To date there have been four theatrical films, a TV movie and two Mini-Series. There have also been countless documentaries, TV specials and a couple individual TV series episodes featuring or impacted by the sinking of the Titanic. Lastly, there were two staggeringly awful animated movies portraying the sinking, because if there's one thing that screams family fun, it's the tragedy of the Titanic. For the purposes of this essay, I'm going to focus on the theatrical films.
Titanic (1943)
This has to be the most curious rendition of the Titanic disaster. It was made as a German propaganda film to illustrate the excesses and greed of the British. The film even includes a fictional German officer who functions to point out the errors made by the British crew members and exemplify the selflessness and bravery of the German people. If you gagged at that last bit, I don't blame you.
The film was the brainchild of Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels and was funded at the cost of 4 Million Reichmarks (equivalent to roughly 180 million dollars today, just 20 million shy of what James Cameron spent on his 1997 epic). The making of the film has an even more colorful history than the film itself. The film's director, Herbert Selpin, was arrested by the SS after he made unflattering comments about some high ranking officers that he refused to retract. Secondly, the ship used in the film was later loaded up with Jewish prisoners a few days before the end of the war. They managed to trick the Royal Air Force into bombing and sinking the ship, killing roughly 5,000 people.
As one can imagine, the film is wildly inaccurate. It depicts the officials, especially ship owner Bruce Ismay as money obsessed, driving the crew of the ship to throw caution in the wind and endanger the passengers to beat the record crossing the Atlantic, therefore driving up the stock prices of the White Star Line, which owned the Titanic. of course, this is absurd. To begin with, White Star Line was never a publicly traded company.
The film goes out of it's way to paint the British as wreckless and greedy, while painting the fictional German Officer in a stoic and heroic light. Curiously, some of the scenes of third class passengers trapped below, trying to reach through the chain link gates recall images of the Nazi Concentration Camps.
The entire film is a horribly skewed piece of propaganda. It's filming was a disaster in itself. It's about as historically accurate as Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds and the entire thing reeks of the worst taste. Although, it was made by the Nazis, so I'm not sure what I expected. Still, it's worth viewing at least once by those who are morbidly curious to see the most horribly misguided film about the Titanic, ever. That said, it does need to be seen to be believed and is thankfully readily available on YouTube in decent quality.
Titanic (1953)
20th Century Fox released their rendition of the Titanic disaster in 1953. Starring Clifton Webb, Barbara Stanwyck, and Robert Wagner, the film focused on several characters against the backdrop of the sinking of the Titanic, in true Hollywood melodrama style.
The main plot concerns Richard and Julia Sturges, a wealthy American couple whose marriage is on the rocks (played well by Clifton Webb and the always amazing Barbara Stanwyck). Tiring of the European social scene, Julia has decided to return to America with her two kids, Norman and Annette (played by Harper Young and Aubrey Dalton). To contrast the crumbling of the parents' marriage, Annette starts falling for a young man on board, Gifford Rogers (played by a young Robert Wagner).
The film has some glaring factual errors and the set design is way off from the designs of the actual ship. In particular, the dining room ceilings are way too high and in general fail to convince of being a ship at sea. The side of the ship the iceberg is on is mixed up from above and below the sea (above the water shows it on the Starboard side, but is suddenly on the Port side under water). Also the iceberg is depicted as being much larger than it was in reality. There's also a great deal of inconsistency in the tilt of the ship and some shots where it's obvious only the camera it tilted. There is also the increasingly annoying alarm that is completely fictional and the exploding boilers that never happened either. Also, there is the exceptionally silly "Nearer My God to Thee" sing along at the end before the ship makes it's final plunge. Lastly, some of the model work done depicting the sinking hasn't stood the test of time. Most glaringly, there is obviously no one on deck when the ship makes it's final plunge.
Still, the character's stories, especially the ones played by Webb and Stanwyck are compelling enough to gloss over the more glaring issues. There is enough drama, however overwrought at times, for me to give it a recommendation.
A Night to Remember (1958)
In 1958, the British made their own film of the Titanic, based on Walter Lord's painstakingly researched book of the same name. It remains to this day, aside from certain facts about the sinking discovered after this film was made, the most historically accurate telling of the Titanic story.
The film focuses on Second Officer Lightoller, played by Kenneth More, cited as one of the heroes of the disaster who ultimately survived along with several other passengers on an overturned lifeboat that was swept off the deck before it could be launched.
The film is a huge step forward in terms of production design, far more convincing of a 1912 ship at sea than previous efforts. The film goes to great pains to be as accurate as possible with the means available. Director Roy Ward Baker makes the most of what's available to him to craft a compelling picture.
The film relies on survivor testimony, trying it's best to be as accurate as possible, as the narrative moves from various events on the Titanic to nearby ships the Californian and the Carpathia. Through this approach, everything seems more palatable and potent. The film forgoes a traditional film score aside from a few key moments which only helps to make everything feel more immediate.
The performances by the entire cast are fantastic. There is not a weak link among them. Kenneth More takes the forefront as Lightoller, but at the same time every character is given a fair representation. I think this is the only version I have seen where J Bruce Ismay, the owner of the White Star Lines, is portrayed as a fairly competent person and not a total buffoon, coward or outright villain as he is in other films, even Cameron's.
This remains as the best presentation of the Titanic disaster that has yet been made. It focuses on the events that actually happened, presented as accurately as possible with restrained, heartfelt performances from it's cast. It's one that will stick with you.
Titanic (1997)
We now come to the one everyone knows, James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster. Being a longtime Titanic junkie, this movie was one I was looking forward to as soon as I heard about it. I knew seeing the Titanic recreated with contemporary effects depicting the sinking accurately was going to be amazing. Aside from a few inaccuracies that really bugged me, especially one that was downright disrespectful, it delivered on that promise.
