ShangLuda Admirable film.

SanEat A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

Kirandeep Yoder The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

JohnHowardReid BACKGROUND: "Titanic" was a pet project of Nazi Germany's evil propaganda minister, Dr. Goebbels. In the true story of the 15 April 1912 tragedy in which 1,503 people lost their lives, Goebbels saw a grand opportunity to denounce British opportunism, stupidity and greed. Goebbels had the script written by a fanatical Nazi, Zerlett- Olfenius. Direction was entrusted to Herbert Selpin who had successfully handled movie versions of other maritime disasters, despite the fact that Goebbels was well aware that Selpin had little love for the Nazi regime. However, Zerlett-Olfenius was entrusted with shooting the second unit work on location in the port of Gdynia in Poland. In May 1942, whilst Selpin shot the interiors in Berlin, Zerlett-Olfenius was detailed to direct the matching exteriors in Gdynia. When no footage at all arrived from Gdynia, the frustrated Selpin journeyed to that port to investigate. He confronted Zerlett- Olfenius and the two men had a bitter quarrel during which Selpin made many insulting references to the German armed forces. Zerlett- Olfenius reported Selpin to the Gestapo. Selpin was arrested and thrown into jail on a charge of treason. Unwilling to delay shooting and bring the matter to trial, the evil Goebbels ordered the prison guards to murder Selpin in his cell on the night of 31 July 1942. The propaganda minister then gave out that the treasonable Selpin had admitted his guilt by committing suicide. Werner Klinger was contracted to complete the film.However, Selpin had the last laugh after all. When Goebbels viewed the completed picture, he had enough wit to realize that its propaganda effects would be the exact opposite of what he and Zerlett-Olfenius had intended. Not only were the scenes of panic among the passengers uncomfortably akin to the contemporary reactions of German civilians under Allied bombing raids, but the instigator of the whole tragedy, Ismay, was shown to be a corrupt, self-seeking leader, reckless of people's lives in his own lust for power, money and "glory". A Hitler figure, in other words. "Titanic" was shown in Paris (in order to recoup at least part of its enormous cost), but in Germany it was not released at all until 1950.COMMENT:There are a number of movies dealing with the Titanic tragedy, but for sheer entertainment zing and gusto, this version is hard to beat. Not only are special effects absolutely marvelous and the scenes of shipboard panic and mayhem absolutely riveting, but the sets are superb, the costumes startling, and the acting dazzlingly charismatic. Nielsen hugs audience sympathy as the harassed Petersen, Miss Schmitz (despite a long dark wig that is a trifle disconcerting) transforms realistically from riches-into- rescuer, while the stunningly-gowned Heiberg limns the most decorative of high-class vamps and the evil-visaged Wernicke makes a human figure of the luckless Captain Smith. And a special clap to Jolly Marée who performs the sexiest dance number by which all others will now be measured.Selpin's driving, pacey direction, boosted by Behn-Grund's splendid camera-work nails home every hideously fascinating detail of this most terrible of maritime tragedies.

Uriah43 Although there have been several movies produced depicting the fate of the RMS Titanic this particular picture is unique because it was made in Nazi Germany during World War II. This fact cannot be overlooked because the film itself suffers from a heavy amount of propaganda which permeates just about every scene. Most noticeable is the effort to falsely attribute the sinking of this great ship to the unmitigated greed and avarice of the owner of the White Star Line, "Bruce Ismay" (played by Ernst Fritz Furbringer). While it is possible that he pressured "Captain Edward J. Smith" (Otto Wernicke) to steam ahead at full speed in spite of iceberg warnings, the actual truth concerning the degree of coercion will probably never be known. Unfortunately, the plot not only suggests that greed on his part was a factor but also accuses the British Empire of the same dastardly complicity. And the manner in which this was done struck me as being somewhat dark and sinister. But then the fact that Joseph Goebbels had a personal role in the movie's production might have something to do with that. In any case, apart from the propaganda angle this movie actually wasn't too bad and I recommend it for those who enjoy films from this time or pertaining to this particular incident. Slightly above average.

Boba_Fett1138 I don't mind movies changing history, or taking various different variations on a story but this movie is nothing more but a piece of Nazi propaganda, used to especially make the English look bad this time. The did the story in such a way that it seemed as if the greed and lust for money was the reason for the Titanic to sink.But of course this angle could had also been taken years later, in basically every other Titanic, so I'll judge this movie as a movie, rather than a propaganda piece.At this point, I have seen every relevant Titanic movie. As far as Titanic movies are concerned this version is not amongst the best ones. The movie feels rather rushed and in terms of its look and style, it also isn't the most impressive version around. It must had been far from the costly Titanic movie to make, which can be really seen in the movie. It doesn't ever use big establishing shots of the ship or its interiors. Also the actual sinking is done quite simply, as we get to see very little people actually dying or struggling to survive. Still I must say that they did a good job with its available resources and little money they had to spend. They used some creative solutions.Also its story, aside from its underlying main plot, is a quite well done one. The movie has many different characters in it and it decides not to have really one or two main characters. So what we have now are many different characters, with many different stories and backdrops. It ensures that the movie also remains interesting and the movie doesn't really ever have any slow moments it. It's also a quite short movie, so that also surely helps.It could had actually been a much better movie, had it not felt and looked that much rushed.6/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Michael_Elliott Titanic (1943) *** (out of 4) Very interesting and highly entertaining version of the disaster told through the eyes of a German director and cast. This is certainly a war propaganda film and the closing line takes a direct hit at the British but even with all of that the film still manages to entertain. It's clear the German's wanted Americans and the British to look like idiots but why on Earth would they keep the cast speaking German? Who knows. The one good guy in the film, a German officer, is the hero here. Even stranger is that the film was originally banned in Germany and wasn't shown there for over six years. Interestingly, director Herbert Selpin was arrested by the Gestapo during filming and the next day was found dead in his cell. Some say he was murdered but the Gestapo claimed suicide.