James Cameroon certainly deserves total credit for the authorship of ‘Titanic’. In the case of the film ‘Exorcist’, William Friedkin very faithfully adhered to William Peter Blatty’s novel, yet displayed amazing directorial skills as if he himself had authored the story. In either case, while the original writer’s creative ability cannot be understated, in the end it was the director’s vision that made the film what it was. Essentially, they were directors’ films. The theme of Sergio Leone’s film ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ has nothing in common with that of ‘Exorcist’ but a striking similarity is noticeable in both the directors’ keenness on visualization.
Expecting aesthetic element in an ‘all-time horror’ might sound unreasonable but Friedkin did display his bent in that direction in his use of subliminal imagery in ‘The Exorcist’, all the criticism notwithstanding (Video Watchdog Magazine, July / August 1991). With the limitations of technology thirty six years ago, nothing else could have produced the intended dramatic effect like the ‘flashing’ did. Friedkin relied more on creating a certain atmosphere as also on imaginative sound editing, rather than on special effects. This again, reminds one of Leone’s fancy for wide shots and close shots and his focus on visuals “had a great impact not only on his own directing career but also on the western genre as a whole” (filmstew.com). His aesthetic inclination becomes all the more evident from the background score he extracted from Ennio Morricone and Tonini Delli Colli’s vibrant camera work. No wonder, ‘The Good, the Bad and the Ugly’ was dubbed “the best directed movie of all time” by Tarantino himself (filmstew.com).
Judging from the treatment of ‘Titanic’, James Cameron’s technological and aesthetic faculties cannot be considered a match to those of Leone or Tarantino, director of ‘Pulp Fiction’. Still, the sentimentality in his film had a universal appeal that defied the barriers of geography and language. From this perspective, Cameron certainly scores more than Leone and Tarantino do. Such a comparison may sound unfair, but at least, it effectively counters the prejudiced notion that European cinema has an edge over the Hollywood in terms of “artistic courage” (Mark Le Fanu). The mood and atmosphere built by Cameron in ‘Titanic’ produce the same dreamlike state that Friedkin’s imagery did. James Cameron, with his comprehensive contribution to ‘Titanic’ as writer, director, co-producer and co-editor, lives up to the term ‘auteur’.