James Cameron does an amazing job giving the Titanic the epic Hollywood treatment it deserves. Until recently, it was the highest grossing movie ever made. Cameron painstakingly recreated the Titanic for his film and presents it for the first time in a theatrical film in glorious technicolor.
The film casts the Titanic as the backdrop of an epic romance of penniless artist Jack and First Class passenger Rose, played in star making turns by Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. Rose is engaged to a detestable man, Cal, played by Billy Zane at his despicable best. They are traveling on the ship with her mother, played by Frances Fisher and Cal's valet/stooge, played by David Warner (who curiously starred in the 1979 TV movie, SOS Titanic as well).
It's a clever approach starting the film in 1997 with old Rose telling the story in flashback to a crew of wreckage explorers led by frequent Cameron collaborator Bill Paxton. This firmly establishes in the audiences mind the fate of the ship and how the sinking went. One would think this would rob the film of any suspense but actually ratchets it up quite a bit, with the audience knowing more than the characters just how much trouble they're in once the sinking is underway.
There are so many moments that are absolutely accurate, including scenes not included in previous films, such as third class passengers trying to get out the door they boarded through (which was based on witness testimony), only to find it was already at water level. This makes the inaccuracies all the more apparent, especially in their treatment of First Officer William Murdoch. By all accounts, he acted heroically until the end, but in this film he's depicted shooting a passenger (albeit accidentally) and then himself. It's a moment in this otherwise spectacular film that has rubbed me the wrong way and always felt very disrespectful to someone who by all accounts was a decent man.
It's also interesting to see all the little homages to past Titanic films Cameron made. Ones that stuck out to me was Molly Brown (played by the always awesome Kathy Bates) asking why they always insist on announcing dinner like a Calvary charge. This is a verbatim quote from the 1953 Titanic, spoken in that film by Clifton Webb. Another moment, this one taken from A Night to Remember is a character finding ship designer Thomas Andrews(played by Victor Garber) by the first class lounge fireplace, correcting the time on the clock on the mantel and asking if he won't try to save himself.
All my quibbles aside, this movie is huge and epic. The sinking of the Titanic has never been depicted with such scope and grandeur before or since. By and large I can forgive the inaccuracies since so much of the film is such a painstaking recreation. Because of this, part of me wishes there had been a little more emphasis on historical events and a little less on the fictional romance. I, for one, could have lived without Cal chasing after Jack and Rose, waving around a nickel plated Colt 1911 semi-automatic pistol no less, making it even more ridiculous. But like I said, they are minor complaints in the long run.
Other Films:
If you can't get enough Titanic, I can also recommend the 2012 miniseries Julian Fellowes did, even though I wish he had done that one in a more straightforward linear fashion, instead of each of the first three parts starting at the beginning of the voyage and leading up to the sinking.
I would say avoid the 1996 mini-series with Peter Gallagher, Catherine Zeta Jones, George C. Scott and Tim Curry. It was poorly researched and done as a quick cash in on the growing hype surrounding the then forthcoming James Cameron film.
Beyond that, SOS Titanic was actually the first Titanic film I saw as a kid, which led to a lifetime interest/obsession with the disaster. It is unfortunately incredibly hard to find even today. It's a shame as I'd love to see it again.
Probably the most curious Titanic film outside of the Nazi one is a film called Raise the Titanic. It's based on a Clive Cussler novel about a group of guys that raise the Titanic from the seabed of the Atlantic because in it's cargo contained a rare mineral they needed. It's completely ridiculous and is a notorious flop of a film. It is also terribly dated since at the time the book was written and the film was made in 1980 it was believed the Titanic sank whole. It was only five short years later when the wreck was discovered and those accounts were proven wrong. Whoops. Still, it's worth a peek if nothing more than for a laugh.
There are also two shockingly bad animated movies about the Titanic disaster. I cannot recommend watching them in their entirety at all, for there is a high risk of emotional and possibly physical damage from the awfulness. In fact, the only safe way to view them is through the Nostalgia Critic reviews of them. They can easily be found on YouTube. It has to be seen to be believed, trust me.
There are also two shockingly bad animated movies about the Titanic disaster. I cannot recommend watching them in their entirety at all, for there is a high risk of emotional and possibly physical damage from the awfulness. In fact, the only safe way to view them is through the Nostalgia Critic reviews of them. They can easily be found on YouTube. It has to be seen to be believed, trust me.
The sinking of the Titanic is a major plot point in the first episode of Julian Fellows' majorly addictive show, Downton Abbey. It also features in the pilot episode of the vintage Sci-Fi show The Time Tunnel, where the time traveling main characters find themselves stranded on the ship and try to warn the crew of what is going to happen with no success and just narrowly miss going down with the ship themselves. Speaking of time travel, there is also a segment of Time Bandits that takes place on the doomed liner as well, although portrayed in an intentionally inaccurate and absurd manner. Of course, I would be remiss if I did not mention the Doctor Who episode "Voyage of the Damned" where the time traveling Doctor finds himself aboard a spaceship recreation of the doomed liner, which finds itself in similar trouble except this time the Doctor is there to save the day.
As this article no doubt demonstrates, I am an unabashed Titanic junkie. I had a fun time going through all the different renditions of the Titanic disaster, some more successful than others. I would wholeheartedly recommend both A Night to Remember and James Cameron's Titanic for mandatory viewing. The others are also worth a look for those curious or are obsessively completest, like me.
As this article no doubt demonstrates, I am an unabashed Titanic junkie. I had a fun time going through all the different renditions of the Titanic disaster, some more successful than others. I would wholeheartedly recommend both A Night to Remember and James Cameron's Titanic for mandatory viewing. The others are also worth a look for those curious or are obsessively completest, like me.
No comments:
Post a Comment