James Cameron
Ghosts of the Abyss

41°43'55'' N 49°56'45'' W, 3800 meters deep in the North Atlantic Ocean. These are the exact geographical coordinates where the remains of the most famous ship in history, the RMS Titanic, are located. 

James Cameron, already the author of the most faithful cinematic reconstruction ever made of the only voyage of the White Star Line fleet's flagship, returns to explore the wreck in 2003 with more advanced technology than in '95 to allow a more detailed exploration of the great ship. Like the previous documentary on the battleship Bismark, "Ghosts of the Abyss" is an excellent film that conveys the allure of what is a frontier still largely unexplored and about which very little is known: the abyssal depths.

The Titanic rests at the bottom of the Atlantic, broken into two large parts, not very far apart, plus a myriad of fragments scattered over a wide area known as the debris field. The simpler exploration is that of the relatively well-preserved bow, Cameron manages to access the ship's interior decks thanks to the two remotely operated robots "Jake" and "Elwood". The main access is through what remains of the structure that once included the glass dome of the first-class staircase, which the violence of the water tore from its place. Some images of this part were already present in the film, but in this expedition, the director manages to reach the first-class reception area on deck D and film the elevators, which still show the control panels in place. Also on deck D, the first-class dining room is filmed; in this area, the decks have collapsed on each other, and maneuvering spaces are very tight, but the director confirms that some wrought iron windows are still intact and in place. An interesting aspect already noted in other expeditions is that the ship's wreck teems with life forms. Besides the bacteria that are devouring its iron structure, there are many species of abyssal fish and crustaceans not yet classified; the ship offers refuge and sustenance to a very peculiar ecosystem that greatly interests biologists. Returning to the wreck, the exploration of the holds and stoker quarters is entirely new, as is the attempt to find the Renault known to have been aboard, recorded among the goods. Compared to the bow section, the stern has rotated 180° and, unlike the first section, appears deeply damaged. In particular, hydrodynamic forces and the air pressure inside at the time of sinking caused much of the hull's planking to detach and many decks to be lost. Cameron films the two enormous triple-expansion engines still located in the engine room; the ship broke at this point, and much of the overlying structures, including the aft staircase and kitchens, no longer exist.

A great enthusiast of abyssal exploration, James Cameron offers enthusiasts a documentary film that adds much to what is known about the current state of the Titanic wreck, a wreck that in recent years has shown an acceleration in the deterioration process due also to continuous exploratory missions.