Sinking by bow vs Sinking by Stern

[Zack Wyatt]

In shipwreck movies, which do you prefer:

1. The ship sinking by the bow

or:

2. The ship sinking by the stern

I like both!

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Neither one actually. As a sailor, I have a rather jaundiced view of shipwrecks. I'd rather they never happened at all.

 

[Matthew Newman]

Good point Michael.

Looking at it purely as a special/dramatic effect point of view in a film, I would rather see them sink bow first. To me it seems more dramatic when you see a ships propellers rise above the surface.

 

[Grant Hauswirth]

I agree Matt!

 

[Erin Hopkins]

As my Dad was a sailor he says "it's dramatic no matter how many ways you splice it. It's an unpleasant thing to see and worse to experience."

As an artist I can say the view point of seeing a ship go down by the bow is more dramatic.

Seeing the propellers rise into the air can really give a sense of what's going on and how much crushing weight is being put on and inside the ship.

Either way though it would be a very dramatic and gut wrenching thing to see let alone to experience.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

Having nearly been shipwrecked myself (Really good firefighting saved the day and the ship) I have no illusions about how terrifying the experience is. You do what you have to and you hope your trust in your shipmate's training and competance is not misplaced.

Drama and high adventure is nice in the movies but it ain't so great in the real world.

 

[Grant Hauswirth]

I know. But don't forget, we're talking about movies here. The only movies that show the ships' sinking by the stern are:

1. Ghost Ship
2. Poseidon (2006)

The rest shows them sinking by the bow.

 

[Michael H. Standart]

>>I know. But don't forget, we're talking about movies here.<<

I understand that, however, the question asked was "In shipwreck movies, which do you prefer:"

I hope you can appriciate that as somebody who came a bit too close to being directly involved in a real world event which could have resulted in the loss of the ship, that the finer points of the "drama" would be lost on me.

As for anybody else, I sincerely hope that The Land Of Make Believe is as close as they ever get to a shipwreck or even the threat of one. The Real McCoy ain't no fun.

 

[Jane Smith]

If Titanic was sinking by the stern, do you think the ship would’ve sank faster due to the weight of the engines?