Titanic

Like the doomed vessel from which it takes its tale, James Cameron's film is a behemoth, svelte, streamlined, and not the least bit ponderous, with its run time practically as long as the sinking of the Titanic itself). DiCaprio is charmingly rakish in the role of lower-class scoundrel-cum-artist Jack Dawson, who wins a ticket for the HMS Titanic before the ship sets sail on its maiden/funeral voyage from England to New York City. Once on board, he woos First Class passenger Rose DeWitt Bukater (Winslet), a romance curtailed as the ocean liner grazes the fatal iceberg that will send it plunging into the icy depths. While it fall short of the Lawrence of Arabia mark Cameron was aiming for, his aquatic Romeo & Juliet is still a grand, gorgeous, breathtaking spectacle.