I still won't say it's good drama but during the lifeboat scenes, it is quite interesting to see how they've tied it all together in the 3 episodes so far.
So had they been shown over 2 or 4 nights I think it would have been far better and if the script and the characters had been better it could have worked very well.
^This.
I found the 2nd part more engaging. I wasn't as keen on last week's.
I still expect the actual sinking won't be as dramatic as I'd like... but I've battled through 3 weeks so it makes sense to see it out to the bitter end!
Out of the 'Annie and Paolo' couple, you'd expect him to die and her to survive. I don't know much about Julian Fellowes' writing style though - is he one for twists?
Also its hard to tell in the short trailer clips but
it looks like Mario, his brother survives, or at least gets to an upside down lifeboat, and I don't expect them both to make it. From a dramatic point of view, I would imagine Mario survives, but the brother viewers have gotten to know, Paolo, dies. And then you have two characters experiencing the loss of someone close to them - far more dramatic than Paolo surviving and Mario dying
I say this because we are led to believe that with Paolo trying to save the Italians and the water rushing in, and with Annie 'safe' on the lifeboat. That's how the set up is meant to look, but I bet it'll turn around.
You might have mentioned in an earlier post, but which books on the Titanic would you recommend? I'm interested in finding out more about it.
May I jump in here? I've read so many on the Titanic and one of the best for historical detail about the background (starting 1850 Crystal Palace Exhibition) and especially the American enquiry is Wyn Craig Wade's Titanic: The End of the Dream.
He's written others as well which I haven't read as yet.
I think there was something planned - with Richard E Grant as one of the voices. I am losing track of all of these documentaries. They are beginning to merge into one...
Agree that I think the spread of artefacts across casinos by RMS Titanic Inc to be... a touch distasteful. And I am also beginning to find the coverage of the Titanic Memorial cruise a little disturbing. I get why and how they are covering it... and that just as in the day people would flock to buy souvenirs.
I don't know - just as we approach the 100th anniversary of that day - I just feel that there are other things that could be brought forward to help commemorate the event.
So many things came about as a result of the disaster - safety on board and provision of boats, the Iceberg Watch patrol, the dismantling of the class system! I know we bang on and on about Fellowes banging on and on about class, but it cannot be escaped that it was the way of things at that time.
We can look back now and be outraged about it, just as something like White Heat turns a spotlight on racial attitudes decades ago...
We cannot escape history... we can only learn from it, no?
From what I've heard, the Titanic Cruise is little more than a floating shopping channel.
May I jump in here? I've read so many on the Titanic and one of the best for historical detail about the background (starting 1850 Crystal Palace Exhibition) and especially the American enquiry is Wyn Craig Wade's Titanic: The End of the Dream.
He's written others as well which I haven't read as yet.
You're very welcome to jump in Thanks for the recommendation.
I still won't say it's good drama but during the lifeboat scenes, it is quite interesting to see how they've tied it all together in the 3 episodes so far.
So had they been shown over 2 or 4 nights I think it would have been far better and if the script and the characters had been better it could have worked very well.
your right the shows a turkey so show the episodes as quickly as possible would have been better
LOL email to me from Amazon advertising this ITV disaster for £11.99.
I might consider it when it is in the bargain bin for £5 - probably in the summer - but even then. It is more or less unwatchable. The criss cross telling of the story is annoying enough - add the endless advert breaks and viewers will be jumping ship.
(Watched A Night to Remember yesterday. I always forget that David McCallum is in this film, until he appears as one of the 2 radio operators! Great film, well worth watching)
Itunes has a behind the scenes 30 minute program available for free. It was actually quite interesting - I can see what they were trying to do. Its such a shame in a way that the characters and storytelling weren't strong enough to hold it all together.
I say this because we are led to believe that with Paolo trying to save the Italians and the water rushing in, and with Annie 'safe' on the lifeboat. That's how the set up is meant to look, but I bet it'll turn around.
I want Paolo and Annie to survive and live happily ever after but then I'm a sucker for romance :rolleyes: - the two of them are cute together
Titanic film from 1953 starring Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb
I've set it to tape as I've never seen it before
It must be said, this version makes just about every other one look like a documentary. No attempt is made to tell the story of the Titanic accurately - the ship has a warning alarm playing throughout the sinking, it strikes the ice-berg on the wrong side (in a bizarre reverse shot) and the last scene shows everyone still on board gathered together serenely singing Nearer My God To Thee as the waves slowly lap around their ankles! However, it is an excellent love/tragic story which was never intended to be a historically accurate telling of the Titanic disaster - like Gone With the Wind, it was a personal story played out against the backdrop of a historical event. In that way, it is not dissimilar to Cameron's movie, although the performances of Stanwyck and Webb and the superlative script make it head and shoulders above the 1997 movie in terms of storyline. The effects also aren't all that bad for the early 50s. Just, as I've said, don't go expecting anything resembling history - go expecting a 50s weepy and you won't be disappointed.
