James Cameron’s iconic film, Titanic, was released twenty-five years back. With its release, the movie gave us all one of our favorite on-screen couples as well as one of the biggest heartbreaks. Jack Dawson’s death in Titanic not only broke the heart of the viewers but also sparked an everlasting debate among them.
Could Jack have fit on the floating door alongside Rose? The Internet has been divided for a long, long time now. While some say there was enough space for the two lovers to stay afloat on the door, others say that the door would have simply sunk if Jack decided to get on it. Now, ahead of Titanic’s re-release and its 25th anniversary, director James Cameron himself is testing out all the theories.
James Cameron Conducts an Experiment
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James Cameron has previously stated that Jack “needed to die” for the sake of the story. However, it looks like the never-ending debate on the Internet got to the director and he just had to put an end to it once and for all. Cameron is coming out with a National Geographic special titled, Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron. In a teaser for the special, he tests out a few possible scenarios which could’ve led to Jack, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, ultimately making it out of the freezing waters alive and well.
The scientific study starts out with Cameron stating, “We’ll find out once and for all whether Jack could’ve survived the sinking of Titanic.” Two stunt people jumped into the water and tested out four different scenarios. In the first case, while both of them could’ve been “on” the door, they were both “submerged in dangerous levels of freezing water.” Next, their upper bodies are out of the water. Cameron’s verdict, “Violent shaking was helping him and projecting it out, he could’ve made it pretty long, like hours.” It looks like the results are getting better as the study moves forward.
Remember when a fellow passenger submerges Rose, played by Kate Winslet, underwater and Jack punches him away? That was bound to cause additional strain on the characters. Cameron decided to incorporate this physical strain in his study as the events of the movie were also followed in the pool here. Next, Rose gives Jack her life jacket to help Jack insulate. Cameron stated, “And he’s stabilized. He got into a place where if we projected that out, he just might’ve made it until the lifeboat got there.”
Just like any scientific study, a conclusion had to be drawn. In the words of Cameron, while Jack could’ve lived, there were “a lot of variables.” Even though Jack was struggling himself, Cameron states that he didn’t want to take a single chance that would’ve potentially put Rose in danger, adding that it was “100% in character.”
So while Jack didn’t make it out of the film alive, it’s good to know that if things were a little bit different and the variables were considered, he would’ve grown old with Rose.
Fans Ask James Cameron for a Different Ending
Titanic is re-releasing in theatres in just a few days to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the blockbuster. The re-release version will be available to watch in 3D 4K HDR and the film will go on for 3 hours and 15 minutes, in a very Cameron style. While the movie is all set to release (again) fans have a demand. Since Cameron proved that there sure could’ve been a scenario where Jack does not die, fans on Twitter are asking that he rewrite the script and reshoot the ending.
We aren’t sure that’s ever going to happen as it has time and again been asserted that Jack’s death was vital to the story. Titanic was a story about “Love and sacrifice and mortality” as stated by the director himself. So even if Jack could have lived, we aren’t sure if Cameron would be willing to change the iconic storyline.
Titanic is all set to re-release in theatres on February 10 and Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron is releasing on February 05 on National Geographic.
Source: Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron
