A Night To Remember
On April 14, 1912, just before midnight, the unsinkable Titanic struck an iceberg. In less than three hours, it had plunged to the bottom of the sea, taking with it 1,500 of its 2,200 passengers. A Night To Remember depicts the ship's final hours in an unforgettable interpretation of Walter Lord's book of the same name.
Member Reviews
A Film to Remember - MovieProf
It is difficult to watch “A Night to Remember” and not compare it to the more popular 1997 version of the same incident, “Titanic.” Indeed, several events in the plot of both films are identical: steerage passengers locked below and unable to access the lifeboats, musicians playing on deck to calm the crew, a lifeboat falling from above, Unsinkable Mary Brown chastising the others in her lifeboat when they refuse as a whole to help the hundreds of stranded passengers now out in the water after the sinking. Both films are excellent, but this one was the original, and in some ways, the superior of the two.
Unlike “Titanic,” “A Night to Remember” gets to the action quickly: the massive ocean liner strikes the iceberg off the Newfoundland coast within the first 35 minutes, and the remainder of the time is spent showing us various characters struggling to survive. The love affair of “Titanic” is thus nonexistent, and while I enjoyed that film very much, it is refreshing to see the sinking practically entail the entire film.
The special effects here are far better than I imagined; naturally, they can’t compete with the computer-generated vision of “Titanic,” but “Night” is no slouch. The ship itself, when not intercut with actual footage of ocean liners (and, I suspect, some actual footage of the real Titanic herself), is strong. Clearly much of the film was shot on a liner, and the fact that the actors were outdoors was not lost on me—I could often see their breath, which made sense, as the incident occurred in cold April, 1912. The sinking itself is, unfortunately, a bit of a letdown, notably because modern research has proven that Titanic broke apart before going down. Apart from that, this is a dandy little film.Accurate And To The Point - revsdd
This is a superb movie, which, for the most part, offers what appears to be (from my admittedly imperfect knowledge of the historical event of the sinking of the Titanic) a faithful recreation of what happened on that memorable night. Unlike the 1997 James Cameron film, this movie sticks quite to the point. We get to the iceberg fairly quickly, and the movie does a good job of showing the gradually (very gradually, actually) rising tension and ultimately panic on the ship.
The performances in this movie were excellent, and this came across as a team effort by the cast. No one really stood out as the "star." You couldn't identify one actor (or one character) and say "this is who the movie was about." Some of the performances were worth noting, however. Laurence Naismith as the Captain was excellent, as was Michael Goodliffe as Mr. Andrews, the ship's designer. Both know almost from the first moment that the ship is going to sink, and both are portrayed as calm and professional in going about their duties - the way I would like to believe they would have been. Tucker McGuire gives her own take on Molly Brown, and is quite good in the role. I also appreciated the focus on the Carpathia and the desperate attempt by its captain (Anthony Bushell) to get to the scene of the disaster as fast as possible, as well as the Californian, which was closer but ignored the sinking.
The only flaw here couldn't be helped given that the movie was made in 1958. Whereas we now know that the boat split in half before it went down, in this movie, the Titanic goes under in one piece. But they wouldn't have had any way of knowing that, I suppose (although one wonders why the survivors, from whose accounts the original book by Walter Lord - which I read when I was in high school - and then this movie are supposed to have been made) didn't mention it.
In any event, this is the version to watch if you're interested in the plain and straightforward historical event.A Film to Remember - Filmgal
You can't help but compare A Night to Remember to Titanic, and even if you are a die-hard fan of the 1997 film, there is plenty to enjoy in this film.
Compared to Titanic which focuses on people and relationships, A Night to Remember doesn't follow one particular couple or person, but gives each individual, be they the steerage passengers, the family, the captain or crew equal amounts of screen time. You'll recognize the same historical characters that are given prominent roles in Titanic, such as Mr. Andrews the ship's designer and the captain.
Where Titanic is an overblown melodrama, A Night to Remember focuses on the aftermath of the sinking vessel, the mayhem and chaos in the rush for lifeboats, and those too proud or bewildered that the unsinkable ship is sinking.
What is amazing is how clearly James Cameron pilfered scenes from this film. You will find exact shot-for-shots in his Titanic. While some events and characters can be said to be based on historical fact, there are clear liberties that he has taken in borrowing scenes and dramatic events.
The special effects hold up pretty well despite their age and the fact that the iceberg appears to be made of styrofoam, but the action happens within the first 15 minutes of the film instead of dragging it on and on until the big event. The film is almost shot in "real time"- from the moment the ship hits the iceberg to it's eventual sinking is only slightly off the timing in historical records.
Great for families and anyone who is interested in the Titanic. It pulls at the heartstrings and shows a different perspective of the events through the lack of communication with another ship, the Californian who was only 10km away and failed to acknowledge the Titanic's distress calls.
Winner of the Best English-Language Foreign Film of 1959, A Night to Remember is a wonderful watch for viewers of all ages.
Member Reviews
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A Film to Remember - MovieProf
It is difficult to watch “A Night to Remember” and not compare it to the more popular 1997 version of the same incident, “Titanic.” Indeed, several events in the plot of both films are identical: steerage passengers locked below and unable to access the lifeboats, ...Accurate And To The Point - revsdd
This is a superb movie, which, for the most part, offers what appears to be (from my admittedly imperfect knowledge of the historical event of the sinking of the Titanic) a faithful recreation of what happened on that memorable night. Unlike the 1997 James ...A Film to Remember - Filmgal
You can't help but compare A Night to Remember to Titanic, and even if you are a die-hard fan of the 1997 film, there is plenty to enjoy in this film.
Compared to Titanic which focuses on people and relationships, A Night to Remember doesn't follow ...