Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion (2003– ) User Reviews

Great acting/technical work, but draggy.

[Shelly-30 · 8/10 · 26 December 2003]

(This may contain spoilers.)

'Shattered City' focuses on the fictional Collins family at the time of the Halifax Explosion, mainly the celebrated son, Patrick, who has just returned from the war. Before he can return to the front, the explosion occurs; and he must help his family survive.

The acting and the effects were fantastic, along with the other minute production details, which is very characteristic of the CBC's productions. Yet, in parts, it tends to to drag a little; and we aren't given a sufficient back story for some of the characters. As well, it probably would've done better as a three-hour-long made-for-TV movie instead of a two-part miniseries. I'd also take into account the fact that this is the first movie centred around this important part of Canadian history; and, eventually, there may be more about it.

Not too bad (I give this an 8); but it could've been improved upon.

Enlightening

[andrea-45 · 8/10 · 9 March 2005]

I have to thank CBC, actually, for making this movie. Before a visit to Halifax on the QE2, I had never heard of the Explosion (typical American - although, in fact, I'm Canadian-born). But even seeing the great memorial didn't really register the extent of the disaster until I saw the movie. Yes, characters were combined or fictionalized in some cases, but that is absolutely secondary to the portrayal of that horrific episode in Canadian history. The effects of the blast were particularly well done. I hope it plays again, as indeed it should every couple of years or so, to remind us all of both the losses and the bravery incurred that day.

Not bad, but lacking realism

[v_imdb-99 · 6/10 · 25 June 2006]

While this was a good attempt to articulate the disaster from a cinematic point of view, it lacked in many areas. First off, the glaring historical errors were bothersome, including the fact the city was lit like a Christmas tree despite strict blackout restrictions. The soap opera like plot lines involving Trixie and the German spy seemed a bit much, aside from the fact she was portrayed so naively when it came to love despite her extensive political knowledge. I also felt the city came off as a backwards two-bit town rather than a metropolis caught in the midst of war. I suppose this is because it was shot in Lunenburg, which is much smaller than Halifax was at the time of the explosion. I also thought the Titanic ploy of linking the past with the old woman who remembers the past seemed a bit trite.

However, the soldiers' plight was well-articulated. Truth is, the first half of the mini-series is quite good, along with the special effects, but the second half degenerates into some melodramatic soap.

The story, however, would have been better had the producers stuck to reality. Truth is stranger than fiction, and what is strange, is the fact the script made up things when the city was abuzz with far more fascinating things.

Before the CBC markets these things as historical series, they should check to make sure they're accurate.

A Powerful Retelling of a Forgotten Tale

[tgauthier · 28 October 2003]

Shattered City is a highly enjoyable retelling of an almost forgotten event in Canadian history. I am from Halifax, and for me, the sight of the ships exploding in the harbour was a visceral experience. The blast, which occurred in December, 1917, was the largest man-made explosion before Hiroshima, killed 2000 people instantly and vaporized two square miles of the city of Halifax.

I could have done without some of the more soap opera-like elements of it, but in all, I was engaged by the characters and moved by their horrendous plight. Although plagued by a low budget($10 million), the show did an excellent job of recreating wartime Halifax and the harbour, and the people felt authentic as they went about their daily lives.

This film is highly recommended for anyone who enjoys a good story of human courage and drama, and is a must-see for any fan of Canadian history.

Postscript: I now live in northern Canada, and watched the show with a group of westerners and northerners. None of them had heard of the Halifax Explosion. What a sad commentary on our woefully provincial education systems and on our ability to tell our own stories.

Not as big a hit as the original

[rps-2 · 6/10 · 26 October 2003]

CBC is doing what it is supposed to do and it's hard to fault them for that. This story of the Halifax Explosion of 1917 is good but it could be much better. It's also plagued by small errors. (A CNR logo in 1917? WW2 style posters in WW1. A 1930's folding camera with a flash? I don't think so. I spotted these in the first episode. I'm sure there were others.) The characters in the stories woven through the tragedy are both predictable and one dimensional. However the drama leading up to the explosion is well executed and the recreation of Halifax harbour full of old ships is effective. It's good but falls far short of being great.

