Titanic
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Movie Reviews of Titanic
Movie Review: 1953 Titanic
Summary: 5 Stars
This was on AMC,and I would love to get it.I don't have any Titanic DVDs. I would love to have a PBS special that has an instumental version of My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion.Have another child,Celine!It's a good movie,thought.Movie Review: Most realistic
Summary: 5 Stars
Visited the Titanic in Halifax, Nova Scotia & the Tour Guide said this movie was a more real view of the actual sinking.
Was more than satisfied with this video
Movie Review: Titanic
Summary: 5 Stars
Excellent film. I prefer it over the recent release. The service provided by the seller was prompt and exactly as advertised relating to product quality.Movie Review: Rates 4 Boxes of Kleenex!
Summary: 4 Stars
Probably the most memorable Titanic movie ever made, this is the one that started my Titanic fascination when I was 8 years old. The writing is flawless, even if the same cannot be said for historical accuracy. What a story!
Rather daring for it's time (1953), this film focuses on the turmoils of a troubled marriage and an illegitimate child loved dearly by both parents. They all happen to be aboard the Titanic. Only when the ship is sinking and death is imminent do the family squabbles get put aside. There is a certain brutality to this film that is haunting. It illustrates how quickly life and those we love can be taken from us.
You will want some Kleenex on hand when you watch this film. Remarkably, a great deal of emotion is stirred without any musical score. Only the opening credits have theme music. The rest of the film relies on acting, situation and dialogue--and does a beautiful job. A certain elegance of simplicity dominates this story, which is barely more than 90 minutes long.
Historically, this movie is a total loser. It fails to faithfully portray 1912--the prevailing atmosphere is distinctly 20th century, rather than residual Victorian. The costuming is Fox Studios stock and looks more like World War One or later with Mrs. Astor sporting a skirt slit open at the front and revealing not only ankles but limbs! Molly Brown, oddly, is portayed as "Maude Young", perhaps to avoid lawsuits or such.
The sets are generic period "grand hotel" but do convey the period and scale of the ship, though the illuminated toggle switches on the bridge and the modern telephones are clearly too modern. You can see 1920's and 1930's framed photos of competitors' ships on the walls in several places. There was no fog when the ship sailed from Cherbourg, or when it hit the iceberg. The siren wailing as the ship sinks was a blunder, though it emphasizes calamity. Latter-day exploration has revealed that no boilers exploded, though many witnesses swore they saw or heard explosions. The boiler room set was magnificent, however, the best I have ever seen.
The collision with the iceberg was very well done, even if it did go awry with the underwater cut. It illustrated best the subtle nature of the crash. The model of the Titanic in this movie was only 28 feet long, barely more than half the size of the one in "A Night to Remember", but handled much better and quite convincing by 1950's standards. It was incorrectly labelled "Titanic--Southampton" across the stern and some promenade deck windows were erroneous, but it looked good.
We all know there was no hymn-sing at the last moments, but I do support the theory that "Nearer My God to Thee" was played. However, it was a string orchestra and not a brass band on the real Titanic. The scene of the Strauses at the last lifeboat is a tearjerking masterpiece, the best reenactment of that particular moment I have seen yet. The earlier sinking scenes showing the ship listing to port are dramatic and accurate--officers actually ordered passengers to the starboard side briefly at one point to level the ship. The final plunge, though, was far too abrupt and swift.
For historical accuracy (not special effects), "A Night to Remember" (1958, British) is the best Titanic movie, but for drama this one is the winner. Cameron's 1997 epic only delivered half the drama in twice the time and overexaggerated the breaking of the ship. This movie is captivating in spite of it's flaws. Don't miss it!
Movie Review: "May I bone your kipper, Madmoiselle?"
Summary: 4 Stars
With acting talent on a scale commensurate with the name, this version of "Titanic" has been and always will be my favorite. It's difficult to consider the merits of the 1953 version without comparison to the Cameron make-over nearly forty-five years later. But, if it's the glitz and razzle-dazzle of computer-generated graphics you're after, or a poignant story that translates into the interaction of individual complexities suddenly interrupted by a singular tragedy, the black and white version will capture your imagination. For good reason, black and white movies provide a marked contrast when it comes to tragic tales and film noir - and, afterall, this is the epic voyage of contrasts - with the ship that God could not sink conveying its own arrogance, the very rich and the very poor with their contrasts of livelihood, as well as the contrasts of the iceberg against the dark background of an ink black sea and a star-laced sky, among others.
The story evolves around the Sturges family, dynamically portrayed by Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck - as Richard and Julia, their daughter Annette portrayed by Audrey Dalton, and son Norman portrayed by Harper Carter. Torn from the onset, the Sturges family convenes for one last time aboard Titanic - where their destiny in interrupted by a pivotal event that will define who they really are and, sadly, bringing them closer together than they've ever been - just before tearing them apart. The human interactions in this movie are deeply felt and can evoke deep emotions within the viewer. A few of the sub-plots involve a "brand new" Robert Wagner as Gifford Rogers and his romantic interlude with Audrey Dalton's character, Annette, and a troubled young priest portrayed by Richard Basehart who is traveling back to his family after being dismissed from his religious servitude.
Yes, the special effects are exactly what you'd expect for 1953, but they vividly get the point across. It's troubling to see that as the special effects have gotten better and better through the years - the stories have suffered, accordingly. The perfect equilibrium seems to have occurred around the late fifties and early sixties with movies like "The Bridge on the River Kwai", "Ben Hur", "Lawrence of Arabia", and "Doctor Zchivago".
And, in terms of script and story, who could ever forget the line "May I bone your kipper, Madmoiselle?" eloquently spoken by Clifton Webb's character, Richard, to his daughter, Annette (Dalton) as she prepares to eat breakfast. I have tried this line in my best Clifton Webb impersonation at several gatherings and still have several loose teeth as a result - funny what you pick up from the movies! Maybe, I must try this line when the young damsel is preparing to eat some form of fish...