slaytonf Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 One of the best examples of the Golden Age of British cinema, A Night to Remember portrays one of the signal events in their history with honesty, dignity, and reserve. This is especially notable in view of it being done as an ensemble film--a rarely successful format. Despite the limitations for character development, individuals emerge, more or less admirable, with stories that matter. The British tradition of stiff upper lip is much in evidence, and might have come off as ridiculous if not for the accompanying undercurrent of real terror, depictions of hysteria, actions of selfishness, and selflessness. The filmmakers also find time to introduce commentary on class divisions, and industrial malfeasance. The film's structure is ably managed, the depiction of the disaster coming off not as a mere rote recitation of historical events, but a developing tragedy. The sinking of the ship is presented as an increasing crescendo of disorder, mayhem, and terror. Scenes of the passengers and crew are interspersed with shots of the manifestations of the foundering ship. Small jostlings of crystal, shifts of carts, out of level drinks in the early stages. The more the foundering, the more the panic and disorder, the greater the dislocation of furnishings. Bread racks topple, silver slides off tables. There is appropriate counterpoint and relief. Very proper ladies continually express their displeasure. A crewmember gets drunk and stumbles his way to rescue. All these elements nicely interwoven. As one watches the film, similarities with the decline of the British Empire inevitably make themselves. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonesomePolecat Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 I hope everyone watches this film. What a fantastic film--one of my all time favorites. To me, this is the one and only TITANIC movie and all the other TITANIC movies are just fan fictions of A NIGHT TO REMEMBER. Unlike the others, this one is constructed from actual events with no artificial flavors--it's Jack&Rose free! I learned from the "making of" on the DVD that they figured out what time every scene was happening, calculated exactly what angle the ship would be listing to at all of those times (as exactly as they could of course), then built the set on a rake that they could set at any angle they wanted. So when you look at all the scenes after they've started sinking, the light fixtures and curtains and such are listing the way they would have on that fateful night. Isn't that amazing? I greatly admire practical special effects and greatly prefer them to computer effects. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NipkowDisc Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 I hope everyone watches this film. What a fantastic film--one of my all time favorites. To me, this is the one and only TITANIC movie and all the other TITANIC movies are just fan fictions of A NIGHT TO REMEMBER. Unlike the others, this one is constructed from actual events with no artificial flavors--it's Jack&Rose free! I learned from the "making of" on the DVD that they figured out what time every scene was happening, calculated exactly what angle the ship would be listing to at all of those times (as exactly as they could of course), then built the set on a rake that they could set at any angle they wanted. So when you look at all the scenes after they've started sinking, the light fixtures and curtains and such are listing the way they would have on that fateful night. Isn't that amazing? I greatly admire practical special effects and greatly prefer them to computer effects. A Night To Remember is the only intelligent telling of the Titanic disaster I have ever seen. completely top-notch all the way. It avoids sensationalistic human drama by endeavoring to tell the true and accurate story has it really happened but at the same time it is compelling by the various depictions of how people react. the special effects hold up well too and I'll take them over modern cgi as well. once you've seen A Night To Remember there is no need to see anything else about what befell Titanic. An outstanding film. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
primosprimos Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 A Night To Remember is the only intelligent telling of the Titanic disaster I have ever seen. completely top-notch all the way. It avoids sensationalistic human drama by endeavoring to tell the true and accurate story has it really happened but at the same time it is compelling by the various depictions on how people react. the special effects hold up well too and I'll take them over modern cgi as well. once you've seen A Night To Remember there is no need to see anything else about what befell Titanic. An outstanding film. A Night To Remember is the only intelligent telling of the Titanic disaster I have ever seen. You said it. I made a point of seeing the Clifton Webb version, and it wasn't bad. And of course the DiCaprio version is a steaming pile. But this one? Hoo boy, it's the best. No contest. once you've seen A Night To Remember there is no need to see anything else about what befell Titanic. An outstanding film. That's right, you're 100% right. Whaddya wanna bet they'll make another remake of the remake? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NipkowDisc Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 A Night To Remember is the only intelligent telling of the Titanic disaster I have ever seen. You said it. I made a point of seeing the Clifton Webb version, and it wasn't bad. And of course the DiCaprio version is a steaming pile. But this one? Hoo boy, it's the best. No contest. once you've seen A Night To Remember there is no need to see anything else about what befell Titanic. An outstanding film. That's right, you're 100% right. Whaddya wanna bet they'll make another remake of the remake? Clifton Webb refusing to man up and accept fatherhood of Barbara Stanwyck's boy and the titanic disaster... he's much more likable in Mr. Scoutmaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MovieMadness Posted December 17, 2014 Share Posted December 17, 2014 I doubt we see another remake of this,lol. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrroberts Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is a favorite film of mine, has been for a long time. Its done in a semi documentary style, the star of the film is the ship itself and the actual focus is always on that. The people on board play important roles as well but they are always in support of the story. Very good directing and well acted performances by the cast make this film a stand out. The other films like the 1953 "Titanic" and the more recent 1997 "Titanic" aren't bad films but the ship is used as a background for the telling of fictional stories about fictional people. Those stories could just as easily taken place aboard fictional ship disasters like "Poseidon" or the "Last Voyage" ship. Maybe those stories should have used fictional disasters, by using a real life tragedy like the Titanic sinking they tend to blur distinctions between fact and fiction. I would hope that anyone who has seen the other films makes it a point to see A NIGHT TO REMEMBER as well, just to get the real story. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skimpole Posted December 18, 2014 Share Posted December 18, 2014 Could someone tell me how the drunken butler managed to survive the wreck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LonesomePolecat Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 Could someone tell me how the drunken butler managed to survive the wreck? As I recall from the book, and as it was explained to me (since I know nothing of science or medicine) he drank so much the alcohol in his system/blood behaved like antifreeze. Here's the story: http://www.titanicuniverse.com/titanic-survivor-charles-joughin/1349 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cigarjoe Posted December 19, 2014 Share Posted December 19, 2014 A NIGHT TO REMEMBER is a favorite film of mine, has been for a long time. Its done in a semi documentary style, the star of the film is the ship itself and the actual focus is always on that. The people on board play important roles as well but they are always in support of the story. Very good directing and well acted performances by the cast make this film a stand out. The other films like the 1953 "Titanic" and the more recent 1997 "Titanic" aren't bad films but the ship is used as a background for the telling of fictional stories about fictional people. Those stories could just as easily taken place aboard fictional ship disasters like "Poseidon" or the "Last Voyage" ship. Maybe those stories should have used fictional disasters, by using a real life tragedy like the Titanic sinking they tend to blur distinctions between fact and fiction. I would hope that anyone who has seen the other films makes it a point to see A NIGHT TO REMEMBER as well, just to get the real story. Agree the star is the ship. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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