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- A new National Geographic special with James Cameron settles the debate scientifically on whether Jack could have survived in Titanic.
- In the show, they conduct three experiments recreating the iconic scene with Jack and Rose and test different scenarios.
- Titanic: 25 Years with James Cameron airs Wednesday, 26 July, at 21:00 on National Geographic (DStv 181/StarSat 220).
In Titanic: 25 Years with James Cameron (broadcast on Wednesday at 21:00 on National Geographic - DStv 181/StarSat 220), the filmmaker returns to the scene of the sinking to settle the debate as to whether Rose and Jack could possibly both have survived.
Long after the smash-hit film, fans have argued for decades whether Jack, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, could have survived if Rose had made more space atop the Titanic door or whether the two star-crossed lovers could have done something else to have ensured that both survived the icy tragedy in the frigid Atlantic Ocean.
The aftermath of Titanic's sinking, however, goes beyond just whether there was room for two on a piece of debris. The deeper story – one that some claim Cameron got wrong – is whether Jack could have changed the outcome had he acted differently.
National Geographic settles this once and for all together with Cameron by staging a few scientific experiments to find out what Jack and Rose could have done differently within the circumstances.
"Ever since the movie came out, people have insisted they both could have survived," says Cameron. "Let's test it – let's do some science. I'm going to recreate Jack and Rose on the raft in a controlled laboratory setting. There's a genuine element of danger to these experiments," he says.
"We find out, once and for all, whether Jack could have survived the sinking of Titanic," James notes.
In a pool of -2 degrees Celsius, two stunt people with the same height and weight as Kate Winslet and DiCaprio are dressed up in the same attire and put into the water with the same debris that the two clung to in the movie.
Was there really not enough space for both? That's the question of the first experiment, and it's shocking what you see when both get on the door.
In a second experiment, Jack will again get on the debris, but in a way where only half their bodies remain out of the water. Would Jack and Rose be able to survive in this scenario, and if so, for how long?
And in a third and last test: What happens if Rose gives Jack her lifejacket? Who lives then?
WATCH THE TRAILER HERE:
