Mjeteconer
Just perfect...
Voxitype
Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.
Usamah Harvey
The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.
Goingbegging
The story of this film project is almost as interesting as the story of the Titanic itself.At the height of the war, Goebbels started planning a massive movie spectacular that would present the Titanic story as a parable of Anglo-American capitalist greed, with a fictitious German officer heroically battling the cynical boardroom villains, out to secure the Blue Riband at any cost, to save their shipping line from bankruptcy. (This claim still pops-up from time to time, though there seem to have been other reasons for the undue haste to reach New York.)A surprisingly large budget was provided, and director Herbert Selpin got to work. The film required hundreds of naval personnel as technical advisors - a dream posting, well away from their units, in a film-colony atmosphere, with access to drink and women, of which they took excessive advantage. Selpin told them that their conduct was unprofessional as well as unpatriotic. A so-called friend reported him to Goebbels, who ordered him to retract his statement. He refused, and was found hanged next day.Now everything started to slide. Film people were disgusted at Selpin's fate, and morale never recovered. By the time the movie was finished, the Germans were losing the war, and Goebbels realised it would be a mistake to show scenes of drowning civilians, so no screenings were allowed. The film would only come to light many years later, as a historical curio.As this version was pure propaganda, we get all the Titanic clichés we expect (before they became clichés), with heavy emphasis on fine dining in gorgeous evening dress with a grand orchestra, while the freezing water pours into the engine-room and then rises steadily into the cabins. None of the performances stand out, and none of the actors seem to have moved on to bigger things, though their postwar careers would be dogged anyway by their association with the regime. But it is a tribute to the production values that several scenes are believed to have been directly reproduced in the British film 'A Night to Remember'.
marymorrissey
this movie went along at a good clip... there were so many characters and stories that sometimes I got some of these English Frauleins confused with one another but they were all so lovely. One long suffering lovely reminded me of Margit Karstinsen.Movie reminded me of the George Kuchar's "La Verbotene Voyage" I wonder if he saw it too, but it's not likely he did, when he made his sudsy seafaring disaster film in the mid 80s. Lots of torrid goings on revolving around a central idea/ catastrophe/concept...The ending is so nice and dark I'm certainly not a Nazi but I didn't mind the moral that the capitalists are evil and above the law. it's capital that starves millions of people to death, irrespective of what the deal was with the titanic! I took it as the Marxist interpretation and not as so much anti English particularly. it was just kind of fun to see what a German movie about English speaking characters sounds like.I LIKED IT WAY BETTER THAN the 97 version with the ridiculous running around shooting while the ship is sinking over problems domestic and I loved when the cable channel introduced this film saying "nobody was king of the world in this version." at the same time this version delivered happy endings for some of the little lambs...instead of the drawn out tragedy of "my heart will go on and I will give the blue diamond (as in the almonds?) a dramatic trajectory..." cornball almond joy saccharine schmalz Hollywood poo.Well, I prefer, actually, being pandered to with a few people living happily ever after. Alright! Another plus size is that this film was made long before it was fashionable for hot actors to whisper all their lines with bedroom eyes 24/7.Anyway, the pacing was really great and it was quite involving so much was going on you really had no thought of the ship being doomed somehow even when the intrigue turns to the fact that icy cold disaster is in fact on the way.One day michael hinie should remake it and they can REWIND the sinking of the ship so we can feel COMPLICITOUS as we just dip in and dip out cathartically the water.
Michael_Elliott
Titanic (1943) *** (out of 4) Very interesting and highly entertaining version of the disaster told through the eyes of a German director and cast. This is certainly a war propaganda film and the closing line takes a direct hit at the British but even with all of that the film still manages to entertain. It's clear the German's wanted Americans and the British to look like idiots but why on Earth would they keep the cast speaking German? Who knows. The one good guy in the film, a German officer, is the hero here. Even stranger is that the film was originally banned in Germany and wasn't shown there for over six years. Interestingly, director Herbert Selpin was arrested by the Gestapo during filming and the next day was found dead in his cell. Some say he was murdered but the Gestapo claimed suicide.
IntoThePaintedGrey
This last film by the Tobis Director Herbert Selpin had a long wait to be shown after the war... An extraordinary film which takes one of the biggest catastrophes of the 20th century in order to show human greatness and human weakness, chivalry, and cowardly failure. In part, the director uses historic persons, men and woman who take part in the first voyage of the boat that at the time, was the largest in the world. Every one(in the cast)even in the smallest roles, contributes their acting talent to at least give hint of character without exaggeration. Dialogue and camera work are polished. Convincing in its acting structure, this film not in the least gives proof of the achievement the German film once was capable.
