To be fair, and to state the obvious, since
every
version of the Titanic story is based on actual events, of course all of them will have a lot of things in common. When you clear away the theatricalities and plot embroidery, they're all telling the same basic story.
Most of them rely in some part on Walter Lord's book, and even Lord in his Acknowledgements thanks Helen Hernandez of Twentieth Century-Fox for providing him with leads for his interviews. Hernandez was the secretary to
Titanic
1953's producer Charles Brackett, and she had helped locate survivors to be interviewed for that movie, so she turned them over to Lord for his book. That's why so many of the things in Lord's book, published in 1955, that turn up in later films were also seen in some fashion in the 1953 movie. (Weirdly, Lord never stated why a woman at a movie studio was "a goldmine of useful leads" as he put it. You'd think he'd have explained about her connection to the 1953 film.)
That said, there's no doubt Cameron stole ideas from both
ANTR
and other Titanic films. When I first saw the '97 picture what struck me was that it was essentially just a more lavish reworking of the 1953 movie. Whatever his merits as a director, Cameron is a lousy screenwriter (despite its 14 Oscar nominations, it's significant that
Titanic
1997 did
not
receive one for its script). So it's not surprising he simply lifted other Titanic films' fictional dramatics (and falsified some actual history). He's not the only one who's done this, just the richest and most arrogant.

James Cameron totally ripped this film off and cheapened the whole thing with that dreadfully tacky and sappy fabricated love story.
I've been chasing grace/ But grace ain't easy to find

What Cameron culled from the earlier versions:
Titanic (1943)
A suspected jewel thief of a blue diamond,
An innocent man being locked in the master-at-arms' cabin, where he sees water flooding in before he's liberated by his comrade chopping down a door.
A woman headed for an Arranged Marriage who rejects that idea after falling in love on the ship.
A First Class couple arguing in their cabin over the woman's alleged infidelity before being interrupted by a steward informing them to put on lifebelts.
An arrogant first class passenger trying (and failing) to bribe his way onto a lifeboat.
A scene where the female lead is forced by the hero to board the last lifeboat, where she dramatically watches her lover disappear behind the railing as the lifeboat is lowered.
Titanic (1953):
Cameron's original screenplay contain's a fictional dress shop very much like the one that was featured in the 1953 film. Both films have the lead male character (Richard/Jack) in front of a mirror wearing a brand new suit.
'Why do the British find it necessary to announce dinner as if it were a cavalry charge.'
The shot of Ruth, Rose and Cal walking up a gangplank and entering the port side entrance vestibule is very similar in set-up to the one this film when we see Julia, Annette and other's walk up the gangplank and through the port side.
The hats that Rose and Ruth wear when they arrive at the Titanic are reversed of what Julia and Annette are wearing in this film although larger. Example. Ruth is wearing a hat with feather and a muff very much like Annette wore although larger and different material but very similar.
The scene of Ruth tying Rose's corset and the two having words is very similar in setup to the scene in the 1953 film. Before her confrontation with Richard, when Julia is helping Annette with the back of her dress the two share a few words after the previous scene when Annette says she's going back to Europe.
SOS Titanic (1979)
also featuring actor David Warner (Lovejoy)
John Astor in the gym with his wife cutting open a lifebelt to show her what was inside.
An inaccurate portrayal of Countess of Rothes (sex kitten in 1979, sob in 1997)
Lifeboat 15 being lowered onto 13.
First class passengers singing the hymn that second class had actually sung (ending with the line 'For those in peril on the sea').
The scene of Ismay, Smith, Andrews and Officers in the chart room with the revelation the ship is going to sink is very similar in set-up to the one that had been shown in SOS.
A Night to Remember (1958)
also featuring Bernard Fox (Gracie)
The scene of the band during the sinking features the line 'What's the use, nobody's listening to us anyway.' 'Well, they don't listen to us at dinner either' a variant of lines said by band members in A Night to Remember. Also the band's departing and then reuniting for Nearer my God to Thee.
The scene of a young girl's excitement after witnessing the firing and burst of a rocket.
The scene of Ismay turning his back on the sinking Titanic.
Andrews standing alone in the Smoking room staring at the painting above the fireplace.
The scene of Benjamin Guggenheim (and servant) with his line 'We've dressed in our best and are prepared to go down as gentlemen' was shown in this film first.
The scene after the collision with the iceberg when the Countess of Rothes comes out of her cabin and asks a steward what has happened, why has the ship stopped is similar in set-up to the one in ANTR in which a woman also in first class does the exact same thing.

