James Cameron reveals why part of “Titanic”'s most iconic scene is out of focus

Rose may be flying, but she's also a little blurry.

We'll never let go of how romantic the "I'm flying" scene is in Titanic.

But the iconic, oft-parodied moment is actually slightly imperfect: the shot goes out of focus for just four seconds. Director James Cameron reveals the error and explains the story behind it in a new featurette, Titanic: Stories from the Heart, found on the bonus disc of the new 4k Ultra HD release.

Though most of the ship itself is computer generated, the scene was famously shot using the real sunset in the background — but that meant they had to move quickly. "We shot two takes before we lost the light," Cameron remembers in an exclusive clip, above. "The first one — completely out of focus. The second one is out of focus for about four seconds and then it pops in. And that's the one that's in the movie."

To get that perfect magic-hour lighting, Cameron had no choice but to use a bit of the unfocused footage. Star Kate Winslet remembers filming the scene as a rather hectic experience. "We did it with a real sunset," she says. "Which was hilarious because Jim would be like, 'Sunset's amazing — go, go go!' And we'd be like, 'What?' and suddenly, Leo and I are having to basically climb up this forklift, extended, protracted thing and climb up this damn ladder. 'We're going to miss it, we're going to miss it.' So we'd get up there and suddenly, we'd go, 'Oh, action.' And we'd have like two minutes of us just endlessly doing this clinch. God forbid if we started laughing. It was really, honestly hilarious."

Titanic follows the story of wealthy Rose Dewitt Bukater (Winslet), a young woman who feels trapped in an engagement to the rich Cal Hockley (Billy Zane). When Rose meets Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) on board the ill-fated ocean liner, the two strike up an unlikely romance after Jack saves Rose's life. As the ship races to its watery demise, Jack and Rose fall in love and dream of a life beyond the limitations of their current circumstances.

The film won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, and remains one of the best-loved movies of all time. On Dec. 5, it comes to 4K Ultra HD for the first time in a new two-disc set that also includes a Blu-ray disc with five hours of new and legacy bonus content, including the new Stories from the Heart featurette.

There is also a limited-edition collector's boxed set available, which includes a coffee table book, a blueprint of the Titanic, movie prop reproductions including ship menus and Jack's fateful boarding pass, and sheet music for "My Heart Will Go On."

The bonus disc also features new behind-the-scenes content with producer Jon Landau, taking audiences behind the making of Titanic and its trailer.

Watch the clip above for more.

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