The day I was going to see "Titanic", I heard a radio interview with a survivor of the disaster, who criticised the idea of the film. Yet for those of us for whom the event would remain mere faded history, there is surely a value in rekindling it so that the memory of what happened lives on, albeit in Hollywood form, for another 85 years at least. And despite its dizzying grandeur, this is a film that's respectful and concludes in such a heart-rending manner that you can't fail to take away something of real value from it.

"Titanic" is like several different films in one; a disaster movie replete with all the jaw-dropping effects you'd expect, a look at the class differences that Britain, so often the first to point the finger, has nothing to be proud of about, a love story in the tradition of romantic novels, and a paen to the sea, which, after all the human endeavour depicted, wins in the end. Each of these topics, except the latter, are actually examined in a fairly superficial way, yet when weaved together they fuse into something special and often more subtle than it at first appears to be, an aspect that seems to have wrong-footed critics (which is always a good thing!). By virtue of near-perfect casting and James Cameron's obvious love of the sea, the film is so sure of itself and yet so easy to become involved in that you wonder how anyone could have doubted its potential; Cameron's own sense of purpose and belief is up there on the screen. Never mind the budget, look at the dedication.

Most of our contemporary observations about the Titanic and its voyage are too easily dismissive of the sheer awe that the vessel inspired in 1912, and Cameron puts this aspect to the fore; docked the ship looks stunning enough, dwarfing the quay below, but when it's scything through the ocean you can feel the thrill and almost smell the sea air. When I later read that the film ship never left the dock I refused to believe it. The film opens in the present day with a diving crew looking for a rare diamond amidst the wreckage. This search is their only real concern until they meet Rose, a 101 year old survivor who tells them her story, introducing the main part of the film. It's a brilliant conceit, drawing in the modern day crew just as it does the audience, gradually displacing their cynicism and renewing their respect for the real issues, and ensuring that the film never becomes a mere spectacle. This love of sail is something that clearly hasn't worked its way to the first class passengers, who come aboard with an endless cargo of furniture, trinkets and goodness knows what else, as if they simply want to recreate their landlubber lives at sea. The film compares their almost blase attitude with the restless energy of the third class steerage bunch, shown most vividly in the way Rose's family boards contrasted with Jack and Fabrizio's exhuberant dash. The film is never crass enough to judge the posh passengers too harshly though; in fact the ship's designer is written in a sympathetic light as is the Captain, but it's obvious that Rose hates her life and her meeting with third class passenger Jack Dawson, who stops her jumping off the ship's stern in a wonderfully light scene, starts off the romance and gives the film a romatic side which has been called cliched by some critics, but that's missing the point. It's like saying that the ship sinking because it hit an iceberg is cliched. Also this liaison mirrors the social divisions both on the ship and in society at that time. There are short scenes that show how errors contributed towards the tragedy - they didn't have enough lifeboats because they would have made the deck too crowded, and the Captain is politely bullied, against his better judgement, to push the engines faster so they can get to New York earlier than planned and make bigger headlines.

One pleasing aspect is the amount of humour in the script, a lot of it at the expense of stuffy English manners. Even during the sinking there's flashes of wit, mostly from Jack. When they're all heading away fromt he encroaching sea and he's following a man praying aloud "...as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death", Jack shoves him and says "can we move a bit quicker through that valley there?". Such chutzpah in the face of overwhelming odds makes Jack an easier part for Leonardo DiCaprio that his other recent work, and he lifts the film's spirits in a casual yet robustly vibrant fashion. As Rose, Kate Winslet has a much more complex job which she achieves splendidly, relaxing only gradually in Jack's boisterous company, until they disappear from an uptight dinner party upstairs to a raucous Irish party below decks. There's a great chemistry between them that keeps in mind the early 1900's period, yet provides a great emotional throughput long before any iceberg appears. Rose's intended is Cal Hockley, played with narrow-eyed relish by Billy Zane; several times towards the end you think the character, who's been uncaring and increasingly vicious throughout, will redeem himself; but he doesn't, and you find yourself wishing someone would push him in the water! Sorry, but you do! Of the rest of the cast, mention should be made of Gloria Stuart, who gives such a balanced portrayal of the old Rose that you can see the zest for life of the younger girl still there. A word, too, about the incidental music that underscores matters well without overburdening the viewer, and Gaelic Storm's Irish music contributions prove to be a winning choice.

All of which is very well, but the inevitable re-creation of the disaster itself is what the film will ultimately stand or fall on, however strong its other parts are, and here is what Cameron shows just what he can do. It's very frightening with bits of the ship, whose strength we'd seen in a full on metal montage of pistons and smoke earlier on, dropping off as if it's made of butter; you won't catch me on a ship for a long time. It's even more eerie that it takes such a time after the iceberg is hit for this fury to fully unleash; on the bridge characters characters are still sipping tea as the bottom floods and people scurry to safety. A chaotic final stretch fully conveys the panic and selfishness that grips the passengers, and also the injustice of how the steerage passengers were kept locked below deck; some of these scenes are quite disturbing, and perhaps the hardest to watch, and it's then you remember that this is what actually happened. The well-known tale of the band who played on deck is portrayed particularly poignantly, their sad violin music echoing as we see a montage of floating corpses and furniture.

The final set of scenes are very moving yet not quite as you'd expect. Just before he dies Jack tells Rose that she must survive, and when we see a montage of photos it's obvious that this inspired her whole life and she never returned to her old circle. She uses the surname Dawson after being rescued, in a moment that causes the whole cinema to catch their breath. If anyone tried to make a film about a more recent disaster people would be protesting like mad, saying how it wasn't appropriate and so on, but I can't think of anything more appropriate than a film like this, which is never less than respectful but tells a story that's not only about tragedy but also the human spirit, both its good and bad aspects. As a movie experience "Titanic" encapsulates all you could want without straying into overindulgence. It pushes and pulls your emotions yet also provides the excitement of big screen adventure. As it sails to deserved multi-million dollar success, easily repaying its costs, Cameron can be satisfied and proud of his best film to date, and a cinematic rollercoaster that astounds every moment of its three hours and seven minutes. .