Guilty Pleasures # 1

Titanic. There I've said it, or rather written it.

Back in 1997 it was the film everybody had to see at the cinema. And I was one of the millions around the world who went to see it - at the Showcase on the East Lancs Road.

And I was completely blown away by it.

Moreover, those in the know who were dishing out the Academy Awards gave the movie 11 Oscars - including the creme de la creme of Best Picture.

Yesterday, for the first time in a good few years I watched the film all the way through having caught the odd few minutes of it when it's been on TV.

It was the first time Matthew had seen it, and, like his Dad, he loved it.

What's not to like about it? Yes, the centrepiece tale surrounding the romance between first class passenger Rose (Kate Winslet) and third class passenger Jack (Leonado DiCaprio) is fictional, but the way it is woven into the rest of the tragic story of the great ship and its hundreds of occupants is pretty much seamless.

It's an epic film on every level from the incredible way the vessel was brought to life to the poignant images of its grave at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.

There's a section in the movie that starts the tears rolling down my face every time I see it. As the famed small band play on the deck with unimaginable chaos all around them, there's a scene that lasts barely 10 or 15 seconds. An Irish mother in third class steerage is talking ever so softly to her two small children lying next to each other in their cramped little cabin bed. She knows they are all about to perish and in their final moments she soothes them into their final sleep with the story of Tir na nOg - an Irish folk story. It's so wonderfully filmed, right from the heart, and it gets me every single time I see it.

The scene where the one returning lifeboat tries to rescue passengers left in the freezing water is also incredibly moving while the film's spiritual climax which follows Rose's death on board the search vessel is simply perfect.

The story of the RMS Titanic, above all, is one of human tragedy on an incredible scale - more than 1,500 poor souls never made it to America on that fateful journey. And, of course, the majority were those travelling in third class. Yes, class played a significant role over those last hours whether you were to live or die.

Titanic is definitely one of my all-time favourite movies - not least because I'm emotionally caught up in what happens on the screen and actually care about what's happening to the characters. Those are always the best types of films. And those who know me know this list of pictures also includes such gems as It's A Wonderful Life, Tess, Saving Private Ryan, A Bridge Too Far, JFK and, of course, Field Of Dreams.

I guess some of you won't see what all the fuss is about with Titanic. But for me, it's a fabulous film.

Oh, and La Winslet is just stunning too...