It must be said, this version makes just about every other one look like a documentary. No attempt is made to tell the story of the Titanic accurately - the ship has a warning alarm playing throughout the sinking, it strikes the ice-berg on the wrong side (in a bizarre reverse shot) and the last scene shows everyone still on board gathered together serenely singing Nearer My God To Thee as the waves slowly lap around their ankles! However, it is an excellent love/tragic story which was never intended to be a historically accurate telling of the Titanic disaster - like Gone With the Wind, it was a personal story played out against the backdrop of a historical event. In that way, it is not dissimilar to Cameron's movie, although the performances of Stanwyck and Webb and the superlative script make it head and shoulders above the 1997 movie in terms of storyline. The effects also aren't all that bad for the early 50s. Just, as I've said, don't go expecting anything resembling history - go expecting a 50s weepy and you won't be disappointed.
I've taped this so will watch when I get a chance. I have A Night To Remember on DVD which I watched yesterday afternoon - now this really DID get the sense of panic and people scrambling to get to the boats, the audience must have been gripped the first time it was shown on the big screen :eek:
I've taped this so will watch when I get a chance. I have A Night To Remember on DVD which I watched yesterday afternoon - now this really DID get the sense of panic and people scrambling to get to the boats, the audience must have been gripped the first time it was shown on the big screen :eek:
I'm glad you've taped it - enjoy! I'm sure you will, provided you enjoy it for the soapy storyline and great performances rather than how it tells the story of the Titanic. I also watched ANTR recently and again adored it - it captures the panic, the sense of period, the scale of the disaster - everything. The scene of the elderly steward finding the little boy after the boats have gone and saying 'don't worry, we'll find mummy, we'll soon find her' whilst clutching him as the ship takes her final plunge is heart-rending. I really wish that, instead of creating this Fellowes turkey, ITV had simply spent the budget re-filming ANTR with minor adjustments to the script (to clarify names - eg. naming the Duff Gordons and Ismay) and using modern effects. The thought of the 1958 movie with modern effects (or even the effects of the 1997 film) is incredibly exciting!
Comments
^This.
I found the 2nd part more engaging. I wasn't as keen on last week's.
I still expect the actual sinking won't be as dramatic as I'd like... but I've battled through 3 weeks so it makes sense to see it out to the bitter end!
Also its hard to tell in the short trailer clips but
I say this because we are led to believe that with Paolo trying to save the Italians and the water rushing in, and with Annie 'safe' on the lifeboat. That's how the set up is meant to look, but I bet it'll turn around.
May I jump in here? I've read so many on the Titanic and one of the best for historical detail about the background (starting 1850 Crystal Palace Exhibition) and especially the American enquiry is Wyn Craig Wade's Titanic: The End of the Dream.
He's written others as well which I haven't read as yet.
From what I've heard, the Titanic Cruise is little more than a floating shopping channel.
Tomorrow morning, 5 am TCM channel
Titanic film from 1953 starring Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb
I've set it to tape as I've never seen it before
You're very welcome to jump in
This one is very good! Saw it a few years back. Although old, it was the best they could do at the time. Must unearth it again for a watch...
your right the shows a turkey so show the episodes as quickly as possible would have been better
I might consider it when it is in the bargain bin for £5 - probably in the summer - but even then. It is more or less unwatchable. The criss cross telling of the story is annoying enough - add the endless advert breaks and viewers will be jumping ship.
(Watched A Night to Remember yesterday. I always forget that David McCallum is in this film, until he appears as one of the 2 radio operators! Great film, well worth watching)
Has anyone got that sinking feeling ......
I want Paolo and Annie to survive and live happily ever after but then I'm a sucker for romance :rolleyes: - the two of them are cute together
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8kN-wqWcX4
Me too!
But I really really don't expect it to happen
At least Annie has a blue box to go back to.
It must be said, this version makes just about every other one look like a documentary. No attempt is made to tell the story of the Titanic accurately - the ship has a warning alarm playing throughout the sinking, it strikes the ice-berg on the wrong side (in a bizarre reverse shot) and the last scene shows everyone still on board gathered together serenely singing Nearer My God To Thee as the waves slowly lap around their ankles! However, it is an excellent love/tragic story which was never intended to be a historically accurate telling of the Titanic disaster - like Gone With the Wind, it was a personal story played out against the backdrop of a historical event. In that way, it is not dissimilar to Cameron's movie, although the performances of Stanwyck and Webb and the superlative script make it head and shoulders above the 1997 movie in terms of storyline. The effects also aren't all that bad for the early 50s. Just, as I've said, don't go expecting anything resembling history - go expecting a 50s weepy and you won't be disappointed.
Correct!
I've taped this so will watch when I get a chance. I have A Night To Remember on DVD which I watched yesterday afternoon - now this really DID get the sense of panic and people scrambling to get to the boats, the audience must have been gripped the first time it was shown on the big screen :eek:
I'm glad you've taped it - enjoy! I'm sure you will, provided you enjoy it for the soapy storyline and great performances rather than how it tells the story of the Titanic. I also watched ANTR recently and again adored it - it captures the panic, the sense of period, the scale of the disaster - everything. The scene of the elderly steward finding the little boy after the boats have gone and saying 'don't worry, we'll find mummy, we'll soon find her' whilst clutching him as the ship takes her final plunge is heart-rending. I really wish that, instead of creating this Fellowes turkey, ITV had simply spent the budget re-filming ANTR with minor adjustments to the script (to clarify names - eg. naming the Duff Gordons and Ismay) and using modern effects. The thought of the 1958 movie with modern effects (or even the effects of the 1997 film) is incredibly exciting!