151 - Titanic (1943)

Connection To TRIUMPH OF THE WILL - Nazi propaganda.

I don't feel like I have to put a Nazi disclaimer here like I did with Triumph Of The Will - for the simple reason it's a movie I feel like you judge on it's own merits, this could have been shown to somebody - tell them it was made in German in 1950 or whatever and in my opinion they would never know that it was commissioned by Goebbels - though it never actually got shown in Germany itself (out of fear of weakening morale rather then boosting it)

On paper, how it was initially described to me I thought it was going to be full of pig-headed Brits or Americans ignoring the dangers or faults on the Titanic while the German's stand by being in the "right" - and to be fair there is a little bit of that, but it's probably related to the reason it never got the German showing (occupied countries got to see it) is maybe the story is a bit too human.

Obviously it sounds silly saying that after all - the story of the sinking of the Titanic is a human story told countless times on the big and small screen, I just don't think when it was commissioned this would put a human face on the Nazi's enemies.

So on it's own merits, it's up there with A Night To Remember as the best film about the sinking of the Titanic (I don't have the bile for the 1997 movie like some do, it's just not my favourite telling), it's notable I mention A Night To Remember, because that film actually takes footage from this movie and re-uses it - which sort of fits in with what I said earlier, take the Nazi element out of it's background and you have no idea.

This was the first Titanic movie that seemed to set the structure of what was to come - concentrating on the passengers before the disaster strikes, it's sort of like the proto-disaster movie in a lot of ways, who would have thought I'd be saying that from a film from the Nazi's hey!

Overall taken on it's own merits, this version of Titanic stands alongside other versions, this would be talked about more I know for sure if it wasn't for those pesky Nazi's (how many times have I used that word in this write up?) because it's really a film that should be remembered.