Titanic stars in screen reunion

The 1997 disaster movie made global stars of its lead actors

Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet are to reunite on screen for the first time since they starred in Titanic.

They will play a young couple in 1950s drama Revolutionary Road, which has been adapted from Richard Yates' 1961 novel for BBC Films and DreamWorks.

Winslet's husband Sam Mendes, who won an Oscar for American Beauty in 2000, is to direct the film.

"To be working with such outstanding talent is particularly exciting," said David Thompson, head of BBC Films.

"We could not be more delighted at the way this film has come together. This is an extraordinary story with wide international appeal and resonance."

Titanic is the most successful film in box office history, making about $1.8bn (£900m) worldwide. It also won 11 Oscars in 1998.

Big budget

Critics had predicted a flop after the film was completed several months late and at a cost of over $200m (£100m) - more than twice its original budget.

Its Oscars haul is a record shared with Ben Hur and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, and it made global stars of DiCaprio and Winslet.

Both actors missed out on awards at this year's Oscars, the American for his performance as a South African smuggler in Blood Diamond, British star Winslet as an American suburban mother in Little Children.

It was Winslet's fifth nomination without a win, and DiCaprio's third.

British film-maker Mendes followed American Beauty with the movies Road to Perdition and Jarhead.