And do you think Pearl Harbor is a bit like Tora Tora Tora and From Here to Eternity combined cushing?
"Let off some steam bennet"-Commando.

Besides this film, Cameron also ripped off many things from Titanic (1943), Titanic (1953) and S.O.S. Titanic (1979).

Jeeze, having seen several of the Titanic productions, it seems they all ripped off the first production as in every single one the Titanic sinks after striking an iceberg. Can't these directors show some originality?

James Cameron ripped off sequences from this movie piecemeal and unapologetically. I couldn't believe how identical/lazy many of the shots were, the Ismay sequence especially.
That's not an accurate description. Cameron copied many shots and sequences, but not "unapolegotically." He has openly claimed that
A Night to Remember
inspired him in making his own film, and he wrote to Bill McQuitty to thank him for his film and for that inspiration. He purchased the rights to ANTR so that he could copy shots, dialogue etc.
without
violating copyright. In his director's commentary on
Titanic
he identifies scenes which he says are intended as a "tribute" (his word) to
A Night to Remember
.
So it was not a "rip off" (which implies theft), nor was it "unapologetic," since he gave credit to the source on multiple occasions and in person to the producer.

James Cameron ripped off sequences from this movie piecemeal and unapologetically. I couldn't believe how identical/lazy many of the shots were, the Ismay sequence especially.
Emojis=
Emoticons=

It isn't that surprising considering James Cameron is one the most overrated in a long list of overrated Hollywood directors, who's "Greatest" films have all ripped off (whoops, I'm sorry, I'll use the Tarantino fanboy term "homage")from other sources.
P.S. I say this as a fan of The Terminator, Aliens and preferring James Camerons Titanic.

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"but the camerons version did have some scenes that were more accurate."
That's because James Cameron's version was made
AFTER
the wreck had been discovered.
If you love Jesus Christ and are 100% proud of it copy this and make your signature!

While i wouldnt go as far as to call it beinga copycat. and there are A LOT of differences. i mean, cameron did fantasize A LOT but he also got some things right. no question, this is a better movie, but the camerons version did have some scenes that were more accurate.
Applied Science? All science is applied. Eventually.

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Sorry I meant the movie rather than the book. I found this:
Many details in the movie were lifted directly from the 1958 Titanic film "A Night to Remember". Rights to that film were purchased by James Cameron to avoid any copyright problems.
From here:
http://www.anusha.com/sinks.htm
Your name is of no importance and you live in the pipe in the upstairs water closet.

Didn't Cameron purchase the rights to ANTR so that he could use lines of dialogue (which weren't based on the historical record) and certain angles without breaking copyright?
Not that anyone is aware of. I doubt there'd be a reason to buy the rights. The book hardly has any memorable lines of dialog.
Halfblood #9
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters Boards

Didn't Cameron purchase the rights to ANTR so that he could use lines of dialogue (which weren't based on the historical record) and certain angles without breaking copyright?
Your name is of no importance and you live in the pipe in the upstairs water closet.

Check out RedLetterMedia's review of Cameron's "Titanic" in which it becomes really clear some shots and dialogue was copied.
Those were
purposefully
done. The scenes that look the same (and there's one? Andrews at the clock) and the dialogue that is the same is done in order to pay tribute to the films, not flat out copy them.
S.O.S. Titanic had Andrews standing at the clock too. Perhaps that's because where he was actually last scene according to accounts, so "copying" is hard to say it did.
Halfblood #9
Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Sea of Monsters Boards

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There are some similarities and identical dialogue which is hard to ignore.
Check out RedLetterMedia's review of Cameron's "Titanic" in which it becomes really clear some shots and dialogue was copied.
Only proves that Cameron has little ideas of his own which doesn't involve guns and explosions.

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