‘Titanic’: James Cameron documented scientific study to prove Jack’s death

James Cameron, Kate Winslet, and Leonardo DiCaprio from a behind-the-scenes picture from ‘Titanic’
| Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures

There was no way both Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater could have survived on the floating door at the end of Titanic, reiterated master filmmaker James Cameron, who went one step ahead and conducted a “scientific study” to put this long-running debate to rest.

Fans have long argued that Rose, played by Kate Winslet, should have made room for Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) on the floating piece of lumber after Titanic’s sinking in Cameron’s epic disaster film. Rose, who lay atop the door, survived in the end while Jack, who held on to the edge, froze to his death in the icy Atlantic waters.

Cameron, who in 2019 had called Jack’s death an “artistic choice” that had nothing to do with the physics of two people fitting on the door, has now revealed the team did a thorough forensic analysis to justify the climax of the movie.

“We have done a scientific study to put this whole thing to rest and drive a stake through its heart once and for all.

“We have since done a thorough forensic analysis with a hypothermia expert who reproduced the raft from the movie and we’re going to do a little special on it that comes out in February,” the director told tabloid newspaper The Toronto Sun.

The special’s February release coincides with a 4K restoration of Titanic, scheduled to hit the screens on Valentine’s Day weekend 2023.

According to Cameron, they took two stunt people who were the same body mass as Winslet and DiCaprio to help with the study.”… and we put sensors all over them and inside them and we put them in ice water and we tested to see whether they could have survived through a variety of methods and the answer was, there was no way they both could have survived. Only one could survive,” he added.

Jack “needed” to die in the 1997 film, argued the filmmaker, whose latest release Avatar: The Way of Water released on Friday. “It’s like Romeo and Juliet. It’s a movie about love and sacrifice and mortality. Love is measured by sacrifice… Maybe after 25 years, I won’t have to deal with this anymore,” Cameron continued.

While DiCaprio has maintained a “no comment” stance on the debate, Winslet previously teased popular TV host Jimmy Kimmel, saying Jack “could have” fitted on that door.