Customer Reviews

Titanic

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I must confess that I am a devout 'Rivet Counter', aka Titanic buff. I found this DVD, particularly the 'extras', to be a valuable addition to my library.

The DVD includes an advertising film from White Star, showing the amenities aboard the Olympic, one of Titanic's sister ships. It gives an excellent idea of the atmosphere aboard a great Edwardian liner.

Also included is the notorious newsreel, cobbled together in 1912, purporting to show Captain Smith on board Titanic before leaving Southampton. The scenes were actually shot on Olympic, in New York harbor, but the producers of the film cleverly disguised this by painting out any incriminating evidence, such as the words 'New York' on the sterns of the tugboats.

Now for the film itself. It's actually quite impressive, given the time and place where it was produced, and of course, provided you take it all with a healthy pinch of salt.

The plot takes various liberties with the truth, largely for propaganda reasons. Titanic was the fastest ship in the world, and Captain Smith was pressured by the evil Bruce Ismay (who had brought his mistress on board with him) into taking the dangerous Northern route, to save time. Winning the Blue Riband would improve the value of White Star stock, much to the dismay of Astor, who was plotting against them. Meanwhile, the only sane man aboard was First Officer Petersen (who happened to be German) who spends his time helping the passengers while his English officers and their Capitalist bosses plot their own downfall......

Lies, all lies....

However, just put all that to one side and enjoy the film. It really isn't bad, and the special effects are excellent for their day. I understand that some scenes were used in 'A Night to Remember'. It's also amusing to spot the plot elements that Cameron lifted for his Titanic epic.

As far as I could work out, Petersen replaced the real character Chief Officer Wilde (not Second Officer Lightoller, as others have suggested, since at one point he actually talks to Lightoller). The subtitles have some strange anomalies - First Officer Murdoch's name is translated throughout as 'Morlock' - when the captain asks for a CQD message to be sent, this is translated as 'SOS' (which is right, in spirit, but not in letter). But these are just quibbles from a 'Rivet Counter'

Definitely worth adding to your collection.

This film has a bizzare history, starting as a propaganda piece for the Nazi party, to the suicide of it's director in military prison, to the constant re-editing and outright banning by the political censors.

Much has been made of how the film is a politically motivated indictment of Great Britain, but that never truly comes across except in the final coda at the end. If anything, the film (at least from a modern perspective), is more focussed on condemning the greed of the rich and powerful.

While the Germans played a bit fast and loose with history (such as having a "good" German officer/hero take the place of the British Lightoller, and White Star Line president Ismay being freely offered place in a lifeboat), most of the film is fairly accurate in depicting the basic events we are all familiar with. However, and perhaps not surprisingly, there is a noticable lack of heroism except for the actions of the one German officer. The balance of the passengers and crew are evil and greedy corporate and society types, or otherwise just downright helpless.

The drawing room intrigue and staid romantic entanglements get a bit dry after a while, but once the ship gets into trouble, things pick up nicely. Although the slanting of the decks is not effectively realized, the actual flooding of the ship is well done with miniatures and live action sets. Fans of James Cameron's "Titanic" will no doubt recognize the innocent-man-trapped-in-a-flooding-cabin sequence, among other things.

Kino has done a pretty good job restoring the film to it's original running time. Some elements are washed out, and others show scuffs and scratches. However, it's probably the best that could be hoped for given the film's history.

Arguably the best part of the disc is the bonus section. Included is a press gallery, footage of Captain Smith in a post-disaster newsreel, as well as an extensive, 20 minute promotional film selling the public on the grandeur of Titanic's sister ship, Olympic. Both vintage offerings have a new, and very excellent, silent film score.

This version of the Titanic's story is a German film made in 1943 as anti British propaganda. Much of the story is blatantly false. Technically, the film is very good. A few shots were used, without credit, in the excellent A Night to Remember in 1958. The extras on this disc are worth the price alone. There is a 1912 newsreel featuring shots of Titanic's captain E J Smith, the rescue ship Carpathia and its captain, Arthur Roston.
Also included is a White Star Promotional film (sort of an early Informercial) showing scenes shot on the Titanic's sister ship, the Olympic. It gives a glimpse of what life was like on the Titanic. Overall, and excellent disc, and a must for Titanic buffs.

And a fascinating film no matter how you look at it. The legend is that it was instigated by Joseph Goebbles as one of his supreme efforts in anti-British propaganda. But when all was said and done, it backfired big time. The director of the film, Herbert Selpin, was murdered by the Nazis for crafting what seems today a thinly-veiled indictment of the Nazi government, and this "Titanic" ended up being banned from all German theaters until years after the war. And then, the British banned it again (they never did like being reminded of the disaster) for its supposed anti-British content, while at the same time it was being shown with no problem in those parts of Germany occupied by the Soviet Union. Oddly enough, they had no problem with the film's anti-Capitalist tone. In any event, this "Titanic" remains one of film history's most fascinating takes on the famous legend -- a roughly equal mixture of historical fact, outrageous legend, and outright lies. Still, it's better than some of Hollywood's films on the same subject, and you don't have to look far to see where James Cameron cribbed a lot of the ideas for his own over praised epic. There are also some very impressive (for the time) special effects, many of which were used in what is still the best Titanic film, 1958's "A Night to Remember," along with some of the most moving sequences to appear in any film about the tragedy (my favorite is the moment when wireless operator Phillips releases his pet canary into the night sky). My highest praise to Kino video for making this important historical film available in a proper DVD release with English subtitles. It's a must for both the film and Titanic buffs out there who think that they've seen it all.

