A Night to Remember (Digitally Re-mastered Centenary Edition) [DVD] [1958]

I may as well begin with what seems to be an appropriate and inevitable disclaimer: I've never seen James Cameron's 1997 treatment of the Titanic disaster, and came to this film (and its subject) through Walter Lord's book of the same name, itself a triumph of journalistic authorship and reportage. Thriller novelist Eric Ambler's screenplay is one of the most faithful adaptations of any book into a film, and a brilliant cast of actors under the direction of Roy Ward Baker make this one of the underrated and forgotten masterpieces of postwar British cinema. The film fairly rips along, courtesy of that same combination of deft writing, superb acting and direction, as well as some creditably authentic period setting: the Titanic set is beautifully crafted, complete with the complexities and subtleties of the 1912 class system that seems to have been within memory and expressible other than by cheap stereotyping in 1958. The story itself is told in a stoic, understated, rather English way that relies upon historical record rather than retrospective invention, and the results are tense, engaging, often very moving, occasionally quite funny, and entirely convincing. Laurence Naismith (Captain Smith), Michael Goodliffe (Thomas Andrews), Honor Blackman (Mrs. Lucas) and, apparently, Sean Connery (steerage passenger) are among the famous faces who turn up before the inevitable occurs, but the star performance comes from Kenneth More as Charles Lightoller, the officer in charge of lifeboat evacuation. Many of the film's real gems take place away from the boat decks and the main action. Andrews' conversation with first-class passenger Robert Lucas ("I expect you and I will be in the same boat later!") is one example of the film's wry and dry comedic undercurrent. This relief is provided more often than not by the Chief Baker Charles Joughin, a remarkable character who rather cruelly comes across as a bit of a joke in this film, even when the real man gave up his lifeboat seat to a lady passenger and became one of fewer than 50 people to actually go down with the ship and survive the freezing sea. More poignant is the dilemma facing wives and daughters facing the prospect of abandoning their husbands to the doomed liner. Andrews' last conversation with a young lady who refuses to abandon her fiance, and Lucas' final kiss and goodbye with his wife and children, take place among scenes of subdued panic and hysteria that build up towards the ugly chaos of the sinking itself. I won't give away any more of the film, other than to say it's one of my all-time favourites and that it must be one of the greatest examples of More Is Less Cinema - modest production values offset by dedication and delivery from everyone involved. Incidentally, I read some of the reviews for other Titanic films and dramas out of curiosity (check those out, too - some of the Amazon customer reviews for Cameron and Fellowes' versions are as worthwhile in entertainment value as this film), and the complaints of underwritten and overacted fictitious soap operas DO NOT APPLY here. This is a classic and a treasure of British cinema, and well worth a viewing 57 years later.

EXCELLENT! I was impressed by this film, better in every aspect (except CGIs) than 1997 version. In my opinion this is THE film to see about this tragedy. Below, more of my impressions, with some limited SPOILERS. The film follows the real story as described in short but powerful book "A night to remember", published in 1955 by Walter Lord. Before publishing it, author researched the subject for 20 years and the director decided to follow the original text as closely as possible - the result is immediately visible on the screen, from the first minute. The film shows almost exclusively real passengers and crew members - fictitious characters are very few and don't play a major role. There is no love stories or other stories - there is only THE story. Description of events is centered around Charles Lightoller, second officer of "Titanic" and the most senior member of crew to survive. Kenneth More played him as perfectly as in his other great screen appearances ("Admirable Crichton", "Reach for the sky", "Sink the Bismarck!"). However he doesn't dominate the screen - other characters have plenty to do and say. A very precious thing is that the film doesn't include the black legend concerning the first officer, William Murdoch. On another hand the infamous role played by the captain and the officers of s/s "Californian", a ship which during all the tragedy was stopped only ten miles from "Titanic" - but didn't react to distress signals... Numerous scenes describe the class divisions and their consequences during this terrible night but the film is not dominated by this topic, focusing on general tragedy instead. The greatly cosmopolitan character of third class passengers, immigrants going one way to USA in search of better life, is strongly accented in the film. Other than Irish, Italian, Jewish and German immigrants there is also a bunch of people from my own noble tribe - Poles, who true to themselves first think that water in their cabin is a mismanagement and go complain to the crew...))) As already noticed by other reviewers there is only one major difference between the film and the reality - we do not see "Titanic" breaking just before sinking. That is however only a minor thing and the sinking scene is actually, for my taste, BETTER than in Cameron's 1997 behemoth... IMPORTANT TECHNICAL DETAIL - although not precised on amazon page, the DVD has indeed English subtitles, a very precious thing for all the non-native speakers like me. I was IMPRESSED by this film and I will absolutely keep the DVd preciously in my collection, for another viewing. ENJOY!