Good movie ruined by too many commercials

[aspreadb1 · 6/10 · 27 October 2003]

Unfortunately like many Canadians I had never heard about this event in school. It wasn't until my 20th year when I visited Halifax for the first time that I learnt of this horrific tale. This movie did an adequate job at telling the story. The acting was competent as was the over-all story (although I thought the German spy thing came across as silly). I particularly liked the acting of the two youngest children of the family that this movie revolves around.

I don't know if it was me or not but there seemed to be a lot more commercial breaks than in regular made for TV movies. As soon as the plot started moving it had to stop for yet another commercial break and being produced by the CBC and funded by corporate sponsors we see the same commercials over and over again which ruined my experience watching the movie.

This is a story that needs to be told and should never be forgotten. It is as devastating as "Sept 11".

A Great Canadian Historical Epic

[Robert_duder · 7/10 · 25 February 2006]

Granted it would seem that much of Shattered City is fictional, it is only BASED on fact as most films are. Nonetheless this is a great triumph for Canadian History to introduce everyone to a devastating event that still is one of the largest of it's kind in World History. Even still the film is only in small part about the actual explosion that rocked Halifax by a French ship carrying an unprecedented amount of munitions. The rest of the film is a story about a family dealing with the harsh realities of World War 1 and a Captain returned if only briefly to them with horrible memories of the deaths of his fallen friends.

Vincent Walsh leads the cast as this Captain. He's young and a great presence on screen, without a doubt one of the great Canadian Actors I've ever seen. He is intense and emotional as Charlie Collins and a stand out performance. I have to say that with the exception of a few minor performances the rest of the cast are very much supportive to Walsh. Their roles are small and there are a lot of characters in the film...too many to have any major stand out performances. They all do well...some worth mentioning are the younger members of the cast...Clare Stone, and Max Morrow, as well as Tamara Hope, and Lynne Griffin as the mother of the Collin's family. Everyone plays a role and they do it quite well. Nobody drags down the story which eventually builds up to the horrifying explosion which is done in a brilliant and terrifying fashion. Director and Canadian Bruce Pittman does exactly what is needed to give the film the Canadian Uniqueness and importance while still making it mainstream and watchable for anyone.

The Film captures the essence of the time, and war, and the people that founded this country. They also show a time when Canadians pulled together to help each other and save lives. The film is very long, an epic length for sure and although sometimes it drags a little I believe the importance of the film and the quality of it outweighs it's slightly overdone length. It now sits on my table in the same group as Anne Of Green Gables which is a high order in my books. For those who are complaining about it's fictional content just remember that 99% of American made films about history are wrought with added dramatics and to finally have a Canadian Epic of this caliber at all is enough to accept the dramatic content. The only other critical point I can make is that the sub story about the German spies preparing to bomb the fleet never is dealt with or much mentioned after the explosion, I think it was perhaps avoidable and could have edited out but nonetheless every Canadian should see this film and history buffs will love it!! 7/10

It's based on a true event - but NOT a true story.

[vampyrecowboy · 7/10 · 20 September 2006]

While this movie, and The Perfect Storm, and many others about war, ships and whatever else may be BASED on true stories and events...they are NOT true stories.

As there was NOT always somebody in every location at every second to document the event and the speeches and actions that people did, much of this story is fiction.

I found the movie interesting, that's for sure.

I found it a good insight to the event with a basic understanding to the incident...but it is still partially fiction.

What did impress me very much was that a film of this magnitude, a huge cast, a huge set, special effects and locations can be filmed for only 10 million dollars while a movie which takes place in very few locations with very few actors, few effects, few sets and much less than this film had will be shot for three or 4 times the budget.

Whoever worked the finances on this movie should be in public office to deal with the finances the Canadian and Provincial Governments budget problems.

They obviously know how to control the spending of money to the extreme.

Make-up, set design, acting and everything else was great too.

I am just overly impress with the people behind the cash flow...they really know how to spend the money, so that every cent is made to work.

An interesting but flawed miniseries.

[heckles · 5/10 · 7 June 2005]

My commentary: First and foremost, while the emphasis was on human error in the movie, the fact is war is a very fertile breeding ground for accidents on top of the deliberate carnage. "Saving Private Ryan" noted this with the mention of the glider that was fitted with armor plating - but no one thought to tell the pilot. So it crashes and six soldiers are killed needlessly. Accounts of war proliferate in tragic incidents such as that one. The Halifax Explosion must be the biggest war-related accident in history.

