10 Movies That Had A Bigger Impact Than You Realise

7. CGI In A Period Movie - Titanic

What it's known for: Titanic was an absolute behemoth that showed the box office didn't need to be ruled by sci-fi. James Cameron's three hour epic set aboard the doomed ocean liner had the brio of old-fashioned film-making in a wrapping that would appeal to just about anyone; everyone was catered for, from pre-teen girls (heart-throb Leo) to those who think romance is for sissies (the final hour is one big action sequence). The film became the highest grossing of all time (until Cameron's own Avatar knocked it aside) and swept the board at the Oscars. Even a minor backlash in the years since can't dent its majesty. What it also changed: It gets lost in all the jokes about Rose not sharing that piece of driftwood, but Titanic was, like The Phantom Menace, a pretty groundbreaking film in terms of visual effects. Whole shots (think the pan of the whole ship as it sails across the Atlantic) were created entirely in computers and so much of the period imagery was augmented digitally in a fashion that even now looks impressive. But what makes this amazing is that Titanic wasn't a fantasy movie, which was unheard of at the time; CGI had only ever been used for fantasy. The impact of this can be really felt now; it's rare to see a period drama that doesn't give things a little digital touch-up at some point.