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Topic: Titanic ...fans
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Graham Ritchie
Film God
Posts: 4001
From: New Zealand
Registered: Feb 2006
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posted March 10, 2012 02:25 PM
I am not sure I will watch this 3D one "jury is still out"
I read this article years ago which makes me wonder how suitable this film is to be released on the 100 year anniversary of this disaster. Is it a case of Hollwood more interested in the....$$$$$$$$...I wonder.
The article.
William Masters Murdock.
Born on the 28th February 1873 place Dalbeattie
He joined The White Star Line in 1901 and served on successive ships until being transferred to the Titanic. His role during the final hours of the sinking is well documented. There are accounts from survivors of how he struggled to save as many passengers as he could before he was washed overboard while battling to free a lifeboat. His last words to a seaman were...Goodbye and good luck.
In 1912 after his death, the people of "Dalbeattie" set up a memorial bursary for the schoolchildren of the town in his memory, and a memorial monument to him can be seen on the wall of the Town Hall.
Accurate historical revisionism, however has never been one of Hollywood's strong points and James Cameron's 1997 epic, Titanic was no exception. In the film Murdock is depicted as a bribe taking coward who panicked and shot a passenger before taking his own life.
Outraged by the slur on their town hero's character, the people of Dalbeattie, like David before them, took on Goliath and demanded an apology from 20th Century Fox. It was slow in coming and initally they recieved no response, but as the town's campaign gathered momentum reaching its peak at publicity sensitive Oscar time, Hollywood eventually admitted it had got it wrong.
On 15th April 1998 an executive of 20th Century Fox arrived in Dalbeattie to formally apologise and to donate 5000 pound to the Murdoch Memorial Prize fund of Dalbeattie High School.
A small price to pay for a brave man's defamed reputation.
End of article.
For me the b/w 1958 film "A Night to Remember" might be the be the more appropriate film on this soon to be "100 year mark" to watch.
Graham.
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Thomas Murin, Jr.
Master Film Handler
Posts: 260
From: Lanoka Harbor, NJ, USA
Registered: Sep 2009
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posted April 08, 2012 06:28 PM
What good is to drag out the Murdoch incident again? For over a decade, it has been over and done with.
James Cameron has personally apologized to Murdoch's decendants and issued another apology on the DVD commentary.
Since the film's narrative is fictional the scene has stayed in.
Suggesting Cameron did no research prior to shooting Titanic is absurd given the mountains of evidence otherwise.
Cameron is on record as saying he did not "want to make another documentary", so he created a fictional storyline centered around the sinking.
However, Cameron was determined to present the sinking as factual. That was in fact, his main reason for making the movie.
ALL movies are created with an eye toward making money, including A Night To Remember and don't you forget it.
Calling Cameron a "hack" is uncalled for and untrue. He was making a fictional movie based on true events. It was not his intention to sully a real life character's reputation.
I seriously doubt a "hack" could have put together a movie as technically difficult as this one.
It is established fact that the ship's officers fired guns into the air to help get the increasingly unruly crowds under control. That Cameron chose to use a real life person and depict him in the manner portrayed was simply a bad judgment call.
Finally, I seriously doubt James Cameron has anything aginst the Irish. There is simply no evidence to suggest this.
That Titanic won the same number of Oscar's as Ben-Hur (1959) does not mean a thing. They are different movies from different eras and generes.
Honestly, people! Lighten up. Jeez.
-------------------- My crummy Deviant Art account. Read my poetic tribute to the internet comic strip Ozy & Millie and view my crappy attempts at art.
http://cougartiger.deviantart.com/
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