Arnold Schwarzenegger’s favourite movie of all time: “It was spectacular”
It wouldn’t be outlandish to admit that Arnold Schwarzenegger is an unlikely movie star. Starting out as a bodybuilder, he soon became an action hero that Hollywood was quick to pounce on, even though acting has never exactly been his strong suit. After making his debut with Hercules in New York in 1970, Schwarzenegger eventually broke into the mainstream with Conan the Barbarian 12 years later, even if the film left critics divided.
From then, the actor appeared in the sequel Conan the Destroyer before landing a role that would change everything. Teaming up with James Cameron, Schwarzenegger played the eponymous cyborg in 1984’s The Terminator, which became highly acclaimed for its approach to action and sci-fi. This significantly boosted the actor’s career, and he reprised his role in 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which was similarly praised.
It seems as though Schwarzenegger owes a lot to Cameron, who helped reveal that the bodybuilder was much more than just a muscle machine. They teamed up again for True Lies in 1994, allowing the former to demonstrate his action abilities once more, and it was a box office hit.
It makes sense, then, that one of Cameron’s movies is actually one of Schwarzenegger’s all-time favourites, although it’s not one he has starred in himself. Talking to Rotten Tomatoes, the actor revealed his love for the epic disaster flick Titanic, which emerged after True Lies. Released in 1997, the film became a massive success, topping the box office worldwide and becoming the highest-grossing film ever made for the following 12 years.
Schwarzenegger was deeply impressed, explaining, “Titanic is just—the storytelling, and the size of it, the visual effects. The first thing was just brilliantly… every character was brilliantly fleshed out, which is typical Cameron. He’s just so good at that. And then, he adds the action. You know, which is what everyone looks forward to.”
He continued: “Everyone knows the story of Titanic, and that it’s going to hit an iceberg. So you just wait the whole movie for that major crash; but then in the meantime he builds all these stories and all the relationships, all the different characters and all that. I thought that it was just really well done, visual effects, personal stories about people, the character’s development, the action, and then the end. The emotional roller coaster ride was, and the music. Everything was a straight 10.”
Titanic has remained a beloved classic since it was released at the end of the millennium, defining a moment of true blockbuster frenzy. At over three hours of runtime, it is an epic tale of romance and disaster, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet starring as doomed lovers whose erotic and passionate fling comes to an incredibly tragic and moving end.
“So it was no wonder the number one movie, when it came out. It was spectacular,” Schwarzenegger gushed.
The movie has grossed over $2.264billion in the years since it was released, and for many, it remains Cameron’s biggest accomplishment, with its incredibly emotional storytelling and impressive special effects.