The Great War featured incomprehensibly vast usage of artillery shells, and artillery shells need TNT and other explosives. A lot of this had to be imported from the U.S., and by ships. Ships had to be gathered in ports. Ports will then see a lot of ships coming and going, and harbor masters are going to be pressed to keep all this traffic moving. The odds were considerable something like the incident of Dec. 6th, 1917 would happen someplace in Allied ports sooner or later.

Captain Le Medec probably wasn't the greatest or bravest mariner of all time. But how many ship captains who have seniority or pull are going to agree to captain a massive floating bomb at the height of the U-boat menace? Second, did anyone notice that the movie exonerates harbor pilot Mackie while making Le Medec and the Belgian captain look like total dolts at the helm; and has Mackie trying to avert disaster while the Frenchman funks off with his crew? Considering it is a Canadian and not a French production, what a surprise.

Then there is the almost defeatist speech Capt. Collins gives to the war rally in the church. Excuse me, an *officer* in HM forces blurting out like that? It simply wouldn't have happened at the time. Contrary to what he later tells Barbara, Germans weren't close to suing for peace at the time, and the war wasn't kept going only because the Allies wanted another year of war profits. Indeed, with the Western Front stalemated and Russia close to surrender, Ludendorff et al were convinced victory for Germany was just around the corner. And a lot of people on the Allied side feared the same thing.

On the plus side, I was impressed by what the production did with a limited CBC budget.

crisis in city of halifax

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 26 June 2022]

Spoilers -- mostly true story of the halifax military ship explosion, which killed thousands and blinded or injured many of the town's residents. We follow the collins family, december 1917, during WW I, showing how peaceful the town is, even during wartime. Son charlie is in the service, but has his own demons to battle. The first half leads up the the main event, while the second part details the legal court cases and the blame game. We meet the ship's captain, (paul doucet) and the local tug boat captain (brian downey). Unfortunately, it's just littered with canadians and americans insulting each other, and they never miss a chance to make the americans look like loud, ridiculous jackasses. It's okay. The sound level was extremely low, which meant that every time we break for commercial, it blasts louder than heck. Canadian production. Written by keith leckie. Directed by bruce pittman.

Good. Except Wrong

[chipsdipsanddorks · 3/10 · 2 March 2022]

Although a true story about the wreck and the explosion, no evidence was found of German spies in the city and certainly no German spies tried to scuttle the ship to save thousands of lives. To give credit to the German army for their actions in WWI in this movie is a disgrace to Canadians and Norwegians and all civilized peoples everywhere. You might as well say that the Ottoman Empire worked closely with the Germans to try and save lives. Could have been a great movie about history and the loss of innocent life, but it's message is that German spies attempted to save the city. Probably written and directed by people with a family history tied to Germany and wanting everyone to think that they were not that bad. After all, they only attacked other countries w/o provocation with the assistance of the Ottoman Empire in 1917. It's not like 25 years later they got really bad or anything.

Great performance by Walsh

[dphelan-1 · 17 February 2005]

I really liked Vincent Walsh as the lead. He was very convincing in both the family-oriented scenes and the action stuff. The impending tragedy and the mundane actions that led to it were well-played and very gripping. It was nice to see a number of veteran Canadian actors like Lynne Griffin and Graham Green in large and small roles. I also thought the subplot about German saboteurs was both nicely diverting and added to the suspense. While Canadian productions can never hope to compete with Hollywood for budget and special effects, they can provide a Canadian "feel" to a project and "Shattered City" does that very well.

could have been better (contains spoilers)

[RoxyGirl77 · 7/10 · 28 October 2003]

This story was good, but it could have been done better, in an actual mini-series instead of a 4 hour movie. The characters were one dimensional, I really didn't feel like I knew them well enough to feel for them.I felt like each story of each character's life was half told. We're left to draw our own conclusions at the end of the movie. Less than 3 weeks after the blast we see the Collins family setting up Christmas tree, on Christmas Day. They are smiling and happy. It's like the disaster had never happened, and their father was still alive. I found this so hard to believe. Life does have to gone on, but after experiencing something that cataclysmic, would your heart been into Christmas? Did the trial really happen that rapidly? Was everything all well so soon after the explosion? It would have been best to show the Collins family a year later. I would have liked to see what we knew would happen anyway, Charlie falling in love with Dr. Paxton, Court all better, Trixie with her baby. The ending sort of spoiled the entire movie. The filming of the explosion itself could not have been done any better. It was very detailed, and very realistic. My grandma who lived through WWII had trouble watching the scene, because it was such a realistic explosion, right down to the books being blown to bits.

