A Night to Remember
Directed by Roy Ward Baker
Written by Eric Ambler
Starring: Kenneth More, Ronald Allen, Robert Ayres, Honor Blackman

With the 100 year anniversary of the Titanic disaster coming up on April 15th, one can expect an onslaught of television specials, films, and books looking back at one of the world’s worst nautical disasters. Criterion’s blu ray release of Roy Ward Baker’s 1958 docudrama A Night to Remember is a strategically timed reminder that before James Cameron’s ‘Romeo and Juliet on a boat’, there was this detailed, cinematic account of the sinking of an otherwise unsinkable ship.

I think synopsizing the events that took place during the Titanic’s maiden voyage is pretty much pointless at this point. After James Cameron’s romantic take on the story became one of the top grossing films of all time, everybody seems to be familiar with the basic chain of events. A Night to Remember opens with the christening of the ship, represented by original stock footage of the launch of the RMS Queen Elizabeth in 1938. From there, we get a glimpse into the procedural minutiae of running such a massive vessel, including a look at the communications hub which kept Titanic in contact with various ships throughout her maiden voyage. This leads to some pretty frustrating errors on behalf of the crew, really giving you a sense that with one successful warning message, the ship could have avoided its disastrous collision. Even after the accident, the number of lives lost might have been drastically reduced if the nearby SS Californian had responded to Titanic’s many distress calls and signal rockets. This is an interesting perspective on the story that wasn’t really dealt with in this sort detail in James Cameron’s film. Having said that, there are a lot of scenes in A Night to Remember which seem to have bee completely lifted and reused by Cameron. Yes, they’re both based on real events so some overlap is expected, but some of the artistic flourishes are quite similar. Probably the biggest difference between the two films is the actual sinking of the ship. In Baker’s version, it goes down in one piece. After the discovery of the wreck in 1985, it was clear that the ship had broken into two sections. Cameron’s film takes this information and uses it to craft a complex, exciting action set piece.

Roy Ward Baker’s treatment of the story is rooted in pure docudrama. He’s less concerned about focusing on any singular human drama rather than engaging in a detailed analysis of the class division amongst passengers and the events that lead to the ships demise. I was immediately reminded of Paul Greengrass’ United 93 (and to a lesser extent, Bloody Sunday), which took great pains in balancing human drama with a more clinical, objective presentation of the timeline of events that took place on the morning of September 11th. His film focuses on the confusion of that day, heightened by an overall break down of communication. The same can be said for Titanic and her seemingly avoidable disaster. Much like United 93, there’s an overwhelming sense of frustration as you wait for the inevitable. Even though the audience is completely aware of the outcome, there’s always the feeling in the back of your mind that the film might somehow wield the power to rewrite history. It’s a delicate chain of unfortunate events that in retrospect, seems easily avoidable. Instead, the disaster plays out as expected and we get an impressively convincing, cinematic recreation of the sinking of the Titanic that holds up quite well, even by today’s standards. It’s made all the more powerful by the restrain used when dealing with the subject matter, which I found completely refreshing and ahead of its time. This film is a perfect counter-point/companion piece with Cameron’s otherwise sentimental take on these events.

A Night to Remember looks great on blu ray. Outside of the few pieces of vintage stock footage, the picture is sharp and clear. The black and white photography is looks natural and is for the most part, free of dirt and scratches. This is definitely the way to watch the film at home. The release also includes some worthwhile supplemental materials, starting with an informative commentary track featuring Titanic experts/historians Don Lynch and Ken Marschall. We also get an hour long documentary on the making of A Night to Remember, featuring some great behind-the-scenes footage. There’s some great stuff highlighting the stories of Titanic survivors, including an interview with the last remaining (at the time) survivor Eva Hart, providing a rare, first-hand perspective of the disaster. Finally, the disc includes The Iceberg That Sank the Titanic, a 2006 hour long original BBC documentary that focuses on the infamous berg that ripped a hole in the hull of the ship. This one is a must see and a must own. — Jay C.

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