Back to Titanic: Film Information: Behind the Scenes: Scene Facts: The Iceberg

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Today in Titanic History - with Searching

Today in
Titanic History
Monday, March 9, 2026

1867 - 1st class survivor Miss Grace Scott Bowen was born.

1864 - 1st class survivor Mr Algernon Henry Wilson Barkworth was born.

1870 - 1st class survivor Mr Edwin Nelson Jr. Kimball was born to Edwin Kimball and Emma Cook Kimball in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

1980 - 3rd class survivor Miss Helen Corr died in The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA at the age of 84.

1997 - The sinking scenes for James Cameron's movie "Titanic" were filmed from the 6th to the 12th and were the most expensive filming days in motion picture history.

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Behind the Scenes: Scene Facts: The Iceberg

The iceberg the ship hits is actually made of Styrofoam and covered with fiberglass and wax.
The crew stuck 3 plastic toy Godzillas inside the iceberg to go with the 45' model, because they had an inside joke that Godzilla sunk the Titanic.
In the original shot of the movie the bell is rung 5 times, but it was edited later to 3 because that's the distress call. It is heard five times in the trailer.
A green screen was used as the iceberg passes the well deck. To add ice to fall onto the deck, real chunks of ice were pushed down chutes and onto the set.
James Cameron wrote that the lookouts were looking at Jack and Rose because he firmly believes that something distracted the lookouts from seeing the iceberg. This is supposed to be an ironic twist because Rose is exercising her will to change her life when the iceberg changes it all.
The dialogue between Lookout Fleet and Officer Moody are direct quotes from the inquiry transcripts.
As the iceberg passes the windows behind Molly Brown in the First Class Smoking Room, she asks for more ice in her drink. Based on early screenings, Cameron believed the audience would need this comical moment to dispell some of the tension, but once he cut it, the dialogue between the lookouts was enough to serve this purpose. Read that scene
This is the scene when the cinematography style shifts from slow and smooth (elegance) to bouncing and jarring (panic).

Film Info

cast and crew
characters
scene facts
reaction
script
movie timeline

Scene Facts
opening sequence
ghost ship
pay day
the woman in the picture
distant memories
boarding
lucky hand
paintings
king of the world
lunch
first glance
suicide
heart of the ocean
sketches on deck
dining in the snakepit
a real party
confrontations
flying
portrait
chased by lovejoy
the car
the iceberg
rescue
'not without you'
sinking
vertical stern
the promise
carpathia

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