James Cameron Goes To Extreme Lengths To Prove That Jack Was Right Not To Get On That Door In Titanic

(To celebrate "Titanic" and its impending 25th-anniversary re-release, we've put together a week of explorations, inquires, and deep dives into James Cameron's box office-smashing disaster epic.)

One of the most infamous nitpicks in all of movie history concerns the door that Rose (Kate Winslet) floats on at the end of "Titanic," while Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio) holds onto her hands from the water. Many have insisted over the years that there was definitely enough space on that door for both of them to get on it. Is Rose selfish for not giving Jack more space to climb up? Is Jack a clown for not taking advantage of his last chance of survival? 25 years later, director James Cameron has attempted to set the record straight, and he's come to a final, definitive conclusion: it's complicated.

In the upcoming National Geographic documentary "Titanic: 25 Years Later with James Cameron," Cameron teams up with some scientists to test out some different strategies Jack and Rose could've used to survive. The first approach resulted in both characters being able to get onto the door, but with the effect of each of them being half-submerged in water. As shown in the film itself, the door isn't buoyant enough to easily support two people's weight.

The second approach resulted in both of them sitting upward on the boat, with their lower bodies submerged but their upper bodies safely in the air. "Out of the water, with violent shaking, was helping [Jack]," said Cameron. "And projecting it out, he could've made it. Pretty long, like hours." Except, the stunt actors were not physically exhausted like the characters in the film. When they factored that exhaustion in, Jack's survival was still possible, but not as long and less likely. "Jack might've lived," Cameron admitted, "but there's a lot of variables."

Of course, none of this actually matters when it comes to judging the film itself. Even if Jack technically could've climbed up on that door, it still makes perfect sense that he wouldn't want to risk it. As Cameron himself put it, "I think his thought process was, 'I'm not gonna do one thing that jeopardizes her.' And that's 100% in character." 

In the end, Jack had to die not just for the sake of Rose's character arc, but for the film to fully honor all the men who disproportionately died on the Titanic. After all, the whole idea of women and children being given top priority for the lifeboats was pretty rare; it's a noble idea of course, but usually in this sort of situation the "every man for himself" motto wins out. The way so many male passengers let the women and children get on the lifeboats first, even though they probably could've strong-armed their way to safety if they really wanted to, is fairly unusual and worthy of tribute. Jack choosing to die rather than do anything that might hurt Rose's chances is thematically and historically on point. 

Although people often bring up the door debate as a way to cynically dunk on the film, this controversy's endurance is a sign of how effective the movie was. The fact that viewers are still hung up on the details just shows how much they wanted Jack and Rose to get their happily ever after. "Titanic" is such a powerful, heartbreaking story that some viewers are still stuck in the bargaining stage of grief, even 25 years later.

"Titanic" will be re-released in theaters on February 10, 2023.