This has been and will remain my favourite and most respectful depiction of an awful journey that ended in tragedy for so many. I had it on DVD but I was told that a lot of care had been taken in the transfer to blu and that the upgrade was worth it. That is the truth as well, it is is a joy to see such a worthy film treated with complete respect and then given an hour of special features as well, including a making of and production notes and behind the scenes gallery. This unlike the Titanic disaster helmed by James Cameron is understated and I hope displays far more heroism and reality than his overdone disasterpiece, with Kenneth More underplaying his role so perfectly alongside a well judged cast doing the same, and you get nuanced, sympathetic and realistic moments that allow you to imagine without hyperbole just what it may have been like for all of those poor people without resorting to overblown theatrical tricks.

A Night to Remember, based on the book my Walter Lloyd, Is famous for being -accurate- and not having made up people and relationships here and there. Most of the film takes place on April 14th/15th when the ship struck an ice-berg...and don't let black and white deter you: the film captures the terror and panic onboad the RMS Titanic in her last few hours. This edition of the film comes with some extra few features like how the film was made. Would I recommend this film? Yes: its very accurate and a memorable film that captures how the people onboard the greatest ocean liner of all time felt when she went down.

This review is about the BLU-RAY release of "A Night To Remember" - NOT about the film itsself. It is amazing how some films, shot over 50 years ago in standard definition and in black and white can look so visually stunning on Blu-Ray. This is a perfect example. The high-definition transfer is incredibly sharp; the picture is excellent, far superior than the DVD prints that are available. I cannot praise the video quality high enough - it is stunning, sharp and crisp. The extras on the disc (presented at 720p) include: *"The Making of" (the same 1-hour documentary that is also available on the DVD) *Original trailer *Split-screen showing the restoration of the film *Production Notes *Original Costume Notes *Press & Publicity *Behind the scenes gallery *General Production gallery The picture is presented in 16:9 PB (there are thin black bars at the side of the picture rather than at the top/bottom to accomodate the ratio) Distributor: ITV Studios Home Entertainment Catalogue No.: 37115 35153 Certificate: PG Running time: 123 mins 18 seconds (the sleeve says 118 mins, which is inaccurate) Sound: LPCM 2.0 Dolby Digital Video: MPEG4-AVC Chapters: 12 Any fan of this film shouldn't even hesitate........ BUY IT ON BLU-RAY! One note: The film is TOO clean........ in the scene where Laurence Naismith (the Captain) takes the bullhorn and says "abandon ship" near the end, you can see the Pinewood car park in the background, along with a mound of dirt and a fence - in what is supposed to be a very dark Atlantic Ocean - details that are so clearly visible which the DVD cannot pick up! Amazing detail!!!

After all these years, A Night to Remember, is still the best film about the Titanic disaster of 1912. The extras are good, but there is no commentary track.

Anyone interested in the Titanic should get a copy of this book. Its full of facts and photos but it also doesnt forget the human loss of life.

Very good movie. Features a very young David McCallum and young Honor Blackman.

Film of s wonderful: I’ve seen many times before purchase. Disc arrived on time and as described. Very happy with purchase.

I have seen this movie before, however this version is a lot better quality,still sends shivers down my spine having being a merchant seaman myself.

A classic. I finally own it. Saw when young Any one who saw it will never forget this film Yes colour version movie “ Titanic” known By most. But this film Still the one to own. Lizard

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mais voilà, le film n'ayant jamais été doublé (ou pas a ma connaissance) en francais, je l'ai certes toujours vu en VO mais n'étant pas bilingue parfait, je l'ai toujours vu avec les sous titres. cette édition a VO pour la langue, et sous titrage anglais uniquement, y compris pour le bonus. mais aucun sous titrage francais. du coup j'ai du me riper le film et recuperer un sous titrage VF qui n'était pas de la meme version du film et je me suis embété pour tenter de synchroniser la bande son avec les sous titres trouvés sur le net. pour ca, je ne mets pas 5 etoiles, loin de là. en revanche, pour l'image et le son, on est assez proche de la meem édition que la criterion. la criterion est un chouilla moins compressée (200mo de moins là) et un peu plus de contraste ici. mais cela ne choque nullement. j'ai testé les 2 versions et la difference est si infime... a part le prix ici bien moins elevé. l'image 5/5 car pour un film si ancien, pas forcement tourné ni conservé dans les meilleures conditions, l'image est epoustouflante, surtout si on le compare au dvd sorti avant les versions remasterisée et restaurées. le son est bien sur d'époque mais il a aussi été nettoyé et meme si par certains passage, il est "vieilli" et "usé", le son est tres bon en dolby meme si que 192kbits. s'il y avait eu les sous titres francais, j'aurai mis 5 etoiles.