Titanic Marathon

[Tom]

Titanic Marathon

My recent purchase of the 1953 Titanic movie (which I came attention to because scenes from it where used in the first "The Time Tunnel" episode) lead me to start watching my collection of Titanic movies in chronological order.

[Tom]

Title: Titanic
Year: 1943
Director: Herbert Selpin
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 85 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: German: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: German

Stars:
Sybille Schmitz
Hans Nielsen
Kirsten Heiberg
E.F. Fürbringer
Karl Schönböck


Extras:
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

This is the oldest Titanic movie I have and I think it is the first talkie about the Titanic disaster. It was produced in Nazi Germany in 1942.
Besides the fact that the movie blames the greed of the capitalistic Britain for causing the disaster by having the Titanic go at full speed despite the ice warnings, this movie is quite similar to later attempts.
Many elements of Cameron's Titanic can already seen here.
For its time the movie had great effects. Not once is there is a scene which looked cheap.

Rating:

[Jon]

My favourite is A Night To Remember. Do you have that one?

[Tom]

My favourite is A Night To Remember. Do you have that one?

Yes, I have it and will be part of this marathon.

[Tom]

Title: Titanic
Year: 1953
Director: Jean Negulesco
Rating: PG
Length: 94 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: English: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles: English

Stars:
Clifton Webb
Barbara Stanwyck
Robert Wagner
Audrey Dalton
Thelma Ritter

Plot:
CLIFTON WEBB, BARBARA STANWYCK and ROBERT WAGNER star in this gripping re-enactment of the tragic 1912 sinking of the Titanic in which over 1,500 people lost their lives.

Supposedly an unsinkable ship, the huge British luxury liner met with disaster on its maiden voyage when its captain ignored numerous warnings of impending danger. Though based on facts culled from eyewitnesses, fictional characters depict the men and women, many of them international celebrities, who courageoulsy faced this unexpected tragedy in the icy, bleak waters of the North Atlantic.

This tremendously moving and extraordinary film continues to captivate audiences around the world.

Extras:
Featurettes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

In my opinion this effort is inferior to the German movie released 10 years previously. The sets are cheap, scenes set outside even cheaper. Two third of the movie are showing rather uninteresting storylines. Only the last 25 minutes or so are about the disaster. And that is handled very unrealistic. There is hardly any panic involved. Everybody is going in very orderly fashion to the lifeboats. The men are only willing to stay behind. Everybody has time to have a nice undisturbed dramatic little last chat with their squeaze.
Beside those glaringly obvious flaws, this movie is still watchable. The cast is good. You can see a young Robert Wagner in an early role. Wouldn't it have been for his way of talking, I wouldn't have recognized him at all.

Rating:

[Tom]

I just watched the extra on this DVD. It's a 94 minutes documentary called "Beyond th Titanic: History vs Hollywood". It was an interesting watch. They show probably all the cinematic versions of the sinking of the Titanic. Including all the movies which will be part of this marathon. They even showed excerpts of the Time Tunnel episode I mentioned before.

[Tom]

As chance would have it, I just found out that the last Titanic survivor died today just as I have started this marathon. And another coincidence: Exactly 98 years to the day ago, the Titanic first launched.

[Tom]

Title: A Night to Remember
Year: 1958
Director: Roy Baker
Rating: FSK-16
Length: 118 Min.
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 1.85
Audio: German: Dolby Digital Mono, English: Dolby Digital Mono
Subtitles: English, German

Stars:
Kenneth More
Ronald Allen
Robert Ayres
Honor Blackman
Anthony Bushell


Extras:
Production Notes
Scene Access
Trailers

My Thoughts:

After the attempt from Hollywood a few years before, this UK production is obviously on a much bigger scale.
It passes on providing much backstory for the characters. Instead it chooses to dive right into the action. The iceberg is hit about 30 minutes into the movie (and most of the first 30 minutes is spent on iceberg warnings and other nautical stuff). That leaves about 90 minutes of showing the sinking. Just about the same time as in Cameron's movie, if I remember correctly.

The 1997 Cameron movie obviously has taken much of this movie as an example. Even re-creating a lot of the scenes. This movie's portayal of the disaster can easily keep up with the newer Cameron movie (especially taking its age into account).

Rating:

[Rich]

Title: A Night to Remember After the attempt from Hollywood a few years before, this UK production is obviously on a much bigger scale.
It passes on providing much backstory for the characters. Instead it chooses to dive right into the action. The iceberg is hit about 30 minutes into the movie (and most of the first 30 minutes is spent on iceberg warnings and other nautical stuff). That leaves about 90 minutes of showing the sinking. Just about the same time as in Cameron's movie, if I remember correctly.

The 1997 Cameron movie obviously has taken much of this movie as an example. Even re-creating a lot of the scenes. This movie's portayal of the disaster can easily keep up with the newer Cameron movie (especially taking its age into account).

Rating:

Nice review Tom - I've just pulled the dvd out to my 'must watch soon' pile

[Tom]

Nice review Tom - I've just pulled the dvd out to my 'must watch soon' pile

Have you watched it before?

[Rich]

Nice review Tom - I've just pulled the dvd out to my 'must watch soon' pile

Have you watched it before?

No - I kept on passing it by 

[Jon]

The 1997 Cameron movie obviously has taken much of this movie as an example. Even re-creating a lot of the scenes. This movie's portayal of the disaster can easily keep up with the newer Cameron movie (especially taking its age into account).

I thought that really there was little difference between the quality of the sets, especially the engine room, considering there was almost 40 years between the two films.

It's a while since I've watched it, but I seem to remember liking how they involved the second ship that tried to answer the distress calls and I was disappointed when Cameron didn't. To me, that seems a very important element and dramatically works very well for the story.

[Tom]

Title: The Titanic
Year: 1996
Director: Robert Lieberman
Rating: FSK-12
Length: 171 Min.
Video: Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio: German: Dolby Digital Stereo, English: Dolby Digital Stereo
Subtitles:

Stars:
Peter Gallagher
George C. Scott
Catherine Zeta Jones
Eva Marie Saint
Tim Curry

My Thoughts:

If Cameron's Titanic is remake of "A Night to Remember", then this two-part TV movie is a remake of the 1953 Titanic. You have a lot of TV movie-style drama going on. This is also the only Titanic movie watch wraps up the different storylines in the last 15 minutes after the lifeboats are salvaged.
Tim Curry plays yet another of his typical villain roles, like it seems are the only roles he has played since Rocky Horror.

Rating:

[Achim]

It's a while since I've watched it, but I seem to remember liking how they involved the second ship that tried to answer the distress calls and I was disappointed when Cameron didn't. To me, that seems a very important element and dramatically works very well for the story.

While maybe disappointing, it was nto the story he was telling. He was telling the Jack and Rose story, which happens to take placew on the Titanic. Bringing in more ships at the end would have distracted from the dramatic scene taking place...

[Jon]

True, but I felt that knowing the other ship was trying to get there added to the tragedy of their story as well as the ships. Bizarrely, if you know the story, it feels like somethings missing, even if you don't need to see it.