be shown on National Geographic. Cameron has stated that he hopes this will put an end to the debate over the ending of the film. In 2013, the hosts of Mythbusters, Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, conducted their investigation into the matter and concluded that Jack's death was unnecessary and that he could have survived by using Rose's life vest to increase buoyancy on the door.
Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet in a scene from Titanic.
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Disputing Main Lead's Demise
In 2017, Cameron disputed the conclusions of the Mythbusters investigation, stating that it would have been impossible for Jack to survive as depicted on the show. He argued that Jack, already suffering from hypothermia in the freezing water, would not have been able to survive the process of removing his and Rose's life vests, swimming underneath the door, and attaching it in a way that would not wash out within a few minutes. Cameron stated that the process would have taken at least five to ten minutes and that Jack would have died before he could have completed it.
In response to the Mythbusters investigation, James Cameron stated that Jack's best chance for survival would have been to keep his upper body out of the water and hope to be rescued before he died. He also indicated that he enjoyed participating in the show but believed that the conclusion reached by the hosts was incorrect. In 2019, Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Jack in Titanic, was asked by his Once Upon a Time in Hollywood co-star Brad Pitt whether Jack could have fit on the door at the end of the film. It is not clear what DiCaprio's response was.
When asked about the ending of Titanic, Leonardo DiCaprio had "no comment" while his co-star Margot Robbie called it "the biggest controversy in modern cinema." Kate Winslet, who played Rose in the film, has said that she thinks Jack could have survived. However, James Cameron has consistently maintained that Jack had to die for the story and that the size of the raft would not have made a difference in the outcome.
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