Revealing mistake: When Jack opens the gate after he retrieved the key from under the water we see that the water level in the background is lower, but the flow is towards the camera. It looks as if the shot has been reversed. (02:19:40)
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)
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)
Revealing mistake: If you look at the deck planks to the right of Rose and Jack you can see that there is something that runs perpendicular to the rest of the planks. This wasn't on the real Titanic. This is where the set was "cut" so that the front half could be sunk into the tank later on in the film. (00:51:00)
Revealing mistake: During the first meal on board, the make-up glue around Cal's hair-piece is very noticeable. (00:32:15)
Revealing mistake: As the Titanic is leaving you can see the news guy holding a hand cranked camera. He's cranking it left-handed, but all hand-cranked cameras are right handed. Either a construction mistake or revealing that the shot was flipped - a mistake either way. (00:25:50)
Revealing mistake: Towards the end of the film when Titanic is gradually getting higher Rose and Jack finally make it to the top of the ship, watch closely at the shot when they approach the top of the ship and Rose grabs onto Jack. In the background right at the very top of the shot you can see many green screens stood at the top of the ship in the background where people are running around. (02:30:00)
Revealing mistake: When the [CGI] Titanic leaves the dock, watch a man in a green jacket close to the bottom part of the screen. He is waving goodbye to 'nowhere', for that part of the boat is empty and its prow is pointing away from where he is staring. This reveals he was looking at a green screen, with no idea whatsoever of what was going on. (00:25:40)
Revealing mistake: When Jack spreads the handcuffs over the pipe, we have a very clear close up shot of the links connecting the cuffs. In this shot you can see that the link nearest Jack's right hand is broken and not a complete link, therefore he should be able to separate the cuffs without going through the axe sequence. (02:00:05)
Revealing mistake: When Tommy and Fabrizio meet Jack and Rose at the bottom of the staircase and try to look for a way out, you can see a boy in the bottom left corner staring at the camera and smiling. (02:03:40)
Revealing mistake: In the first shot of a sailor watching the ship right in front of the iceberg, the mast has thick blue lines around it and the man's coat and cap swap from black/dark blue to faded blueish colour, all due to the green screen. (01:34:45)
Revealing mistake: When the cop find Rose's necklace in the coat, Jack says "he put it in my pocket" and Cal tells him to shut up. Right then, he turns his head and the glue of his wig is noticeable around his temple. (01:41:30)
Revealing mistake: When Rose is about to commit suicide and Jack approaches, their skin turns pale and slightly blueish due to the green screen effect. This happens in all the wide angles from this scene where a big part of the sea and the horizon are visible. (00:38:30)
Revealing mistake: When the boat is totally slanted sideways and Rose encounters Andrews, note the glasses and stuff over the fireplace and behind Rose. They don't slide downwards or move a single inch, defying the law of gravity, revealing the camera trick. (02:21:00)
Revealing mistake: When Jack and Rose are talking at the bow of the ship before the "I'm flying" part, if you look at the windows behind them you can tell it is a painted prop area and not a real ship.
Revealing mistake: When we see the dogs being led on to the ship at the very start, look behind them and there is a woman on the walkway waiting for her cue to start walking. (00:22:10)
Revealing mistake: You need to watch carefully for this as it's tricky to spot, but it is visible without the need of slow motion. When the steward calls for the gate to be unlocked to the third class passengers, the gate is already open and just pushed to a close. You can see the gate wobbling and separating around the lock area. Also as the gate is unlocked we see a key being pressed against the lock to unlock it. However the key doesn't actually engage with the lock, making it impossible to open it. (02:02:50)
Answer: Though not a requirement of maritime law, it was a matter of historical codes of chivalry that, in life threatening situations where limited numbers of life-saving resources were available, the lives of women and children were to be saved first. That was captain Smith's order the night the RMS Titanic sank. Some of the crew interpreted this to mean "women and children only." Thus, several of the lifeboats were launched only partially full, as men were prevented from occupying empty seats even when all nearby women and children had been boarded. The rescue efforts on the Titanic were further hampered by the fact that, initially, many of the passengers thought that the launching of lifeboats was unnecessary precaution, as the Titanic was thought unsinkable. The night air was cold. The lifeboats seemed uncomfortable. Thus, many preferred to stay on board the ship until reality of the magnitude of the situation became more evident and panic began to set in. Many of the men who survived in lifeboats, like White Star Line chairman Bruce Ismay, were branded cowards upon return to shore, even though many of them occupied seats that would have otherwise gone unused.
Michael Albert