"whew" is right! I could retire and start my own Titanic Research Center with that kind of change.
Cordially,
Michael H. Standart
Cordially,
Michael H. Standart
James Cameron's 'Titanic' I feel is the best followed by 'ANTR' as a close second. What with the immense historical accuracies and the stunning quality of the sets in 'Titanic', it by far sets that bar. Even with the love story it holds its own as a wonderful telling of the tragedy. 'ANTR' is almost as good, with its historical elements and such. Only problem is they were dealing with information set in time before the discovery of the wreck. There wasn't as much known as there is now.
Both are wonderful endeavors at reliving such a horrible occurrence plundered in elegance and arrogance. Though, the sheer beauty of 'Titanic' sets it apart from the rest. But together no one can touch either of the in the whole truth of the story.
Both are wonderful endeavors at reliving such a horrible occurrence plundered in elegance and arrogance. Though, the sheer beauty of 'Titanic' sets it apart from the rest. But together no one can touch either of the in the whole truth of the story.
"Rescued from the Titanic" at least has the distinction of never having been played to the point of boredom.... <veg>
Luke
Luke
ANTR for the portrayal of the people. Cameron's Titanic for portrayal of the ship and sinking. Although I must confess there is something in every Titanic movie I like. A certain scene maybe or character. That's just me though.
ANTR is a film for those who really want to learn about the Titanic and because of its historical accuracy its a good choice. Titanic is more for those who want to see a good romance film but it takes place on a well known setting so they'll learn about the Titanic but not intentionally.
T
Timothy Trower
Guest
The '97 Fox Titanic is the best color Titanic picture yet made. But for the money, it is ANTR for me.
Tim, did you know yours was post 666 in this subfolder?
Seriously, I agree with your opinion on this. Cameron's work was the most accurate in terms of the visuals, sets and the like but in terms of historical accuracy, ANTR is still king of the hill!
Seriously, I agree with your opinion on this. Cameron's work was the most accurate in terms of the visuals, sets and the like but in terms of historical accuracy, ANTR is still king of the hill!
I think "Titanic" done by Bun-O-Vision is the best Titanic movie for both historical accuracy and relevance.
http://www.angryalien.com/0604/titanicbunnies.html
But seriously, I agree with you two, Tim and Michael.
http://www.angryalien.com/0604/titanicbunnies.html
But seriously, I agree with you two, Tim and Michael.
Z
Zack Wyatt
Guest
I made a list of the top 10 Titanic movies. These movies are listed for the sake of having the Titanic in them, not best/worst.
1. In Nacht Und Eis
2. Atlantic
3. Titanic 43
4. Titanic 53
5. A Night to Remember
6. SOS Titanic
7. Raise the Titanic!
8. Titanic 96
9. Titanic 97
10. Titanic: The Animated Movie
1. In Nacht Und Eis
2. Atlantic
3. Titanic 43
4. Titanic 53
5. A Night to Remember
6. SOS Titanic
7. Raise the Titanic!
8. Titanic 96
9. Titanic 97
10. Titanic: The Animated Movie
ANTR is the most historically accurate Titanic film so far. Various survivors were technical consultants and many visited the set.
Despite its many historical inaccuracies and bargain basement special effects, ANTR is still the best Titanic film and probably the only one worth serious consideration. Its major strength is the right ethos and atmosphere for that sort of fact-based film. For that reason, I am prepared to look beyond the needless hero-fication of Kenneth More's Lightoller and very creaky cinematography, even for 1958.
On the same token, despite the excellent special effects and sinking footage, I totally detest Cameron's Titanic for bringing in that silly Boy-meets-Girl romance as the central point of the story. The scene at the end where the two get back together surrounded by clapping ghostly victims is one of the most pukeworthy scenes in any film.
On the same token, despite the excellent special effects and sinking footage, I totally detest Cameron's Titanic for bringing in that silly Boy-meets-Girl romance as the central point of the story. The scene at the end where the two get back together surrounded by clapping ghostly victims is one of the most pukeworthy scenes in any film.
It would have to be ANTR. It's linear view of the sinking makes it the easiest film to watch.
Almost all of the movies are watchable to the Titanic researcher/historian, some are easier to watch than others though.
Almost all of the movies are watchable to the Titanic researcher/historian, some are easier to watch than others though.
I agree- ANTR is the best Titanic movie I've seen. As to Cameron's movie, it was nice to see the ship in color, but the whole love story theme was kinda dumb.
The major problem I had with "Titanic", aside from the fictional characters; was that the viewer saw the ship sink by following Jack & Rose around. In ANTR, the viewer watches the ship sink while it jumps to events during the sinking, in effect we are following the ship's sinking while viewing the events and actions/reactions of the passengers and crew.
When watching "Titanic" the viewer knows the ship (and many of the passengers & crew) is/are doomed, whereas in ANTR there is uncertainty introduced by the sub-plot of the Californian & Carpathia. That serves to give the viewer (I know we all have read about the ship, we know that sadly she sank and took a great many with her) hope that rescue is not only possible, but it may actually occur.
One is a suspense of events (ANTR) all culminating in the final view of the debris floating in the water, final proof the ship is indeed gone. The other is a suspense of the characters in their attempt to save themselves/each other to start a life together, ending with a final scene showing the ship underwater with the characters reunited. One begins with the birth of the ship (launching) and the other with the ship in her grave on the bottom of the Atlantic. Two very different ways of introducing the ship to the viewer, it's apparent that in "Titanic" Jack and Rose (specifically Rose) is the center of the story while the Titanic just serves to tie the characters together, while ANTR is about the ship and the struggles to save it and the passengers.
There will never be a perfect movie, and I would suggest both ANTR & TITANIC to people interested in learning about the events of April 14-15, 1912.
