One of the most successful films of 1997 was Titanic, which told the story of the ill-fated vessel which sank en route to New York when it struck an iceberg in the North Atlantic. Surprisingly, given the tragedy which befell the Titanic, the film stimulated considerable interest in transatlantic crossing by ocean liner – voyages. Titanic is American epic romantic disaster film directed. Cameron's inspiration for the film came from his fascination with shipwrecks; he felt a love story interspersed with the human loss would be essential to convey the emotional message of the disaster.