Titanic (1997)

[Ed Gordon]

If you look at the 2nd class passenger list of the Titanic you'll find my last name there. Fred Banfield was a family member who did not survive!

There is brief article on Fred Banfield at: https://www.encyclopedia-titanica.or...-banfield.html

[Joseph Banfield]

If you look at the 2nd class passenger list of the Titanic you'll find my last name there. Fred Banfield was a family member who did not survive!

[Ed Gordon]

A Night to Remember 1958

Arguably still the best movie depiction of the Titanic disaster to date with miniature work done at Pinewood supervised by Bill Warrington.

The model Titanic for the film was built by Shawcraft models Limited in only 6 weeks. It was built on a steel frame attached to steel drums for flotation and detailed predominantly on the port side. The starboard side was left open to allow access to the many interior lights. According to IMDB The model titanic was 35 feet long (10.7m) however a local newspaper article on the model builders has it at 40 feet (12.2m).

You can read more and browse dozens of photos at: https://www.modelshipsinthecinema.co...mber-1958.html

There is also a information of the 1953 version at: https://www.modelshipsinthecinema.co...r-blondes.html

The digital special effects in the 1997 Titanic were fantastic, and the star of the movie. For me, the remainder of the movie played like a soap opera and I doubt I could re-watch it without a fast forward button.

[Graham Ritchie]

John

I agree I would highly recommend the blu-ray of "A Night To Remember" the restoration is excellent.

Oliver

If I remember right it was not all model work, the film makers did use a actual ship on the Clyde that was due to be scrapped as well. They got students from Glasgow University to paint one side of it black. I recall that a certain shipping line did try to stop them filming on it, but by that time they had managed to complete what they wanted out of it.


PS... The ship used in the filming was the RMS Asturias 2 .

[John Burgess]

I enjoyed all versions , but have to say A night to Remember in my mind is the best. Black and white helps to emphasis the disaster so much better than colour. Cameron’s version whilst a true epic production almost over glamorised this tragic voyage.
Hohn

[Brian Fretwell]

I like the way they built a full size section of one side ogf the ship and actors playing the crew had emblems embroidered in reverse for some shots that they "flipped" so they could portray both sides of it.

[Oliver Feld]

Well, there are not many features which work so impressive on the big screen like Cameron’s TITANIC… And if You like the little ship model of the 1943/1958 versions more than the breathtakingly animated 1997 ship, it’s okay, too. Don’t look for mistakes: it’s the cinematic illusion that counts.

[Ed Gordon]

Mike, the content at the url above is restricted to UK users.

A childhood friend's grandfather was on the SS California the night the Titanic went down. I have vague memories of having tea with him and he talked about it being a memorable event that he slept through. We were too young to understand it all...

Much nearer was SS Californian, which had warned Titanic of ice a few hours earlier. Apprehensive at his ship being caught in a large field of drift ice, Californian's captain, Stanley Lord, had decided at about 22:00 to halt for the night and wait for daylight to find a way through the ice field. At 23:30, 10 minutes before Titanic hit the iceberg, Californian's sole radio operator, Cyril Evans, shut his set down for the night and went to bed. On the bridge her Third Officer, Charles Groves, saw a large vessel to starboard around 10 to 12 mi (16 to 19 km) away. It made a sudden turn to port and stopped. If the radio operator of Californian had stayed at his post fifteen minutes longer, hundreds of lives might have been saved. A little over an hour later, Second Officer Herbert Stone saw five white rockets exploding above the stopped ship. Unsure what the rockets meant, he called Captain Lord, who was resting in the chartroom, and reported the sighting. Lord did not act on the report, but Stone was perturbed: "A ship is not going to fire rockets at sea for nothing," he told a colleague.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_the_Titanic

[Mike Newell]

John Parkinson was one of my old teachers. His Dad helped build the Titanic and as a small child he saw the launch of the Titanic. He told his story many times but here is a short video made before his death in 2006 at 99.


https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p011l1hl

[Ed Gordon]

That is interesting Brian. I also noticed that Titanic (1997) is also listed as #10 on "Most movie mistakes of all time"

[Brian Fretwell]

The "Movie Mistakes" site has 287 errors for this film, admittedly a lot seem to be due tof the flipping of the image to show the side of the ship they didn't build.
https://www.moviemistakes.com/film1299

[Ed Gordon]

You can read about Murdoch at: https://jamescameronstitanic.fandom....illiam_Murdoch

Yes, Cameron's portrayal of Murdoch was fictional BS to enhance the drama. I am shocked! This must be the first time a movie has distorted history...

Mistakes like this can be understood:




































But errors like this have no justification:



















Of the three versions of Titanic I have seen, Cameron's version is my least favorite. I prefer the 1958 version, A Night to Remember, which is regarded as the most historically accurate.

The film is regarded as the most historically accurate Titanic disaster film, with the exception of not featuring the ship breaking in half. (There was still doubt about the fact she split in two when the book and film were produced. The accepted view at the time and the result of the inquiries was that she sank intact; it was only confirmed that she split after the wreck was found in 1985.) Lightoller's widow Sylvia Lightoller praised the film's historical accuracy in an interview with The Guardian, stating "The film is really the truth and has not been embroidered".

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Nigh...rical_accuracy

[Graham Ritchie]

I always thought that the James Cameron film was well done and enjoyed watching it.

However the downer on this film for me, was how First Officer William Murdoch was portrayed. In Murdoch hometown of "Dalbeattie", a memorial fund was created for the High School. Residents of the town had objected to and requested an apology for the depiction of Murdoch. In April 1998. representatives from Fox did arrive in the town and presented 5000 pound for the memorial fund, but did not offer a formal apology.

There was never any historical evidence that Murdoch took money, shot a passenger then committed suicide.

James Cameron was later to say "it was probably a mistake" to portray a specific person and could understand the family's objections.

[Burton Sundquist]

Sounds like a successful presentation, Chip!
Glad to hear it went well! Cameron's Titanic is a spectacal. Your audience were truly rewarded. No need to pat yourself on the back...

[Chip Gelmini]

PROGRESS REPORT & SUMMARY

Here I am, sitting at the PC on the afternoon of April 15^th, 2022. And I am thinking of the few survivors of the Titanic disaster who were on the Carpathia. As they headed for NYC, the survivors had to comprehend, and figure out what they had just experienced in the previous 12 hours. An incident marked in history that will forever be truly sad. However, historians will know that the Titanic disaster wasn’t the only incident of great sadness that occurred on this date. In 1865 on April 14^th, John Wilkes Booth assassinated then President Abraham Lincoln during a stage play at a theater.

The evening presentation went very well. The Cinemascope print projected beautifully. Not even a hair in the gate! And the sound was impressive as well, nearly 1,400 watts of integrated amplifier discreet channel processing in Dolby Surround.

Now I am trying to be a person who doesn’t beg, brag, or ask for credit. But this time, I deserve it. The screening last night was in my opinion, the best presentation I have ever given in my screening room.

Renee came with her pre-teen kids Carmella & Angelino who were very well behaved. My next door neighbors Mike & Elaine also came in. Everyone left well impressed. Elaine texted me this morning and said she thought she was sitting in a big movie theater!

Love it, like it, or hate it….James Cameron’s Titanic is a true genuine masterpiece of cinema. It will be a long time before anything will surpass it.

Thank you for reading if you've made it this far!

Chip Gelmini