10 Lies About Famous Movies You Probably Believe

2. Titanic

The Lie: "Titanic is an inaccurate account of events. Titanic has become an easy target by cynics the further we get from the hype of its release, which is a shame because its a damn near perfect example of epic blockbuster film-making done right. The main criticism, exacerbated by the centenary of the ship's famous sinking a couple of years back, tends to be aimed at Rose and Jack. Not their dialogue (in the broad scope of the film it works), but the fact they didn't exist, taking focus from the real tragic events. Couple that with claims that the steerage passengers were never locked below decks and it all looks like one big, expensive fabrication."

The Truth: Outside of character specific events the sinking is spot on. Yes, those points are solid examples of James Cameron adding drama to already dramatic events, but for the most part his take on the sinking is (for the time) pretty exact.

Taking inspiration from A Night To Remember, the film based on actual testimony from survivors, the non-Rose-Jack events are all steeped in fact; there're nods to various factors that led to the crash (ignoring ice warnings, no binoculars for the lookouts), the slow devolution of panic is correctly timed, and very specific events of the sinking, such as the men on the upturned lifeboat, unfold in the background as they did in real life.

The one big mistake the film makes is that it's now been determined the ship never stood vertical in the water, but as that was only figured out (by a team containing Cameron no less) after the movie's release, we'll let it off.