《泰坦尼克號》的真實與虛構

1997年，詹姆斯·卡梅隆導演的電影《泰坦尼克號》成為永恒的經典。為紀念“泰坦尼克”號沉沒一百周年，今年4月《泰坦尼克號》3D版登上大銀幕，重現了當年那場驚心動魄的航海災難和感人至深的愛情故事。不過，影片既然是基于史實改編而成，那么片中的那些人和事又有哪些是真實的，哪些是虛構的呢？

James Cameron’s Titanic movie took the world by storm， much as the original ship earned the world’s awe1 before her untimely demise2. For the most part， the production team， script writers and actors of the movie strived very hard to make sure that the film portrayed3 the tragedy of the original ship’s story as accurately as possible. Below are some frequently asked questions from curious people just like you. Read on and check them out.

1. Were Jack and Rose based on real people？

No. Jack Dawson and Rose DeWitt Bukater， portrayed in the movie by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet， are almost entirely fictional characters. The movie’s love story is also fiction. It was created by Titanic screenwriter and director James Cameron. In addition to Rose and Jack， a handful of other characters associated with them are fictional as well. They include Rose’s fiancé Caledon Cal Hockley， her mother Ruth， Cal’s valet4 Spicer Lovejoy， and the third class passengers， who include Jack’s friends Fabrizio and Tommy. Some of the third class passengers were modeled after real people.

2. Were the movie’s underwater shots of the Titanic wreckage5 real？

Yes. Most of the underwater shots of the Titanic wreckage are real. In 1995， James Cameron hired the Russian vessel Akademik Mstislav Keldysh and its two submersibles6. He made a total of twelve dives to film the underwater close-ups7 at a depth of 12，500 feet below the North Atlantic. Special cameras and housings were designed to withstand8 the 6000 pounds per square inch of water pressure. Each dive lasted approximately fifteen hours， but the cameras could only store 500 feet of film， which meant that only twelve minutes of footage9 could be shot per dive. As a result， a few of the underwater shots had to be faked10.

3. Did the Titanic’s band continue to play as the ship went under？

Yes. 33-year-old Wallace Henry Hartley， a violinist， was the bandleader on the Titanic. After the ship struck an iceberg， Wallace Hartley assembled11 his eight-man band， and they eventually ended up playing music on the Boat Deck near the entrance to the Grand Staircase. No one is certain what the last song was that the band played as the ship went down. Newspapers reported that it was “Nearer， My God， To Thee” while some survivors said the tune was“Song d’Automne”. All of the band members perished12 in the Titanic sinking. Wallace Hartley’s body was recovered on May 4th， 1912. Thousands of mourners lined the streets during his funeral procession. Jonathan Evans Jones， the actor who portrayed Wallace Hartley in the movie， is a professional violinist.

4. Did some of the passengers choose to go down with the ship？

Yes. Near the end of the movie， we see an old couple embracing in bed as water pours into their cabin. The couple is first class passengers Isador and Ida Straus. Isador was the co-owner of Macy’s Department Store13. In real life， Isador and Ida were both offered a place on Lifeboat No. 8， but Isador chose to stay on the Titanic so long as there were women who remained on the ship. Ida refused to abandon her husband. Witnesses on the deck and in Lifeboat No. 8 heard Ida tell her husband， “We have been living together for many years. Where you go， I go.” The couple was last seen sitting on a pair of deck chairs （not lying in bed like in the movie）. Only Isador’s body was recovered and identified.

5. Was the Heart of the Ocean a real diamond？

No. The Heart of the Ocean diamond is a fictional device that James Cameron added to the plot in order to give Brock Lovett14 a reason to hear Rose’s story. The Heart of the Ocean is based on the famous Hope Diamond that King Louis XVI of France gave to Marie Antoinette to add to her jewelry collection. It holds no place in Titanic history. As a result of moviegoer fantasies surrounding the fictional Heart of the Ocean， the Asprey Garrard jewelry company decided to make a real Heart of the Ocean diamond necklace. The 170-carat sapphire15， surrounded by sixty-five 30-carat diamonds， was worn by Celine Dion16 during her performance of “My Heart Will Go On17” at the 1998 Academy Awards Ceremony. The necklace later sold at a benefit auction for $2.2 million.

就像“泰坦尼克”號在其過早的沉沒之前贏得了全世界的贊譽一樣，詹姆斯·卡梅隆導演的影片《泰坦尼克號》也曾轟動世界。總的來說，影片的制作團隊、編劇和演員們都力求影片盡可能準確地刻畫出真實的“泰坦尼克”號沉沒的悲劇。下面這些問題是像你一樣好奇的人們經常問及的，不妨讀讀看。

1. 杰克和羅絲確有其人嗎？ 沒有。片中由萊昂納多·迪卡普里奧和凱特·溫絲萊特飾演的杰克·道森和羅絲·德威特·布卡特幾乎完全是虛構的人物。片中的愛情故事也是虛構的，出自該片編劇兼導演詹姆斯·卡梅隆的筆下。除了羅絲和杰克，其他許多與他們有關的角色也都是虛構的。這其中包括羅絲的未婚夫卡利登·卡爾·霍克利、羅絲的母親露絲、卡爾的男仆斯派塞·洛夫喬伊，以及包括杰克的朋友法布里齊奧和湯米在內的三等艙乘客。不過，有一部分三等艙乘客是有真人原型的。

2. 影片中出現的“泰坦尼克”號殘骸的水下鏡頭是真實的嗎？ 是的。“泰坦尼克”號殘骸的水下鏡頭大部分都是真實的。1995年，詹姆斯·卡梅隆雇傭了俄羅斯“姆斯季斯拉夫·克爾德什學院”號船及其兩艘潛艇。……