Britannic (2000) (TV)

User Rating:

5.0/10   

Director:

Brian Trenchard-Smith

Writers (WGA):

Brett Thompson (written by) &
Kim Owen Smith (written by) ...

Release Date:

9 January 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | History | Mystery | Romance | War

Tagline:

They Never Thought It Would Happen Again

Plot:

A fictional account of the sinking of the H.M.H.S. Britannic off the Greek island of Kea in November 1916. This explores the theory of a German agent sabotaging the liner, a hospital ship.

Plot Keywords:

Ship | Spy | WWI | German Spy | Weapon

Cast

Edward Atterton	...	Reynolds
Amanda Ryan	...	Vera Campbell
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Lady Lewis
Ben Daniels	...	Townsend
John Rhys-Davies	...	Captain Barrett (as John Rhys Davies)
Bruce Payne	...	Doctor Baker
Alex Ferns	...	Stoker Evans
Eleanor Oakley	...	Sarah Lewis
Archie Davies	...	William Lewis
Ed Stobart	...	Mayfield
Adam Bareham	...	Radio Operator
David Lumsden	...	German Radio Operator
Wolf Kahler	...	Captain Kruger
Philip Rham	...	Jurgens
Daniel Coonan	...	Seamus

Runtime:

93 min

Country:

UK | USA

Language:

English | German

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Singapore:M18 | USA:TV-14 | Australia:M | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Bray Film Studios, Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK

Company:

Britannic Productions Ltd.

Trivia:

A Titanic survivor was aboard the Brintannic when it sunk.

Goofs:

Factual errors: An Irish crewman claims revenge for the Black and Tans. The Brittanic sank in 1916. The Black and Tans were not sent to Ireland until after 1918.

Quotes:

Sara Lewis: If that's his limb, where is the rest of him?
William Lewis: Under your bed, all rotten and smelly!

Movie Connections:

References Titanic (1997)

Torpedo or Mine?

Firstly the facts:R.M.S.Britannic was the third of the "Olympic" class of liners to be launched by White Star from Harland & Woolf's shipyard in Belfast after the original "Olympic" (1910) and "Titanic" (1911).She was launched in 1914 but due to the outbreak of the First World War in Britain in August of that year, was requisitioned by the Admiralty and soon converted into a hospital ship with her distinct white hull and huge red cross on her sides.On her 6th outward voyage to the island of Mudros (Greece) she was either torpedoed or mined in the Kea channel in November 1916.The actual cause is still something of a mystery and I presume this doubt partly inspired the "plot".Lessons had been learnt from the earlier loss of "Titanic" (1912), notably the cellular double bottom, higher watertight bulkheads together with distinctive and exaggerated davits from each of which several lifeboats could quickly be launched. Mercifully there was minimal loss of life since it only had the White Star crew and medical staff onboard who were going to tend the casualites arising from Winston Churchill's ill advised Gallipoli campaign (1915) which he ordered when acting as First Lord of the Admiralty.Had this tragedy occurred after embarkation of the troops, the disaster could have become monumental.As one perceptive critic has observed below, one Violet Jessop had the dubious distinction in serving as steward/nurse on all the three aforementioned sister ships but was not mentioned in the film.

It seems almost "de rigeur" in all these type of marine disaster films to have a fictional slushy love story wrapped up in a few facts.We had Robert Wagner and Audrey Dalton in "Titanic"(1953) Leonardo de Caprio and Kate Winslet in "Titanic" (1997) to name but two.I have read Robert Ballard's account of his expedition to the wreck which is still in remarkable condition lying on her starboard side when compared to what is left of "Titanic".I also have another video which explores the second explosion (the first being caused either from a German mine or torpedo) and whether this was caused by igniting coal dust or cold water causing the exposed boilers to explode.The most fascinatng part of the film was what appeared to be authentic newsreel footage of the launching of "Britannic" as I had never seen this before.As regards the film itself, it can only be judged on entertainment value alone.Present are the usual Hollywood stereotypes of "Irish Freedom Fighters" given free reign in a wildly imaginative plot adequatly dealt with by my fellow reviewers below.

Violet Jessop fractured her scull in the water as the ship ploughed on while her rising propellers still turned and I assume this gave rise to the suicidal scene where the German agent commits virtual suicide while sitting in his life boat as it advances towards them without making an effort to avoid them.This was at odds with his desperate escape earlier.On enertainment value alone I rated it 5/10.