One of the earlier films about the Titanic. This peticular version being made by the Germans during WW2. It was originally inteded as a propaganda film but was later banned untill after the war beascause It didn't portray the Nazis the way the wanted. But I have actually seen portions of the film in various documentarys and I must say I like what I saw. it looks very well done for it's time. Actually, some of it's better special effects and shots were later used in "A Night to Remember" made in 1958. This film is presented in good format. I'm not sure as to weather it will be dubed in English or left in German with English subtitles. But I should be a good film either way. I highly reccomend this if you are a die-hard Titanic fan.

Once you get past the Nazi propaganda and anti-British sentiments, this 1943 German production of the Titanic tragedy emerges as a fascinating cinematic document. Despite its troubled shoot, the final results are surprisingly compelling, with a good cast and impressive visuals. Running 85 minutes, the German version is preferable to director James Cameron's overblown 1997 epic. The Kino DVD includes an excellent 35mm print and terrific extras. Definitely worth seeing.

Why was this film banned by the Germans and the British?

It was banned by the Germans because -- dealing with the Titanic diasaster -- it obviously had a lot of scenes where people were screaming and running around. Not surprisingly, Joseph Goebels decided that this was probably not something the German film industry wanted to showcase for the German public, then being on the receiving end of bombing campaigns by the Alllies.

It was banned by the British because it purported to tell the story of how the Titanic diasaster was caused by a very British desire to put money ahead of people. The way the story got there was by saying that White Star President Bruce Ismay ordered Titanic's captain Smith to proceed full steam ahead for New York even though he was plowing through northern Atlantic waters chock full of deadly ice bergs. Implausibly, a German officer named Peterson was added to the crew's roster to make clear the point that the British were valuing money over life.

In extras material, it becomes clear the movie ultimately did get a release in 1949.

Interestingly enough, footage from this movie was used in an uncredited fashion in the later 1958 A Night to Remember. Also interesting, the director of this movie was arrested by the Gestapo for making light of the German Navy (he died in custody). Also interesting, many ideas from this movie used by James Cameron in his 1998 megahit of the same name. Similarities between this movie and the Cameron one include:

1) The innocent guy caught in a locked room while the water comes in gag;

2) The fun party by the poor people below deck scene;

3) The use of an added fictional character to try to highlight an additional story over the underlying and obvious tragedy of the Titanic's sinking.

In many ways, this movie is sort of an odd man out in terms of its history and characteristics. That aside, I think few viewers watching this movie would put it on par with either the 1958 or 1998 movies. That's probably why Kino included many of its extras like footage of the original Captain Smith and from the recovery of Titanic survivor's.

All in all though it's an interesting movie from 1943 Germany telling -- like their film industry did then -- an implausible story for blatant propaganda purposes.

Besides a good film full of romance, scams, hate, wealth and power, we also get some great extras in the form of excerpts from the press book, promotional films from the White Star Line and the original 1912 Newsreel. I found the tour of the Olympic the most interesting and almost feel that was worth getting the DVD all together. Of course the film was meant to be propaganda, but gets most of the facts right and tells a good tale - if you overlook the first director being arrested by the Gestapo. Too bad all that time and funding went into it - it was banned in 1943. Yet the unmistakable anti-British and anti-capitalism theme it did well in the Soviet zone when released in Germany in 1949. A must for anybody into the Titanic, into German film or into World War Two.

This strange film has an incredible history and is mesmerizing for those interested in wartime propaganda... in this strange version of the TITANIC tragedy, a lone German officer stands against the evil British empire who condemns the passengers to a watery grave because of their national lust for power and profit. Wait til you get a load of the Oompah orchestra on deck playing a march to cheer the doomed passengers!

The special features, especially the tour of the sister ship OLYMPIC, are also interesting.

Kino always puts great care into the passion of film preservation.

(review contains spoilers) This movie is labeled as 'anti-British German propaganda'. Nonetheless I found it extremely interesting for the thought-provoking suggestions of Ismay's stock market White Star share speculation (Ismay who would have pressed for maximum speed in an ice-field) during the cross-Atlantic first trip... Could truth be well...somewhere between the official British investigation version and the German 1943 propaganda allegations? Captain Smith 'large' role in this movie seems to be one of a cerf indeed...The 'added' German officer, overly disciplined, seems over doing it a bit too but afterall the boat did sink ...proving in one way his moralizing attitude right. Very interesting if you are open-minded.