Titanic (1996) (TV)

Director:

Robert Lieberman

Writers (WGA):

Ross LaManna (written by) and
Joyce Eliason (written by)

Release Date:

17 November 1996 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

They all said she was unsinkable. When she sank, it was unthinkable.

Plot:

The tale of the famous Titanic passenger liner that claimed to be unsinkable. This claim was proved...

Plot Keywords:

Titanic | Iceberg | Two Part TV Movie | Survival | Ship Wreck

Awards:

Won Primetime Emmy. Another 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Peter Gallagher	...	Wynn Park
George C. Scott	...	Captain Edward J. Smith
Catherine Zeta-Jones	...	Isabella Paradine (as Catherine Zeta Jones)
Eva Marie Saint	...	Hazel Foley
Tim Curry	...	Simon Doonan
Roger Rees	...	J. Bruce Ismay
Harley Jane Kozak	...	Bess Allison
Marilu Henner	...	Molly Brown
Mike Doyle	...	Jamie Perse
Sonsee Neu	...	Aase Ludvigsen (as Sonsee Ahray)
Felicity Waterman	...	Alice Cleaver
Malcolm Stewart	...	First Officer William Murdoch
Kevin McNulty	...	Second Officer Charles Lightoller
Kavan Smith	...	Fifth Officer Harold Lowe
Terence Kelly	...	Captain Arthur Henry Rostron (as Terrence Kelly)

Runtime:

173 min | Finland:163 min (DVD)

Country:

Canada | USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Hollywood Digital)

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

UK:PG | Greece:K-13 | Australia:PG | Finland:K-11 | USA:PG-13 | Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Company:

American Zoetrope

Trivia:

This is the first Titanic movie to show the ship splitting in two.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The distress rockets are shown burning as simple white balls. As depicted later in Titanic (1997), they actually burst into stars.

Quotes:

Simon Doonan: Hello, miss.
Osa Ludvigsen: What the...?
Simon Doonan: Your boyfriend's not around to protect you, right?

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Boarding: The People of 'The Terminal' (2004) (V)

Better than I expected

This made-for-TV version of the famous disaster actually stands up fairly well against its $200 million James Cameron counterpart. The effects are good - and in a few cases even on par with Cameron's version. Indeed, watching the two films back to back, you might be surprised at the similarities between the two versions, at least during some key moments. Both have steerage party scenes, for instance. The cast is generally strong too, particularly Catherine Zeta Jones in one of her first lead performances, and George C. Scott as Capt. Smith. But where Titanic (1996) hits all the wrong notes is in a poorly conceived subplot involving a crooked crewmember (Tim Curry). His character doesn't really belong here, and his villainous actions get to be quite shocking near the end ... it takes away from the human drama of the doomed people on the ship and actually comes close to ruining the movie (though no fault of actor Tim Curry, who turns in a great performance). If you only have time to see one super-long movie based on the disaster, see the Cameron film - if you've got time to see two, this one is worth the rental.