Das Titanic

When the blockbuster "Titanic" was released in 1997, interest in the real life tragedy reached epic proportions. The story had been the subject of several films and a plot point in many others. The previous U.S. version "Titanic" from 20th Century-Fox in 1953 had been followed by the British "A Night to Remember" based on a book by an American author, Walter Lord.

Pre-dating them all, and unseen for decades, was this version made in Nazi Germany and released there briefly in 1943. A few scenes from this film had been presented as part of the extras on the DVD release of the Fox film.

Kino Video has now released the German version.

It is a strange amalgamation of truth, fiction, and propaganda. The idea behind the film had been to expose British greed and incompetence. That the Titanic disaster had been caused more by human failure than technology is a given. But director Herbert Selpin was heavy-handed in the presentation of the material. He protested some of the more sensational aspects of the drama. For doing so, he was arrested and jailed. His death by suicide in jail has been disputed by some historians. The film was completed by director Werner Klingler.

The story contained references to a few real people, among them Bruce Ismay, John Jacob Astor and his wife, and Captain Smith. Other characters were fictional. The film has a subplot of Ismay and other members of the White Star Line board of directors attempting to manipulate the stock price of the corporation. This would be impossible since in 1912, the WSL was actually owned by J.P. Morgan's International Mercantile Marine corporation.

Sybille Schmitz is top billed as Sigrid Olensky. Top billed male is Hans Nielsen as the German first officer. Actually the first officer was named Murdoch, but propaganda dictated that a German be a hero of the story.

This film has English subtitles. Although the special effects of the ship sailing and sinking are not up to the par of even the 1953 version, there are some interesting moments.

As a document of an actual historical event, "Titanic" is a poor choice. As a look at the work of the German propaganda machine, "Titanic" is invaluable. The final words on the screen are a condemnation of British greed.

Though some say clips from this film were used in the 1958 "A Night to Remember", I could only see one short shot of the ship at sea in daytime that I saw in the British film. Scenes of the sinking ship could NOT have been used. In this film, the bow of the ship is facing screen left. In "A Night to Remember" the ship is facing screen right.

This is a fine film for film and/or Titanic fans. It is good for one viewing. The extras include, parts of the pressbook, the theatrical trailer, a 1912 newsreel, a promotional reel about the Olympic, and a photo gallery.

It is interesting mostly as an historical curiosity.