It’s been 100 years since the Titanic, the world’s largest ship at that time, sunk on her maiden voyage. A lot of information about the catastrophic event has been historically recorded. Now available is a telling of the disaster by survivors, photos, film and audio on DVD called Titanic: The Complete Story. The 2 Discs have 5 hours of documentation about the Titanic providing answers for the curious, insight and historical value.
Most everyone knows the story of Titanic from the 1997 major motion picture drama that grossed over $600 million and won11 Oscars. But, although it was excellent entertainment, Titanic: The Complete Story provides a personal touch, excellent description and clear data from pier to voyage and sinking.
I liked the way the film gets presented showing the old newsreels with survivors and family members telling their experiences. Historical documenters and experts on ship building lay out their account of what happened from the luxury liner being built to causes of the collision with the iceberg. It’s very easy to become mesmerized by the events and lose track of time.
The complete story is told using three feature-length programs: “Death of a Dream”, which brings viewers to the christening of the largest ship ever built before a cheering Irish crowd of 100,000 to probable causes including the ignoring of numerous iceberg warnings as they approached the North Atlantic.
“The Legend Lives On”, chronicles the stunning sinking, as over-crowded lifeboats edge away from the crippled liner and futile SOS signals flare into the night, leaving 1,500 passengers to a watery grave.
The final episode called “Titanic’s Achilles Heel” follows elite divers as they explore the explosive theory that the doomed liner may have had a fatal design flaw. This documentary uses advanced CGI technology, archive documents and photographs, as well as footage from modern-day expeditions.
If you are a maritime historian, film buff, scholar or just as curious as I found myself, the two-disc set should be a consideration. There are no bonus features, but that’s not why you would purchase this DVD.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A nice companion piece for the theatrical movie. [rating=3]
Specifications and Additional Film Information:
- MPAA Rating: Unrated
- Genre: Documentary
- Running Time: 600 minutes
- Street Date: March 13, 2012
- Language: English
- Audio: Dolby Digital, Stereo
- Video: Color, Widescreen, NTSC
- Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
- Number of Discs: 2
- Distributed by: A&E Home Video
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
