After watching this
film I have to say that I was literally horrified. Just exactly what was James Cameron
thinking when he made Titanic? The term plagiarism springs to mind pretty frequently. I
truly had trouble concentrating on this film as I watched it for it might as well have
been a black and white version of Titanic minus Leonardo Di Caprio and Kate Winslett.
I don’t
believe I really need to give you a break down of the plot, considering this is perhaps
the biggest and most dramatic tragedy of all time.
The
sinking of the unsinkable Titanic on it’s Maiden Voyage has been a talking point
amongst people for many years and will remain a great story for many years to come.
As
filmmaking goes this will always be the closest to the truth and is a great representation
of what actually happened on the morning of the 15th of April 1912. I am still
amazed that James Cameron could get away with making a film like Titanic, which could
never have been made without a night to remember.
I
challenge you to watch one and then the other and compare the amount of scenes, which are
basically identical, even in the stature and accent of the characters, their lines and the
sets.
Basically
I am very impressed with a Night to Remember, but at the same time disturbed that James
Cameron could have such gall to create Titanic.
So how
does this transfer hold up?
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VIDEO
Again we are given a film of more than 40 years old, which shows the
superiority of DVD with an excellent transfer. The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen
transfer was off surprising quality. Given that this is a black and white film I
am pleased with the tonal range on offer, but at times there seemed to be a lack of
contrast which had a negative impact on shadow detail. The whites could have been
brighter, but the blacks were very deep and often took detail form their surroundings.
There
were some instances of grain but this is to be expected. It was pleasing to note the lack
of mpeg artefacts and aliasing or shimmering. There was however quite a few film artefacts
but nothing I would describe as bad, and i am of course prepared to be quite lenient on a
film of this age.
AUDIO
There really isn’t a lot to say here given that this is a Dolby mono
soundtrack. Dialogue was always clear and easy to understand and the front sound
stage was used quite widely. There are no audio sync problems at all.
The
score from William Alwyn is quite good and gives the film a lot of mood and ambience. I
felt that the soundtrack though have a certain lifelessness to it that cold have been
improved with even a little volume variance in the soundtrack to add a little more
suspense.
EXTRAS
Making
of Doco: 61 minutes. This is what I call a special feature! Not some 5-minute crap that
does nothing more than promote the film. This was actually an experience in itself. Made
more than 30 years after the film was released and including interviews from the producer
and author of the book. This is a must see.
2
Theatrical Trailers
Cast
Biographies only 2 cast members (Honor Blackman and Kenneth Moore)
Overall
This is
a classic that should certainly be included in every collection, push back Titanic and
bring on a night to remember.
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