A Night To Remember [1958]

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Primary Contributor : Kenneth More
Primary Contributor : Ronald Allen

Product Details

Director : Roy Ward Baker
Actor : Kenneth More, Ronald Allen, Robert Ayres, Honor Blackman, Anthony Bushell
Format : Black & White, PAL
Binding : VHS Tape
EAN : 5013037181081
Number of Discs : 1
Product Group : Video
Release Date : 1992-06-01
Running Time : 118minutes
Studio : ITV DVD

ASIN : B00004CJMX

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review

Two years after 20th Century Fox released its melodramatic disaster film Titanic in 1953, Walter Lord's meticulously researched book A Night to Remember surprised its publishers by becoming a phenomenal bestseller. Lord had an intuition that readers craved the reality of the Titanic disaster and not the romantically mythologised translations (like Fox's film, starring Barbara Stanwyck), which relied on fictional characters to "enhance" the world's worst maritime disaster. Lord's book proved that the truth was far more compelling than fiction, outlining the many "if onlys" (if only the iceberg had been spotted a few minutes earlier, etc.) that lent sombre irony to the loss of 1,500 Titanic passengers. Three years after Lord's book appeared, it was brought to the screen with the kind of riveting authenticity that Lord had insisted upon in his own research. The 1958 British production of A Night to Remember remains a definitive dramatization of the disaster, adhering to the known facts of the time and achieving a documentary-like immediacy that matches (and in some ways surpasses) the James Cameron epic released 39 years later. The film erroneously perpetuates the once-common belief that the Titanic sunk in one piece (instead of breaking in half as its bow began to plunge), but many other misconceptions are accurately corrected, and the intelligent screenplay by thriller master Eric Ambler is a model of factual suspense. By making Titanic the star of the film, director Roy Baker emphasises the excessive confidence of the booming industrial age and creates an intense you-are-there realism that pays tribute to Walter Lord's tenacious quest for truth. --Jeff Shannon

Synopsis

The fiercely dramatic story of the night when the 'unsinkable' vessel 'Titanic' went down in a bitterly cold sea in April 1912.

Customer Reviews

Haunting film, but no extras! (2008-02-25)

Don't be conned by the lie that it includes "The Making of..." - which is the only reason I bought it as I already own an earlier DVD - but it contains no extras whatsoever! The cover also carries a circular sticker "Starring GERALD BUTLER from 300" - also rubbish, unless he was an uncredited extra. That said, the film is as haunting as when I first saw it aged 12, and infinitely superior to Cameron's "Titanic". it's also been transferred from an excellent print, though the sound is a little tinny.

good movie (2007-09-18)

Great movie.You feel like you were there!!!Good senes and actors.I recomend it to titanic fan.The ship does not split but they didnt know it untill the wreck was discovered.But that is a very minor problem if at all.

Night to Remember: The Best Titanic Film by Far (2007-05-28)

Of the several movies depicting the Titanic diaster of 1912, I find this the most moving, the most realistic and truest to life. (Any slight technical errors, e.g. with which funnel fell, etc. are insignificant compared to the overall sense of realism.) The passengers and crew, for instance, come across as real, ordinary people, not glamorous film stars. The gritty black-and-white images, understated perfromances and incredible period atmosphere/social behaviour blew me away from the time I was a small child. The 1997 Cameron version, though more spectacular in its effects and with utterly brilliant musical score, fails to recapture history in the same way because it is a vehicle for star actors and is spoiled by a ridiculous romantic plot, including people running around firing guns deep inside the sinking vessel. A Night to Remember meakes you feel you are present at a momentous and terrible historical occasion; with the 1997 Titanic you feel you are simply watching a thrilling movie - though there are moments in this version too of genuine pathos and tragedy. Every time I watch Night to Remember, I feel I was actually on board and that I am a survivor.

A marvellous film (2007-05-24)

A Night to Remember is the definitive film of them all (for the facts that were know in 1958), so much detail is included - and its the only one to focus not only on Titanic but also what was happening on the Californian and Carpathia during that fateful night. It also avoided fictional romantic sub plots and stuck to the events that night bordering between drama and documentary.Kenneth More was amazing in his portral Charles Lighttoller - it was perhaps the best perfomance of his entire career. What made the film a success was not only a tight script but the fact that director William MacQuitty (who had seen the ship as a boy) had a surviving officer as technical advisor 4th Officer Joseph Boxhall and also many survivors were still alive that could be interviewed, some of which visited the film set. It was the most expensive film of the 1950s for the rank organisation circa at £450k with good special effects for the time. Sit back and enjoy the all star cast, Honor Blackman, David McCallum, Kenneth Griffith and look out for early uncredited roles for actors Desmond LLelywn, Stratford Johns, Norman Rossington and Sean Connery.

Better than Titantic! (2006-11-26)

This is the original classic story of the sinking of the Titanic. It was filmed in 1958 in black and white in a big tank at Pinewood Studios with no CGI but despite this the filmakers have portrayed the sinking very well with a lot of details and great performances. The black and white images instead of being a problem or a minus I feel add to the film, after all its set in the freezing North Atlantic at night, not a lot of colour there! Still very moving and powerful and if you liked Cameron's Titantic then you should like this too but no Rose or Jack though! I am sure Cameron must have watched this film as there a lot of similairities. Anyway its a good film and deserves a watch. Enjoy, if thats the right word!

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