Titanic
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Movie Reviews of Titanic
Movie Review: Barbara Stanwyck, in Edwardian costumes, stars in tense Titanic drama
Summary: 4 Stars
With the recent passing of the final surviving passenger on the Titanic, Millvina Dean, it seems quite timely for me to be reviewing the 1953 film version starring Barbara Stanwyck and Robert Wagner.
Directed by Jean Negulesco, Twentieth Century-Fox's TITANIC was praised for it's innovative special effects (including some very impressive miniature work) and earned an Academy Award for 'Best Screenplay'. While the story doesn't focus on real characters on the ship, preferring to create new ones to paint the various dramas onboard, it does feature genuine characters like John Jacob Astor and his young wife Madeleine (William Johnstone and Frances Bergen), and the Strausses (Roy Gordon and Helen Van Tuyl) in small peripheral roles.
TITANIC focuses on Richard and Julia Sturges (Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck), a married couple in crisis. Sick of their empty, shallow life in Europe, Julia has decided to take her children, teenage Annette (Audrey Dalton) and young Norman (Harper Carter) back to her family in America, with or without the blessing of Richard who'd rather see Annette married into the European aristocracy.
Subplots include Annette's tender shipboard romance with collegiate bachelor Giff Rogers (Robert Wagner), and a never-ending poker game with brash Montana oil heiress Maude Young (Thelma Ritter), a character that is, for all intents and purposes, based on the "unsinkable" Molly Brown but unable to be called so because of a legal skirmish with Ms Brown's estate.
While the Titanic itself is reduced to only a backdrop for these stories to play against, it remains a very compelling and dramatic film experience over 50 years later. For trivia buffs, take special note of the lavish ship sets. With minor re-dressing they were later used again in the Fox productions of "Dangerous Crossing" and "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes".
Movie Review: the essence of history
Summary: 4 Stars
first i'd like to say that i never thought the two sturges children acted like spoilt brats. i thought they were well mannered and polite. in a day and age where manners seem less and less important i thought that was refreshing to see.
stanwyck of course is right on the money as she is in all her performances that down to earth quality we see so many times in her work shines through here. nothing is forced. very natural. webb to is perfectly cast as the snob with a heart of gold.
the captain in this version was portraied as being much more in charge at the end then in the cameron version. i suppose he was a little of both at the end.
i thought cameron's version was just as thoughtful and tender as this older version. especially in his use of james horners' haunting score. it was interesting to note that there was similiar dialogue used. in some places exactly the same. such as the line 'why do the british find it necessary to announce dinner as if it were a calvary charge.' in the 53 version it's said by webb's character. in the 97 version it is said by kathy bates. i do think the opening scene of the 53 version was a clever idea, showing the ice berg forming. question. why is the molly brown character in the 53 version named 'maud young?'
all in all both versions broght different elements of the story in focus, and both were thoughtfully and brilliantly done. vewiers should watch and enjoy both. not as absolute historic fact though both versions took great care in trying to get details correct, but as films that capture the essence of what those people went through on the terrible night. that's what a film makers job is.
Movie Review: SET SAIL IN STYLE: A LUXURIOUS TRIP INTO THE PAST
Summary: 4 Stars
"Titanic" is (stop me if you've heard this one before), the one about the boat that hits an iceberg and sinks. Whoops! Gave it away. This version stars Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb as a married couple on the cusp of divorce. She can't stand his guts - he finds redemption before it all gets too cold and wet. Pure fiction but hey, it's Titanic and its masterfully told. TRANSFER: Fox is at its usual middle of the road with this transfer quality. Some scenes are nicely balanced with good gray scale. Others seem to suffer from low contrast and black levels. There's ample pixelization, aliasing and shimmering of fine details throughout. The audio's been remixed to feeble stereo. At this point does anybody care?
EXTRAS: Ah, here's the real treat of this DVD. You get "Beyond Titanic" a masterfully told 1 1/2 hr. documentary that really gets to the bottom of things (no pun intended)and covers the full history of both the ship and its many film incarnations.
BOTTOM LINE: This is a worth while DVD for two reasons - the documentary and its price tag - cheaper than most low budget no-name studio releases. If nothing else, you're buying the documentary and for that reason alone, it's definitely worth it!
Movie Review: "a worthy predecessor to 'a night to remember' and 'titanic '(1997)
Summary: 4 Stars
i first saw this movie in the early 60's on NBC's "saturday night at the movies". voila - a titanic buff was born.
all in all, the movie is an enjoyable melodrama with many subplots played out against the inevitable tragedy that forms the last part of the picture. the actors, especially barbara stanwyck and clifton webb, do well in their respective roles. the special effects, although primitive when compared to the 1997 blockbuster, do not detract from the drama.
as a native michiganian, my one quibble with this movie is clifton webb's mispronunciation of "mackinac" throughout the film. instead of pronouncing it correctly as "mackinaw", he adds the hard "k" sound at the end saying it as it is spelled.
that aside, a good movie about an historical occurrence that has fascinated millions. it should be in every titanic buff's collection along with "a night to remember" and 1997's "titanic".
Movie Review: Corking melodrama
Summary: 4 Stars
The Bottom Line:
I would never use the words "historically-accurate" to describe this version of the Titanic's sinking, but it's one of those balls-to-the-wall melodramas that makes no secret of its sudsiness while managing to deliver affecting scenes and splendid performances by the leads: by combining the inherent drama of the sinking ship to the melodrama of a fractured family trying to piece itself together, this Titanic really cooks up quite an involving story.
3.5/4