When watching "Titanic" the viewer knows the ship (and many of the passengers & crew) is/are doomed, whereas in ANTR there is uncertainty introduced by the sub-plot of the Californian & Carpathia. That serves to give the viewer (I know we all have read about the ship, we know that sadly she sank and took a great many with her) hope that rescue is not only possible, but it may actually occur.
One is a suspense of events (ANTR) all culminating in the final view of the debris floating in the water, final proof the ship is indeed gone. The other is a suspense of the characters in their attempt to save themselves/each other to start a life together, ending with a final scene showing the ship underwater with the characters reunited. One begins with the birth of the ship (launching) and the other with the ship in her grave on the bottom of the Atlantic. Two very different ways of introducing the ship to the viewer, it's apparent that in "Titanic" Jack and Rose (specifically Rose) is the center of the story while the Titanic just serves to tie the characters together, while ANTR is about the ship and the struggles to save it and the passengers.
There will never be a perfect movie, and I would suggest both ANTR & TITANIC to people interested in learning about the events of April 14-15, 1912.
Last edited:
In my opinion, here is how I would rank each Titanic film from best to worst. (This is all from my opinion and expirience. If you disagree, I respect your opinion.)
BEST: Titanic (1997), A Night To Remember (1958) (This is probably the most obvious part of the list. I love this films because of the accuracy and detail put into the ship, and it made me feel like I was there. Just because I find these as my favorite movies about the Titanic, and also my favorite films in general, doesn't mean I think these are perfect. In my opinion, the 1997 film could have had their protagonist couple based on two lovers that were ACTUALLY there.)
Good: Atlantic (1929), Titanic (1953)
Meh: Titanic (1943), Titanic (1996)
Bad: SOS Titanic (1979), Raise the Titanic (1980) (SOS Titanic was terrible in my opinion, the interior looked NOTHING like the Titanic, and they stole scenes from "A Night To Remember", and the editing was horrible. For example, in the sinking, one scene, the stern has rose entirely out of the water, the next scene, the stern is just starting to rise out of the water, and you should already know why "Raise the Titanic" is bad.)
WORST: Every Italian Titanic "film" ever made; [The Legend of the Titanic (1999), Titanic: The Legend Goes On (2001), Tentacolino (2004)] (Do I really have to explain?)
BEST: Titanic (1997), A Night To Remember (1958) (This is probably the most obvious part of the list. I love this films because of the accuracy and detail put into the ship, and it made me feel like I was there. Just because I find these as my favorite movies about the Titanic, and also my favorite films in general, doesn't mean I think these are perfect. In my opinion, the 1997 film could have had their protagonist couple based on two lovers that were ACTUALLY there.)
Good: Atlantic (1929), Titanic (1953)
Meh: Titanic (1943), Titanic (1996)
Bad: SOS Titanic (1979), Raise the Titanic (1980) (SOS Titanic was terrible in my opinion, the interior looked NOTHING like the Titanic, and they stole scenes from "A Night To Remember", and the editing was horrible. For example, in the sinking, one scene, the stern has rose entirely out of the water, the next scene, the stern is just starting to rise out of the water, and you should already know why "Raise the Titanic" is bad.)
WORST: Every Italian Titanic "film" ever made; [The Legend of the Titanic (1999), Titanic: The Legend Goes On (2001), Tentacolino (2004)] (Do I really have to explain?)
Last edited:
It has it's very obvious flaws but A Night to Remember is still my favourite.
I can watch the '97 Titanic and marvel at the amazing scale of it all. It's a great bit of film making, no doubt about that. Spoiling it though are the scenes of third class passengers being deliberately kept behind locked gates while the ship sinks and the crew being portrayed as a bunch of thuggish, sadistic bully boys which leaves a really bad taste in the mouth.
Ghosts of the Abyss is a truly beautiful film. The only flaw is that charlatan Pellegrino being in it.
SOS Titanic is in my opinion the "marmite" of Titanic films - you either really like it or you really hate it.
Personally, I like it.
They did at least make an effort to be as accurate as they could with regards to the timeline and what people are supposed to have said and done in actuality and almost all the characters were actual personalities from the ship. It was shot on a tight budget so they had to make do with what they could get and shooting aboard RMS Queen Mary made sense, sets were already there waiting for them.
Admittedly some of the dialogue could have been written better and the writers made the mistake of having characters make speeches to one another in order to "set the scene". I have no excuse for the bizarre sprays of water randomly showering the deck near the end though, that was just daft !
One thing to remember about SOS Titanic is that it is currently only the butchered 95 minute (or thereabouts) cut that is shown on TV and available on DVD. It was originally about 180 minutes or so in length and told the story in flashback form. Bootleg copies do circulate of the longer cut but include TV advert breaks and are not top quality. The butchering of the film also accounts for a number of bizarre continuity errors you see in the present cut.
I always smile when I see Murdoch in SOS Titanic. The actor who plays him (Paul Young) is better known today for in no particular order i) appearing three times on what is without doubt the world greatest detective show "Taggart", each time as a different character and being "murdered" on all three occasions ii) Presenting an angling show that became a surprise big hit with viewers, iii) For his supporting role as "Shug" in the wonderful, highly popular (and very sweary) BBC sitcom "Still Game".
The '53 Titanic has to be watched purely just to enjoy the good quality of acting on display rather than the historical accuracy. And for any fan of classic cinema it's neat to see Phyllis Dietrichson, and Waldo Lydecker aboard the doomed ship !
Raise the Titanic and SOS Titanic both have fantastic soundtracks. Howard Blake the composer for SOS Titanic has actually uploaded his complete soundtrack for the film onto YouTube if anyone is interested - S.O.S. Titanic (Original Film Soundtrack) - YouTube
