Cameron on Titanic: "Death in slow motion"

(CBS News) James Cameron is perhaps best known as the Oscar-winning director of "Titanic," but he's also an avid researcher of the ship.

On "CBS This Morning: Saturday" - on the 100th anniversary of the "unsinkable" ocean liner's collision with an iceberg - he was asked what lures people (including himself) to the tragic story a century after its sinking.

He said that what gets people is the separation people endured when the Titanic was submerging. "It's death in slow motion," Cameron said.

Complete coverage: Titanic 100 years later

"People had to say good-bye to their family members, their loved ones, as the boats were being lowered. That image will endure for a thousand years, I think," he said.

For more with Cameron on the allure of the Titanic story and who he thinks were the unsung heroes of the disaster, watch the video in the player above.