“The movie ‘Titanic,’ released in 1997, is widely hailed as one of the greatest films ever made; it was undoubtedly the most expensive film ever made at the time, and the soundtrack has sold more than 30 million copies worldwide.
The song ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ by the Canadian singer Celine Dion, is the centerpiece of that soundtrack and has often been covered by other singers. Songwriter Will Jennings wrote the words to the song. James Horner composed the music. A composer was needed because, like most of the other songs on the soundtrack, ‘My Heart Will Go On’ has an orchestral arrangement.
‘Titanic’ is an epic movie, although at its heart it is a simple love story of people from different backgrounds who fall for each other. Kate Winslet plays Rose Dewitt Bukater, a young lady from an aristocratic family. Her love interest is Jack, portrayed by Leonard DiCaprio in his breakthrough role.
Jack boards the RMS Titanic, a large luxury liner, as a rootless world traveler who won tickets from a friend in a poker game. Jack is an artist and wants to see the world to get inspiration for his art. Rose was traveling with her family–including her fiancé–and all parties were heading for America.
One night, Jack finds Rose contemplating suicide, standing on the upper deck alone, dangerously close to the edge. She does not love, or even much cares for her fiancé. Jack stops her, and the two fall in love. They must keep their affair hidden and can do so for a short time.
Rose and Jack’s affair is secret because they are from different classes. At the time of the movie, 1912, someone from a working class like Jack would never be allowed to marry Rose, who came from a wealthy family. This is in addition to Rose being engaged, a fact which would have caused a scandal. Although Rose does not want to marry her fiancé, women were not allowed much freedom at the time.
There may be someone reading this that has not seen ‘The Titanic,’ so we won’t spoil the ending. But the real-life story of the Titanic has known the history. It was the largest ship at sea when it launched. But the Titanic hit an iceberg and sank before reaching its final destination in New York City.
Out of 2,224 passengers and crew members, 1,500 died in the disaster. It was the most massive maritime disaster of its time, excluding acts of war. The sinking of the ‘Titanic’ is still one of the most significant disasters at sea in all history.
For better or for worse, everything about the Titanic, both the ship and the film, is vast and massive. And so Celine Dion and her songwriting team provided a song, ‘My Heart Will Go On,’ that is also oversized and epic. Listening to it can cause swells of emotion, whether the listener has seen the film or not. We think ‘My Heart Will Go On’ will be pleasing listeners for a very long time to come.”
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