Titanic

Rating:
Summary: THe Best Titanic Film Ever
Review: Aside from the great acting, the special effects, music and staging are supurb. It is much more believable than the most famous Titanic movie and will be remembered long after any others. Buy it and Enjoy

Rating:
Summary: Truly Awful
Review: Bad production values and little regard for historical accuracy highlight this film. A viewer's time would be better spent with either the 1997 film of the same name, or 1957's A NIGHT TO REMEMBER.

Rating:
Summary: the essence of history
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Worth Watching
Review: Great performance by Cliffton Webb. Worth watching just to see what a good story can do for a movie. The siren blarring... and blarring... and blarring... in the final boat sequence can get on your nerves but that's only if your not in tears yet. Forgetable effects but an unforgetable story. This one is worth a Titanic Weekend for you and your family (a double feature - Titanic and Titanic 1997). You might be surprised on wich one you like better

Rating:
Summary: Inaccurate but Impressive
Review: Hollywood's first dramatization of the great maritime tragedy. Despite the interjection of a rather foolish fictional plotline, the natural power of the tragedy is maintained, and as usual, Barbara Stanwyck gives another intrepid performance as the runaway socialite wife to the rather bitchy and foppish Cllifton Webb. Their shipboard confrontations sizzle and add spark to the story. There won't be a dry eye in the house when hearing Stanwyck's poignant, desperate cries for her son as her lifeboat lowers into the sea. Richard Basehart is also wonderful as a drunken priest who must return to his family in shame. Brian Aherne is a ludicrously dapper Captain Smith (the real Captain Smith was a grizzled curmudgeon). The screenplay and dialogue were both lean and well structured, and James Cameron would have done well to watch this version several times before penning his lurid and overblown screenplay for TITANIC 1997.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Titanic film, and the best DVD!!!!!!!!!!
Review: I bought the DVD yesterday, and couldn't wait to get home to watch it. It was worth it for the feature itself as well as an added feature: called Beyond Titanic. This little documentary went into great detail about the Titanic on film from 1912-present. It is a great shame that many of the very early Titanic films have vanished but or a few clips and stills.
Also the commentary by Richard Wagner, Audrey Dalton, and one of the stage crew are interesting. It's good to hear backstage memories. Will watch this movie again tonight!

Rating:
Summary: Best of the Titanic movies!
Review: I don't remember when I saw this the first time,But I much prefer it to its highly hyped 1997 successor. I rented the video the other night and still sniffled at the end. I would imagine most viewers don't know that it won an Oscar.(For best screenplay,I think.) My mother was just thrilled with the very young Robert Wagner. Does anyone know what happened to Audrey Dalton??? One of the best "minor" characters had to be Richard Basehart as the defrocked priest. and wasn't that Edmund Purdom(uncredited) as "Mr Lightoller? Barabara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb were excellent too. Characters much more clearly drawn than in the 1997 version. Class distinction is not as hokey as Jack and Rose. Was Thelma Ritter supposed to be "Molly Brown"? I think the effect of the film in black and white works very well(NO COLORIZATION PLEASE!)

Rating:
Summary: This is the TITANIC to watch and to own!
Review: I enjoyed watching the James Cameron super-production of TITANIC released a few years ago. But after one viewing that was it. It's the l950 version of TITANIC, starring Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb that keeps drawing me back through repeated viewings. These characters are the ones who can really connect with a viewer. Stanwyck brings a fantastic down-to-earth quality that you instantly connect to. Webb is equally good as the dispicable fop who wants his kids to live like royal spoilt brats. My only complaint about this DVD are the two commentaries. Film critic Richard Shickel's has to be heard to be believed for he literally sounds like he's half-asleep. He starts off with: "Uh,and....uh, uh, and, uh, Barbara, uh, uh, Stanwyck, uh (long pause)is a fine, uh, uh, ehhhhhhh, ummmm, good actress." The second one is slightly better because you can hear Audrey Dalton recall those long-gone days on the 20th Century lot making TITANIC. She's witty, interesting, but unfortunately has about ten minutes on the commentary. You're forced to listen to cameraman Michael Lonza's relentless spill about miniatures, special effects and water tanks. Worse, is the "audio essay" by Silvia Stoddard, who tells us such fascinating tidbits that "Titanic was, well, just incredibly big!" Robert Wagner repeats over and over again "how lucky I was to be on a production like TITANIC." We'd all be considered lucky, Robert, but I just wish you could have thrown some more color about individual scenes. Other than these two commentaries, the DVD restoration looks great!

Rating:
Summary: Nice Try But...
Review: I felt the ship was more of a secondary story than the Sturgis family and their problems. While it is nice to see the view of the 1953 director, more homework should have been done on the historical events. For example the ship hitting the iceburg on the starboard side, but sinking tilted towards port. Before the final plunge, Capt. Smith looking up at the British flag flying on the masthead. Problem here is the sun is shining on the flag at 2:15am! (BTW, I agree with another reviewer that Brian Aherne was not a good Capt. Smith, too sophisticated, not salty enough!)

The opening scene with Titanic at Cherbourg is shot in the fog with Capt. Smith talking to whom I assume is the fictional character of Bruce Ismay. Ismay sailed on the voyage, the character left the ship. Also the Titanic arrived at Cherbourg at dusk not in afternoon fog.

Lastly, I don't think the passengers gathered around the bridge singing for the final plundge. Definately a Hollywood touch! Besides the forward funnel had already collasped on top on the bridge making this scene all but impossible.

However, I still think it's a nice little movie if you don't mind the historical miscues. Worthwhile for your Titanic collection.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent story of the Titanic disaster
Review: I highly recommend this movie for history buffs, historians and fans of a good drama.

In this early Titanic retelling, a couple on the verge of divorce,(Barbara Stanwyk and Cliffton Webb) board the Titanic with their two children. Their story is very taboo given the time, Stanwyk's character admits that another man fathered her son! An alcholoic priest, bannished by the church, seeks forgiveness. An interestingly, Molly Brown is shown here as Maude Young, both with similar attitudes and history. Bruce Ismay (Titanic's managing director) is represented here as Earl Meeker, a cowardly man who desperately tries to 'fit in' and escapes in a lifeboat.

I was not impressed with the set design, the interior that is. The grand staircase was far too generic and fell short of the real thing as shown in James Cameron's version. The outside of the liner is spot on. The sinking, this was the only movie that I recall acknowledging the 'explosions' on the Titanic. It's not known for sure if there were any though. This movie failed to show the desperate passengers clinging to the stern as the ship went down. Nor did it show the ship split in two. Although it wasn't until 1985 that it was proven that it had broke apart, so that's easy to overlook.

So all in all, this is a great movie and worth all the fanfare it garnered. A classic oldie from a time when movies were made without all the glaring special effects, a time when the actors were the stars and were appreciated more than the special effects.