| “ |
You see? Is my destinio!! Like I told you. I go to America!! To be a millionaire!! |
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—Fabrizio de Rossi to Jack Dawson | ||
Fabrizio de Rossi is a fictional character from the 1997 film Titanic. He is the tritagonist, portrayed by Danny Nucci.
Role in the film[]
He and his friend Jack Dawson win a Third Class ticket for the maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic from Southampton to New York. He often speaks Italian and English together. He is introduced when the ship is started up and there are 10 minutes before she will leave the harbor. In a pub, he and Jack are playing poker against two Swedes, the stakes are some coins and two Third Class tickets. Fabrizio initally isn't too happy that Jack puts all their money on the line in this game, but Jack assures him it's the only way if you have nothing. Jack is feeling lucky but teases Fabrizio that he won't see his mother. For a moment Fabrizio is downbeat and thinks they lost and starts shouting at him angrily. But the gamble works out and they win. Fabrizio is exhubarant in his happiness, dances around, cheering, exclaims how wonderful it is to go to America. The pubkeeper responds that they don't have any time left. There's only 5 minutes before Titanic will set sail. The pair realises they have to hurry and throw everything they won in their bags and make a run for it.
Jack in his enthusiasm runs like a wild dog, dodging a horse, through the crowd, and Fabrizio can hardly keep up with him, calling him crazy. Jack then bluffs his way onboard as if he's playing poker, showing Sixth Officer Moody the tickets and saying they're Americans, so they don't need to go through the inspection cue and have no lice, when the latter asks if they did. They board and are still in a good mood about their fortune.
The ship leaves Southampton and they wave goodbye to nobody in particular.
They occupy cabin G-60 down below, in the ship's bow. Fabrizio immediately chooses the top berth and Jack gives him a friendly tap for doing that. Jack greets two Swedish passengers who are likely family of the two pokerplayers whose ticket they won, but they are lost for words and one of them wonders where Sven is.
They later take a viewpoint on the bow together and enjoy the fresh sea breeze, feeling like they are on top of the world. They see dolphins riding Titanic's bow wave.
He and Jack Dawson become close friends with Tommy Ryan when they are gathered on the stern of the ship. He is a proud Irishman that thinks his people should get more credit for building this vessel, and dislikes how their Promenade Deck is used for the rich folk's dogs. During the Third Class party, he is seen dancing with a blonde girl (called Helga in some deleted scenes, where he has a sort of a romance with her). He compliments Eugene Daly on his bagpipe play.
For a long while, we don't see Fabrizio as the story is primarily focused on Jack and Rose. We pick up on him when he sleeping in his cabin when Titanic suddenly grazes an iceberg, and his cabin feels the vibrations, waking him up. Somewhere just before 12:00 A.M. he jumps out of his bunk, but curses as he stands in a small puddle of water. The water slowly moves through the hallway. He and his Swedish cabinmates immediatly put on clothes, leave the cabin and Tommy is already there, running, summoning him to come with him. They head in the direction where a group of 8 rats are going.
During the sinking, he tries to find an exit. A shell door is opened, and Fabrizio sees the lifeboats are being launched. Two seamen close the shell door again. Fabrizio and Tommy find themselves trapped behind a Bostwick gate guarded by Steward 3. They are reunited with Jack and find another way out. However, he has to leave Helga behind. They find Steward 2 who isn't helpful in any way, and Jack is enraged, so the three of them pull a bench loose from the floor to smash the Bostwick gate, escaping. Jack escorts Rose into a lifeboat and Fabrizio then goes with Tommy to the starboard side to try to escape. He doesn't know Rose bolts back on board to stay with Jack and that's the last time they see eachother.
At the starboard side, First Officer Murdoch is preventing anyone from boarding Collapsible A, lying on the deck. When someone pushes Tommy closer to the ship, he is shot dead. Fabrizio is heartbroken over the sudden death of his friend and shouts "Bastardo!" to Murdoch, who then shoots himself. Fabrizio is left without a lifebelt, so he takes the one from Tommy. Just when he has put it on, the deck floods. An officer shouts that he is in need of a knife, and Fabrizio helps by taking out a pocket knife which he uses to cut the falls. Thanks to Tommy's lifejacket, Fabrizio can swim away from the ship after the bridge and Boat Deck is overflowed and Titanic takes a dive. But he is sucked back by the flooding of the Grand Staircase and almost sucked inside the ship. He escapes the suction just in time and swims forward. In the end, he dies when the first funnel falls on him.
In the end, Fabrizio was seen standing near the Staircase with Helga at his side, during the dream/heaven sequence.
Deleted scenes[]
Fabrizio actually spotted the love of his life when Jack and him are searching for their cabin. A cute Norwegian blonde girl and him look at eachother for a split second when moving in opposite directions. In several deleted scenes, we learn more about her. Her parents are pretty strict, especially her father. There's a scene where Rose comes to seek Jack in the Third Class General Room. Just before Rose appears, we see Fabrizio and Helga, the Norwegian girl, get to know eachother. First they start with their names, but there's a small language barrier. Her parents sit on another bench and are a bit miffed about something. However, when Rose enters, all the steerage passengers are baffled, but despite their surprise, they are very respectful. Fabrizio, Tommy and Helga stare at her with wide open eyes when she starts talking to Jack. After the two leave, Fabrizio, Tommy and Helga all look at eachother in amazement about what just happened and they find this somewhat hilarious and start laughing.
After meeting up with Jack and Rose during the sinking, Helga and Fabrizio are seperated when her father doesn't want her and the family to go anywhere, as stubborn as he is. Helga respects her elders decision, and they leave. But before that, they passionately kiss eachother.
Alternative Death[]
Fabrizio was originally meant to survive the fall of the funnel by swimming away in time, only to be killed when Caledon Hockley beats him to death with an oar when he tries to climb aboard Collapsible Lifeboat A. This cut fate was filmed, and images from it are shown in the illustrated screenplay. Director James Cameron felt that the scene was overkill on making the audience despise Cal.
Script[]
CUT TO: 284 EXT. COLLAPSIBLE A / OCEAN
The boat is overloaded and half-flooded. Men cling to the sides in the water. Others, swimming, are drawn to it as their only hope. Cal, standing in the boat, slaps his oar in the water as a warning.
- Cal: Stay back! Keep off!
Fabrizio, exhausted and near the limit, makes it almost to the boat. Cal CLUBS HIM with the oar, cutting open his scalp.
- Fabrizio: You don't... understand... I have... to get... to America.
- Cal: (pointing with the oar) It's that way!
CLOSE ON FABRIZIO as he floats, panting each breath agony. You see the spirit leave him.
FABRIZIO’S POV: Cal in SLOW MOTION, yelling and wielding the oar. A demon in a tuxedo. The image fades to black.
Quotes[]
- "Milleee Grazieee!!" -------- He thanks the heavens for winning the tickets
- "I'm going to Ameeerica!!" --- A happy man when he realises they can sail on Titanic.
- "Goodbye, I'll never forget youuu! --- Waving at the people of Southampton harbor.
- "I can see the Statue of Liberty already! Very small of course. " ~~When enjoying the view over the bow with Jack
- "Porca che chazzo!!! Ma che chazzo!" ---- Fabrizio sees the water for the first time.
- "The boats are all gone!" ----- Seeing Jack again after Jack and Rose just managed to avoid drowning.
- "There's niente this way!" ---- Telling Jack he doesn't see a way out.
- "BASTARDO!!" ---- Telling Murdoch that he is a bastard for shooting Tommy Ryan.