Unforgettable! --The Titanic (DVD)

As I write this review, I am again sitting here watching the movie Titanic starring Barbara Stanwyck and Clifton Webb. This is one of my favorite Titanic movies. It never fails to emotionally touch me. The tragic voyage of the Titanic is world-famous, and despite the many films and stories told about the great ocean liner and its passengers, a great well of sadness fills me at so many lives lost.


Movie Plot – the basics

This black-and-white movie overlays a fictional story set against the true events of Titanic’s voyage and sinking. This is the first Hollywood film of the Titanic, released in 1953. Some people do not care for the obvious inaccuracies portrayed by the film, such as the wrong side of the ship being ripped open by the iceberg. However, the human stories are compelling. Even the fictionalized accounts grab one emotionally.

The movie focuses on the Sturges family. Julia Sturges and her two children board the Titanic on its maiden voyage from England to America. Her husband, Richard Sturges, realizes she is trying to flee him and pursues her. He’s a proud man who wants to reconcile the family, but on his own terms. His wife is determined to save her children from what she feels is a superficial, spoiled lifestyle. During this family crisis, the haughty daughter begins to show feelings for an American college student. Just as the family reaches an explosive peak, the Titanic hits an iceberg.


My Experiences – minor spoilers

I have watched this movie many times since owning it. The draw for me are the human lives so abruptly ended (and the wish to change their fate) ... the courage displayed by so many, the frantic rush to collect loved ones, the realization that not everyone can be saved. Even though this telling of the Titanic is wrapped in fiction and historic inaccuracy, the human factor is very real.

Both Stanwyck and Webb play very well off one another. Barbara Stanwyck delivers an incredibly strong performance as Julia Sturges. I can feel the emotions swirling inside her as she tries to deliver her children to what she believes is a more “real” life in America. Her husband Richard Sturges is superbly portrayed by Clifton Webb as stiff, reserved and proper. He is sure the children will benefit more from the social connections from the life they have lived abroad. Julia and Richard have drifted apart during their marriage, and even as they come closer to perhaps understanding one another, like the iceberg that sank the ship, they keep crashing against one another during their life voyage.

The meeting of their daughter Annette Sturges with American college student Gifford Rogers explores the opposite side of a love story. Here we see two people meet for the first time, and arrogant Annette is determined to spur the advances of a smitten Gifford. This is where the “Titanic” ventures into some humorous moments of singing and dancing as Gifford draws Annette into seeing his view of the world. This light-hearted revelry is a welcome respite in a movie filled with drama. It is fun to see a young Robert Wagner as eager, energetic Gifford. (It’s also eerie to remember that his real-life wife, Natalie Wood, drowned.)

The storyline of the Sturges’ younger child, Norman, focuses on the father/son relationship. Norman obviously adores his father and can’t understand the sudden rift that develops between them. They have some poignant scenes.

Thelma Ritter is fabulous as a character based on the Unsinkable Molly Brown. I always enjoy Ritter’s solid film performances. She has an earthy quality that is perfect for her character who went from rags to riches. She sees beyond the surface of people.

I doubt there is any adult who isn’t familiar with the story of the R.M.S. Titanic. It is a heart wrenching tale of a ship that is touted as indestructible. When the vessel hits an iceberg and begins to sink, the best and worse of humanity is revealed. I once saw a biography where Barbara Stanwyck said that she had a scene at the end of the film where she cried. Once the cameras stopped rolling, she could not stop her tears.


The Characters & Actors

Barbara Stanwyck (Julia Sturges)
Clifton Webb (Richard Ward Sturges)
Robert Wagner (Gifford “Giff” Rogers)
Audrey Dalton (Annette Sturges)
Harper Carter (Norman Sturges)
Thelma Ritter (Maude Young)
Brian Aherne (Captain Edward John Smith)


The DVD – Special Features

This DVD comes with several features that are insightful about how the move was filmed as well as the historical happenings of Titanic’s first and only voyage. I always enjoy listening to commentaries and learning how movies are made and the stories behind the film-making process.

