Is Titanic the Gone With The Wind for the MTV Generation?

[Ted Pikul]

I only ask because of the striking similarities between both films in my view.

They're both long painstaking labours of love for their respective creators (David O. Selznick/James Cameron) which are unashamedly romantic in nature, play fast & loose with historical accuracy & boast astonishing set pieces.

Will Titanic like GWTW still be talked about 60 years hence?

[Trinity]

Probably yes. It’s the best romance epic they have (though there really isn’t much to chose from). But imo it will not have not lasting impact of GWTW. In fact, it already hasn’t - it’s only been seven years since Titanic came out and its popularity has already waned a little - while GWTW is as loved today as ever.

Both movies are technically stunning (but even at 65 GWTW is more so - there isn’t a shot in it that could actually be improved on by making it with technologies available today), and both have a great, engaging story. But speaking strictly in terms of quality (which is of course not the only deciding factor in making a classic) there are two main things that put GWTW above Titanic - the quality of the acting and the writing. The performances in GWTW are uniformly masterful (something that is generally acknowledged even by those who dislike the movie), while those in Titanic are very good, but nowhere near as iconic. Also, it’s easy to overlook among all the visual hoopla just what a great screenplay GWTW has, both in terms of dialogue and story structure - this is Titanic’s biggest weakness.

Another thing to remember is GWTW really was the first all-out epic, so its impact can never be matched by those who come after it, no matter how great.

So in conclusion - Titanic will be a classic, but not in the league of GWTW.

[Misanthrope]

I think more people who claim Titanic is a great Drama need to discontinue it and watch Magnolia instead.

[Squid Vicious]

Originally posted by Misanthrope
I think more people who claim Titanic is a great Drama need to discontinue it and watch Magnolia instead.

Magnolia was a drama? Wow. I was laughing my ass off through most of it. Especially the parts with Julianne Moore.

Anyway, both Gone with the Wind and Titanic are extremely overrated movies that did not deserve to win Best Picture. But I did like Gone with the Wind, while I hated Titanic.

[Misanthrope]

So if i laugh throught Requiem for a Dream does that makes it a comedy? I dont see how that proves anything but whatever.

[bigred760]

I hope not.

[JCPhoenix]

from what i've seen it won't even be close to a Gone with the Wind. The backlash for the film has been SEVERE with almost everyone I know claiming they hate the movie or that it was only ok or it sucked. I know of no one who proclaims it one of the best movies of that year let alone the decade and I think it's already faded into the background too much to even be considered a classic.

Granted, the backlash could recede a bit in a couple decades, but I have a feeling there won't be a "Gone with the Wind" for the MTV generation. Why? Gone with the Wind was representative of that generation it's true. It was a big, epic-scale movie that Hollywood used to love making.

But many things have changed since Gone with the Wind. Among the things that have changed are people's tastes - the new generation is a bit more for flashy movies - flashy structure, or flashy dialogue, or flashy editing, whatever. But in all cases, I just don't see another movie similar to Gone with the Wind becoming an icon for the new generation. If Gone with the Wind came out now, I would have severe doubts about its longevity as well because the majority of people now are not into that type of movie as much anymore.

I'd say that for the closest comparison, you'd have to look at something like Pulp Fiction (or perhaps Fight Club?) - if anything, that's this generation's Gone with the Wind it seems, and will probably be the iconic movie for our generation (though its impact will still probably be less than Gone with the Wind by quite a bit).

[TheJadedGamer]

Titanic? No.......

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut...now THATS the Gone With the Wind for the MTV generation. The only good part in Titanic is when the boat hits the iceberg and everyone starts to die off.

[MJG87]

I'm 17...and to answer your question, No

[William Munny]

Originally posted by TheJadedGamer
Titanic? No.......

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut...now THATS the Gone With the Wind for the MTV generation. The only good part in Titanic is when the boat hits the iceberg and everyone starts to die off.

I liked Titanic, and I'd be ashamed to call a South Park film the Gone With the Wind of my generation.

[The Heart Collector]

Originally posted by JCPhoenix
from what i've seen it won't even be close to a Gone with the Wind. The backlash for the film has been SEVERE with almost everyone I know claiming they hate the movie or that it was only ok or it sucked. I know of no one who proclaims it one of the best movies of that year let alone the decade and I think it's already faded into the background too much to even be considered a classic.

It's called "trying to be a hipster".





DISCLAIMER: That is not to say that no one genuinely dislikes Titanic, but that alot of people simply claim to dislike it because they think they're "above it" now.

[Hannibal21]

Yes, in the sense that they are both long, large scale, technically stunning, romance epics that received buckets of Academy Awards and are both very well known among the general movie audience, regardless of the age, and all the other reasons that Ted Pikul mentioned....

But when comparing the influence and overall quality of the two films....absolutely not imo. Titanic has nothing on GWTW. Not that Titanic isn't a good movie, I think it is, but it simply doesn't have the iconic status that Gone with the Wind achieved for audiences back in it's day, not only is GWTW played out more masterfully, but the love story in Titanic isn't anywhere near as engaging or substantial as that in GWTW. In fact, I think it's the one element in Titanic that bogged the movie down a bit, cause as much as I like Kate and Leo, they shared no chemistry in that film, no comparison when thinking about the constitution of the relationship Rhett Butler & Scarlett O'Hara, the two leads themselves are MUCH more memorable and complex than Jack & Rose, same goes for the supporting characters. Titanic, although breathtaking to watch, ultimately is somewhat hollow and lacks in substance when compared with Gone with the Wind, the universal theme of survival in GWTW clicks with audiences even today, with or without the consideration of it's incredible set decoration and production, Titanic is a beautifully mounted romance that relies a lot on special effects, but the "romance" itself is extremely generic and bland, manipulative at times even. The dialogue in Gone with the Wind is performed brilliantly with passion, while some of the dialogue in Titanic are stilted and manipulative. And then, there's the importance of whether the two films stand the test of time or not. Today, GWTW is still considered to be one of the greatest achievements in Hollywood (despite the fact that some people do not like it, but I understand why), with a story still fresh, grand and exciting no matter how many times it's viewed, while Titanic was a major box office success, collected it's 11 Oscars, and had fun....for a while, but nowadays hardly ANYBODY even discuss the movie anymore, and when the film does get talked about, I hear nothing but backlash, pretty much.

[Raymond Babbit]

If you mean is it a vastly overrated, boring, 3 hour long soap opera with no appealing characters like Gone with the Wind was, then yes, yes it is.

[TheDeadWalk]

Originally posted by Ted Pikul
I only ask because of the striking similarities between both films in my view.

They're both long painstaking labours of love for their respective creators (David O. Selznick/James Cameron) which are unashamedly romantic in nature, play fast & loose with historical accuracy & boast astonishing set pieces.

Will Titanic like GWTW still be talked about 60 years hence?

The Gone with the wind of the MTV version is usually whatever movie they watched at the theater last.

Good example: "FUCKIN SWAT DUDE!! My new.favorite.movie. EVER!!!"

Next month...

"FUCKIN PHONE BOOTH DUDE!!!..."

rinse and repeat

[Ted Pikul]

Well attention spans are getting shorter.

What was that you said? ;)

[Cronos]

it could possibly be so, Titanic is a pile of shit, as is MTV

[TheJadedGamer]

Originally posted by William Munny
I liked Titanic, and I'd be ashamed to call a South Park film the Gone With the Wind of my generation.

Oh, but I wouldn't.

[X-Nightcrawler]

Originally posted by TheDeadWalk
The Gone with the wind of the MTV version is usually whatever movie they watched at the theater last. Whatever movie "they" watched? :rolleyes: