Review of A Night to Remember (1958) by Tina S — 03 Oct 2010

This is only real contender for best â??Titanicâ?? film, but in many ways, it is Cameronâ??s â??Titanicâ?? which must mach up to this. This is a very British film, released by Rank in 1958, with as many stalwart British talent as you can put in your pocket, and Kenneth More leading the way as Second Officer Charles Lightoller.

This is not as the story has been presented so many times before or since. This is NOT a melodrama, it doesnâ??t fall into the disaster tract of setting up a series of personal soap opera style plots to tie up with death and/or absolution in the final acts, but instead opts for a more dramatic and clinical view if the disaster, the failures of Titanicâ??s crew as well as their triumphs, actions or in-actions of the fellow ships and the social dynamics of time when a value was so openly placed upon the lives of passengers.

But none of this takes anything away from the emotion, with everything building to a tense and emotional crescendo as the eponimous liner sinks benieath the waves, taking the lives of over 1,500 people with it.

This is British film-making at its very best, vibrant with integrity and realising the need to tell a story for what it actually is rather than glorifying it and turning was is already a strong story into an artificial melodrama. The nearest film to this in context would be Paul Greengrassâ??s â??United 93â?³, which again, was not afraid to let the story do the talking, and the ultimate realisation that true emotion comes naturally, and a great story will do all the emoting you could want.