Commentary by critic Richard Schickel

I have to jack the volume to clearly hear some of Schickel’s comments. This is a disappointing commentary. Sometimes Schickel seems to forget that he should be talking during the film. All in all, the comments he makes follow the film’s plot line with some mention of historic information that has been told in many other formats.


Commentary by cameraman and historian Mike Lonzo, historian Sylvia Stoddard & actors Audrey Dalton and Robert Wagner

This is the more interesting of the two movie commentaries. Here we gain insight into how the “Titanic” film was made. Mike Lonzo is excellent with his descriptions of the film-making techniques used during the movie. He shares lots of details of behind-the-scene filming and the movie-making professionals involved. Sylvia Stoddard offers information about the real people portrayed in the movie and their parts in history as well as some historical facts. Robert Wagner and Audrey Dalton share some of their experiences working in the movie and the era of making films during that time. It’s fun hearing their stories of events that happened during the film.


Beyond Titanic – 94 minutes (1998)

The opening of this color documentary seems a shock after all the black-and-white features on this DVD. “Beyond Titanic” is narrated by Victor Garber, a voice easy to listen to. As the feature begins, there are clips from various television programs and movies featuring the Titanic. Then the narrator walks us through the events of the Titanic disaster. There are many color and black-and-white images as well as interviews with various people (including a survivor of the Titanic) who discuss what happened during and after the voyage. There were facts I had never heard as well as many images from news reels, newspapers, films, and photographs that I had never seen.


MovieTone News

There are two choices: 1) “Titantic” Premiere Thrills South, and 2) Cinema Scope and “The Robe” Win Oscars. These are black and white news reels that feature this movie at a premiere as well as the Oscars. Unrelated to the “Titanic” movie, there are even snippets of a young Audrey Hepburn accepting a Best Actress Oscar at the 26th awards ceremony.


Theatrical Trailer

“Four decades have passed since the Titanic’s screamed across the headlines of the world.” This is a short trailer that shows the principal actors and a few clips of the movie.

Still Gallery

A collection of twenty still images from the making of the movie. The screen displays an overview of how to navigate through the images using the arrow keys on the remote control. (The arrow keys on my DVD remote read “Next” and “Previous”.)

Titanic Aftermath: Audio Essay by Sylvia Stoddard – 11 minutes

While Sylvia Stoddard discusses the events of the Titanic voyage, a still image of the Titanic’s Captain Smith is displayed on the screen. Stoddard introduces herself and explains her interest in the Titanic. She describes the panic of the passengers during the disaster and many historical details of the voyage and what happened afterward. I learned some information I had not heard before. My one complaint is that this essay ends abruptly.


Purchasing

This movie retails for $14.98. I paid around $12.00 for it several years ago.


Summary

This is a movie that I will watch again for years. The acting is well-done, and the story engaging. The Titanic disaster is mind-staggering, in that the passengers of the Titanic could have been rescued but for the disbelief that the Titanic could possibly sink. Even after the movie is done, the images and voices stay with me.

I hope you found this review useful.

Enjoy the day,
Dawn
http://dlstewart.com


Additional Information

Black and White (1953)
98 minutes
25 Scene Selections
Full frame aspect ratio 1:33:1
Audio: English stereo, English mono, Spanish mono
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Plastic case


Please read my other reviews:

Topper & Topper Returns (two movies)

Private Navy of Sgt. O’Farrell (Bob Hope movie)

Grand Theft Auto (Ron Howard movie)

Tremors Attack Pack (three movies)

The Mummy: The Legacy Collection (five movies)

Riddic Trilogy (three Vin Diesel movies)

Quatermass & The Pit and Quatermass 2 (two movies)

LiteOn DVD Recorder/Player


Copyright 2007 Dawn L. Stewart