Director James Cameron’s epic drama Titanic, the story of the
real-life luxury ocean liner that struck an iceberg and sank on
its maiden voyage in 1912, resulting in the deaths of more than
1,500 passengers and crew, opened in theaters.

The film also immortalized the line “I’m the king of the world!,”
which Cameron famously repeated during the Oscar ceremony,
as he picked up his gold statuette for Best Director.

James Francis Cameron

Schindler’s List, starring Liam Neeson in the true story of a
German businessman who saves the lives of more than a
thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust, opens in
theaters.

The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and took
home seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best
Director.

It was the first Best Director win for Spielberg, who had been
nominated in the category for three of his earlier films: 1977’s
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1981’s Raiders of the
Lost Ark and 1982’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.

Oskar Schindler (1908 – 1974)

Liam Neeson (72)

Ben Kingsley and Liam Neeson

Steven Allan Spielberg

On November 26, 1942, Casablanca, a World War II-era drama
starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, premiered in
New York City; it went on to become one of the most beloved
Hollywood movies in history.

On November 4, 1990, Dances with Wolves, a film about an
American Civil War–era soldier and a group of Sioux Native
Americans that stars Kevin Costner and also marks his
directorial debut, premieres in Los Angeles.

Dances with Wolves took home seven Oscars, including Best
Picture and Best Director, and solidified Costner’s place on
Hollywood’s A-list.

On August 25, 1939, The Wizard of Oz, which became one of the
best-loved movies in history, opened in theaters around the U.S. 

Based on the 1900 children’s novel The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,
by L. Frank Baum (1856-1919), the film starred Judy Garland as
the young Kansas farm girl Dorothy.