Shattered City Misses the Point of a Historical Interpretation

[AndyDanger · 7/10 · 6 April 2005]

Shattered City, despite being historically accurate of the period's social objectives and changes, as it conveys evidence of women's rights movements, labor disputes, conscription, and civilian attitude towards War and war measures, fails to express the true significance of the explosion to Haligonians and the Royal Canadian Navy. The production aired nationally to provide Canadians with insight into the history of their nation with the story of the greatest tragedy to occur on Canadian soil. However, the wide-ranging significance of this event in Canadian history is not portrayed at all as no information is given about the fate of Halifax or the navy residing in its harbor. However, these disguised details are quite often the beginning of a long chain of repercussions and influence in the rules of causality that shape the history of events to come. For instance, in sociologist Samuel Henry Prince's thesis "Catastrophe and Social Change" a manuscript on the systematic study of disaster and relief, he says "The Halifax hit by the explosion was unattractive, poorly serviced and outmoded." He wrote "Tourists had returned year after year and found her unaltered. 'Dear, dirty old Halifax' they had called her," even though, Halifax, as a strategically important harbor city, was experiencing a time of great prosperity when the explosion extinguished Nova Scotia's capital. The devastation brought forth the opportunity to change this concept of the city, a significant outcome the movie does not touch on. On 01/22/1917 the Canadian federal government implicated the Halifax Relief Commission to distribute the twenty-one million dollars in donations to rebuild Halifax and provide pensions to those disabled by the detonation . These funds situated a number of architects into the mess in turn changing the complete outlook on Halifax. "architect George Ross insisted the new residences be fireproof, have indoor toilets, and not be monotonous in appearance. He also wanted to avoid quick replacement housing that would turn into slums." "Never rebuilt there were three piers, a railway station, a sugar refinery and other nineteenth century industrial facilities. The devastation sped up plans to develop piers in the city's south end, and gave early life to a planned south-end rail station." CBC's presentation of Shattered City unfortunately only depicts the immediate pains of the explosion including the intricacies in the loss of life and does not truthfully detail the most important part of a disaster; recovery. It is in recovery, that some of the greatest personal tragedies and extreme transformations that make this event so momentous play themselves out. Another short-coming, is our personal relationship with the Collins family in that it gives us the only intimate insight to the lives touched by the disaster. There were many families that experienced greater devastation than the Collins family by far. For example, fourteen year old Barbara Orr was the only survivor in her nuclear family of her family of five other brothers and sisters. There are a number of stories similar to this one, all of which depict a more horrific experience than the ones delivered in Shattered City. Although CBC's presentation accurately discusses casualties and costs, it consistently refers to the fictional Collins family for reference to the grief of Halifax civilians. With this been said, Mari Leckie's interpretation does not make evident the carnage that many experienced during and after the explosion. For instance, Shattered City does not convey the wrath of the tidal wave which swept many out into the harbor. In fact, it depicts Trixie Collins; a young woman standing on the harbor, unscathed after the eruption had ended. Also, the film does not communicate the extent of injuries sustained by Haligonians, including decapitation, dismemberment, ghastly disfigurement, impalement's, and bodily severance. Nor does it discuss the removal of important institutions such as the Royal Naval College of Canada as it was moved to Kingston after its destruction, and the removal of the Fleet Wireless School for the same reason. David Bercuson explains to us the key markers of a good interpretation of history, one of which is the cumulative weight of rational analysis. This factor challenges the narrative's ability to explicate information based on all of its circumstances, not just at face value. Evidently, Shattered City does not do this. The Royal Canadian Navy, residing in the port is another community hardly touched on in the film. In fact, during the film's reenactment of the scene, there are no ships within the harbor besides the Belgian Imo and the French Mont Blanc. When in actuality the Belgian relief ship Imo moved into the right hand channel to pass two ships traveling at the proper speed. This placed the Imo in direct path of the Mont Blanc. The damage sustained by the many ships in the harbor prevented timely departures and cost a number of lives.

The CBC presentation gives the impression that the state of Massachusetts provided great assistance to the city of Halifax, which is true. However it makes no connotation to the many other governments involved in the donations of funds that would very much help to rebuild the Richmond community and surrounding areas. Money poured in from as far away as China and New Zealand. The Canadian government gave $18 million, the British government almost $5 million, but most Haligonians remember the generosity of the state of Massachusetts, which donated $750,000 in money and goods and gave unstintingly in volunteer assistance through the Massachusetts-Halifax Relief Committee. All in all, the depiction of the Halifax explosion is ultimately an example of bad history.Nevertheless, it is not the fault of bad scholarship rather the product of commercialization. If this presentation were to be shown on The History channel, perhaps the director would have discussed its consequences for the city, navy, and society in greater depth. Shattered City is a movie geared towards entertaining a Canadian audience, because of this it lacks evidence of this moment's significance in any events to come thereafter that owe their occurrence in full, or in part to the Halifax explosion of 1917.

Didn't see it all, Knew some of the story already, Was impressed by FX

[dukee44 · 7/10 · 25 May 2007]

I was impressed with the 3/4 of the 2 part TV film that I actually saw (the 1st night was laundry night and the 2nd half came on while I was having a loooong phone call). I have seen from the IMDb message boards that the writers played fast-and-loose with the facts at times...well, THAT'S never happened before!;) The problem with chronicling a major disaster of that kind is the absence of eye-witnesses that lived through the event. Of course, too, it was almost 100 years ago so people who DID survive have passed on due to age.

I do believe that from what I've read in books/the net and seen on TV that the explosion was an accident... I noticed that people from Halifax were also adamant about that point. It was a very dramatic piece. The German spy bit was just a plot-device, I believe... unprovable and not very important. I haven't studied what the temper of the times was so I can't comment on the captain's anti-war speech. But to move on...

As I said above, I was very impressed by the FX used in the actual explosion sequence. The quality is high and the horror of it is VERY real: you're almost cringing at the thought of the people oohing and ahhing by the waterfront just seconds before the explosion and when you see people in their homes and schools surrounded by glass. The idea of showing people witnessing the disaster from several different places was also interesting.

Good acting from what I saw and good capture of the period.

Good writing/Poor Direction

[scenicns · 3/10 · 29 October 2003]

I had friends that were in this movie so you will have to excuse my bias. First off the writing was adequate. I enjoyed the addition of some intrigue before the explosion, I had heard the conspiracy theories about German saboteurs before and the writers did a good job of myth building without re-writing history. The acting was pretty much the CBC standard which is acceptable in a docu-drama… what really stood out about this film was the terrible directing and cinematography, there was even one of those classic pan reaction shots when the disfigured soldier killed himself… the only place you see those is in comedy shows these days! Looking at Pittman's filmography I understand now why so many Canadian television shows have a similar look… and I mean that in a bad way.

I'm very happy a movie was made in Halifax about Halifax and I am sure it will be shown to delighted junior high students for decades to come.

CBC robs us of the truth

[Andréa · 28 October 2003]

The Halifax Explosion was a turning point in Canadian history. It shook a young country, but left it stronger, if not more sober.

The CBC's "Shattered City" uses fiction to tell the story of the Halifax Explosion. Some of the actors put in good performances, although many are stiff. My major grievance is with the use of fiction. The viewer is not able to discern truth from fantasy. In fact, at the film's conclusion, a short clip shows the actors explaining they had not ever learned anything about the Hfx Explosion. This may be true for many Canadians, as well as people in other countries. The story has little to teach us, because it fails to recognize the greatness of the real story.

An enjoyable movie

[clydesdale15 · 28 October 2003]

It was nice to see another good movie about the Maritimes. There were certain things that lacked or needed more explanation, but on the whole it was an enjoyable movie based on true events. Most people have never even heard of the Halifax explosion; so, this movie should provide some info. The actors did a good job portraying their characters. It was wonderful to see Zachary Bennett (Ernest) again, whom most would remember as Felix King in the "Road to Avonlea" series. Unfortunately his character only appears in the first part and we never hear of him after that. This is a good movie to sit back in the evening and enjoy.

Awesome movie

[HfxGal · 27 October 2003]

I thought that this was a great movie. I just finished watching it and it was truly touching especially at the end. I saw many of the scenes being shot since I live in the city, but it was great to see it all together. A very well done movie!