Revealing mistake: The band decide to go their separate ways, just before the ship sinks. As they are seen departing, the lead violinist strikes up a solo - I think it'd be 'Nearer My God to Thee' or so the legend goes. A fraction of a second before he does, watch the second violinist - he disappears off to the right of the shot at first, then reappears near the side of the ship - he is obviously awaiting his cue as he turns round too early, i.e. before the lead strikes the first note, then turns away again. (02:24:15)
Continuity mistake: When the funnel tips over it breaks at the bottom. The camera cuts to Cal, then back to the funnel, and it breaks again. (02:30:00)
Audio problem: After Jack asks Rose "do you love the guy or not?" the camera shows him from behind, and he is moving his jaw as if he is asking the question again. (00:47:30)
Factual error: Professional Radio Operators hold the key used for Morse code between their thumb and two fingers - they don't tap it, as was shown. Tapping would produce a harsh voice in Morse code. (01:45:25)
Continuity mistake: When Jack is waiting for Rose at the staircase (before dinner) he is mimicking the hand gestures of an older gentleman. As Cal and Ruth walk down the stairs, we see a shot of Jack from behind, and his arms are at his sides. In the next shot when Cal goes to greet the Countess, Jacks posture is back to the mimicking of the older gentleman. (00:55:40)
Continuity mistake: When the submarines are down at the wreck they are shown looking at the enclosed promenades at the bow of the ship. When the camera backs up in one scene to reveal more of the ship there is a pole that is broken. Then in the next shot you see the same area, with the same pole intact. Apparently because both subs are seen during the broken pole, that was not the real Titanic, while the unbroken was. (00:03:00)
Continuity mistake: At the very beginning of the lunch scene, Rose's hair is really red. But in other parts of the film, it's a deep brownish red. The colour changes in different scenes. (00:32:10 - 00:38:10)
Continuity mistake: When the old Rose arrives on the Keldish, she is unloaded from the helicopter sitting in her wheelchair. The two pilots are helping from above, but afterwards they disappear inside the helicopter from one shot to the next, which is too fast as the rotor noise suggests continuity. (00:14:20)
Revealing mistake: In this scene, at the end of the film when Jack and Rose are hanging onto the railing, you can see the ship split in half, but when it drops, if you watch closely on the right side of the screen, you can see that the entire ship is still intact, the lifeboat cranes are visible all the way down the top of the ship. (02:35:10)
Continuity mistake: When Cal confronts Rose and Jack at the last lifeboat, once in a while when the camera is only on Cal, it looks like it is raining lightly, however, it is dry in all other shots facing others. (02:16:40)
Continuity mistake: When the ship begins to tear apart and the inside is seen collapsing, the room shown is a combination of the lounge's windows (already submerged as shown by the floating girl) and the smoking room's ceiling. Also according to where the ship breaks in the movie these rooms are not part of the tear. (02:34:50)
Factual error: Both times the fireplace in the first class lounge is seen there is nothing on the mantlepiece. But in photos of the actual lounge there is a statue on the mantle called "Artemis of Versailles" which was a small copy of the original in the Louvre, Paris. The statue was even photographed on the ocean floor when the Titanic was found, but there is no statue in James Cameron's movie. (02:20:40)
Continuity mistake: When Jack tries to talk Rose out of drowning herself, the camera cuts back and forth between their faces. There's a strong wind blowing through Rose's hair where Jack's hair is totally still in some shots. (00:39:40)
Continuity mistake: When the stern is vertically up in the air a lot of people are holding on to the railing. We see them falling down one by one. When the camera changes to a wide angle it looks as if all are gone except Rose and Jack who are lying on top, but when the camera cuts closer there are again four people hanging. (02:36:35)
Continuity mistake: When Jack meets Rose for dinner and Cal says "You almost look a gentleman," take a look at Rose's facial expression beforehand. The shot changes from side view to front view several times and her expression changes from smiling to normal at each change of shot in under 15 seconds. (00:57:15)
Continuity mistake: When Rose Cal and Rose's mother are standing on deck, Rose says "oh mother, shut up ", before the face shot of her mother you can see she is already looking at Rose in the previous shot, then she whips her head around again to look at Rose. (01:52:10)
Continuity mistake: When the two guys in the watchtower on the front of Titanic spot the iceberg, the shot cuts to the helmsman. Behind him the clock says 11:40pm, but when we next see the clock 5 to 10 minutes later its still on 11:40pm even though almost 10 minutes has passed. (01:34:35 - 01:38:50)
Continuity mistake: When Jack is preparing to draw Rose, when he says "Try to stay still", on Jack's sketchbook we can see some sort of bookmark or flap. Right before he starts drawing, when he exhales, that little flap thing is missing. (01:26:35)
Continuity mistake: When Rose is looking through Jack's sketchbook when they are sitting on deck near the beginning of the movie, Rose's hair changes form shot to shot. From one angle it is very messy, with a lot of wind blowing it around. However, from the other angle her hair is perfectly styled into ringlets around the front, with little or no wind blowing at it. (00:48:40)
Continuity mistake: When Captain Smith says to Mr. Murdoch "let's stretch her legs" the light comes from the port side. When Murdoch enters the bridge the light comes from starboard. (00:29:00)
Answer: Yes, it was. At the time, the big cruise lines were all trying to outdo each other with the largest and most opulent cruise ships. The Olympic class ships were the White Star Line's entry in the size race, with Olympic, the first built, taking the title in 1911, before losing it to her sister ship, the Titanic, the following year.
Tailkinker ★