More than 20 years after the film's release, Titanic director James Cameron has used a 'scientific study' to finally answer the question that has plagued us for years.
Christmas is a time for movies, and Titanic is one which never gets old. The romance, drama and tragedy continue to entertain viewers year after year, and yet, without fail, every re-watch brings up the same question.
You know what I'm talking about. The moment comes towards the end of the film, when hundreds of people, including Jack and Rose, are struggling in the icy water. Even Brad Pitt knows the score:
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Though the conditions would have been unbearable either way, Rose is slightly better off than Jack as she's kitted out with a life jacket to help her stay afloat. And yet when the pair find a floating door, APPARENTLY there's only room for one of them.
The question of why Rose didn't make space for Jack on the door has haunted viewers for years, with some going as far as to make diagrams to prove the numerous different ways the pair could have both got out of the water.
Cameron has previously tried to defend the choice by arguing that Jack had to die for artistic reasons, but now he's used science to prove that he couldn't have lived anyway.
“We have done a scientific study to put this whole thing to rest and drive a stake through its heart once and for all,” the director told Postmedia.
As part of a documentary set to be released in February, the director conducted a 'thorough forensic analysis with a hypothermia expert who reproduced the raft from the movie'.
"We took two stunt people who were the same body mass of Kate and Leo 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," Cameron said.
Finally laying the argument to rest, he added: "Only one could survive"
While Jack's death obviously caused enough outrage to span decades, Cameron has no regrets over the loss of the charming love interest, saying: “No, he needed to die. It’s like Romeo and Juliet. It’s a movie about love and sacrifice and mortality. The love is measured by the sacrifice."
So there you have it - you can't argue with science. Although I bet some people will still try.
Topics: Film and TV, Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic
Emily Brown