Titanic | |
---|---|
Genre | Serial Period drama |
Created by | Nigel Stafford-Clark |
Written by | Julian Fellowes |
Directed by | Jon Jones |
Starring | See prose |
Composer | Jonathan Goldsmith |
Country of origin | international co-production of: Hungary United Kingdom Canada |
Original language | English |
No. of series | 1 |
No. of episodes | 4 |
Production | |
Executive producers | Kate Bartlett (ITV Studios) Simon Vaughan (Lookout Point) Jennifer Kawaja and Julia Sereny (Sienna Films) Howard Ellis and Adam Goodman (Mid Atlantic Films) |
Producers | Nigel Stafford-Clark Chris Thompson |
Cinematography | Adam Suschitzky |
Running time | Episodes vary (43 to 46 minutes) Full running time (184 minutes) |
Production companies | Deep Indigo Sienna Films Mid Atlantic Films ITV Studios Lookout Point |
Original release | |
Network | ITV |
Release | 25 March – 15 April 2012 |
Network | ABC |
Release | 14 April – 15 April 2012 |
Network | Global Television Network |
Titanic is a four-part television serial and period drama written by Julian Fellowes. It is based on the passenger liner RMS Titanic, which sank in the North Atlantic Ocean in April 1912 following a collision with an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City. [1]
The series was created by producer Nigel Stafford-Clark and written by Julian Fellowes to mark the 100th anniversary of the maritime disaster on 15 April 1912. It sets out to paint a portrait of a whole society, telling the stories of a wide range of characters, both real and imagined, from every social level. Their narratives are developed and gradually interwoven over the first three episodes, each of which ends in a cliffhanger as the ship begins to founder. The fourth and final episode draws all of the different stories together and reveals to the audience who survives.
Titanic was released in March and April 2012 for the disaster's centenary on 15 April 2012. It was one of two such productions to mark the anniversary; the other was Titanic: Blood and Steel .
The Earl of Manton, his wife, his manservant, and the Lady Manton's maid have been booked on the Titanic for ages; the earl arranges for his daughter, Georgiana, who has been rebelling against society by advocating for women's suffrage, to get a booking at the last minute. They board the ship, and Lady Manton is instantly inhospitable to Muriel Batley, wife of the earl's employee, John Batley. A further rift is caused between the pair when Lady Manton tells Mrs Batley about her blood roots back to Ireland, which Mrs Batley mocks. The ship hits an iceberg. Although Georgiana is put on a boat, Lady Manton refuses to leave her husband.
The designers of Titanic are in conflict over how many lifeboats should be on the ship. Thomas Andrews hires Irishman Jim Maloney to get a more competent team to finish the behind-schedule electrical wiring, in exchange for transporting his family to America for a new life. Although his wife, Mary, is unsure of the move, they go anyway and Jim manages to secure the family a room in third class. However, a stranger and fellow passenger, Peter, makes Mary wary by constantly appearing nearby and soon makes the acquaintance of Mary's husband. Meanwhile, Paolo, the brother of the Italian engineer Mario, catches the eye of a beautiful stewardess, Annie Desmond. John and Muriel Batley, are shown having a turbulent time in their marriage. The ship hits the iceberg, and the Maloney family is trapped below decks. Peter steps out by attacking one of the stewards so Mary and her children can pass; however, both he and Jim are trapped below decks. Mary and her children manage to get on board a lifeboat, but the Batleys are unable to board a lifeboat and they, the Earl of Manton, and Barnes attempt to right an overturned lifeboat as the water reaches the boat deck.
Italian stoker Mario Sandrini gets a job on the ship, and he also manages to secure passage for his brother Paolo, as the only foreign waiter in the first class dining saloon. Paolo instantly becomes smitten with cabin steward Annie Desmond. Watson brings Lady Manton's jewel case down to steerage, and Barnes is shocked to discover why. Meanwhile, Paolo startles Annie with an impulsive gesture. Mary finally lets her guard down with Peter, enraging her husband Jim. However, their argument is interrupted when the iceberg strikes, and fear builds in steerage as passengers find themselves behind locked gates. Peter helps Mary and her children escape, and after Mario is dragged away by the two seamen, passengers from steerage manage to get up on deck, Jim and Peter in their midst. When up on deck the Earl of Manton helps Mary and the children into a lifeboat but, in the scramble for safety, Mary's terrified daughter Theresa bolts back inside the sinking ship, followed by her father. Mario and the other Italians from Gatti's Restaurant have been locked in a storage cupboard and, after Paolo sees Annie safely to a lifeboat, he goes in search of his brother. Paolo struggles to open the locked cupboard as the water quickly rises around him.
The passengers are in a desperate plight as the Titanic sinks into the icy waters. Watson is accidentally locked in the Mantons' cabin searching for her father's book when a steward orders that all first class cabins be locked to prevent people from stealing. However, she is saved when Barnes comes to her aid and gets a steward to open the door. When she is running for a lifeboat, he gives her an envelope and tells her not to open it until she is safe. Peter and Jim go in search of Theresa, Jim's daughter, but when Jim finds her, it is too late to escape. Theresa asks him what they do now, and he replies that they sit there and hold each other tightly. Paolo manages to get Peter to help him free his brother and the other Italians from the cupboard. Lady Manton is finally persuaded to get into a lifeboat. As Batley and his wife try to launch the overturned lifeboat with Lord Manton, Barnes and other passengers and crew, the ship takes its final plunge and waters engulfs the forward superstructure, sweeping them all apart. Barnes drowns. Paolo and Mario jump into the water and are separated; Mario climbs onto an overturned lifeboat, and sees the ship break in half and sink beneath the waves. Batley floats by, clinging to his wife's body. He is persuaded to let her go and is pulled aboard. Only three people are saved; these include Paolo, who died just as he was found, and Lord Manton, who survives. Watson reads the letter Barnes wrote her. It is his will, in which he leaves her a small house, which should be perfect for her father. The series ends with the survivors being approached by the rescue ship, RMS Carpathia.
Titanic has over 89 main characters. They are listed in alphabetical order by actor's last name, under the first episode in which each actor appeared.
Episode one | Episode two
Episode three
Episode four
|
Filming began in May 2011. [2] A two-tier set was constructed for the series at Stern Studios in Budapest, Hungary. This contained a representation of 60 metres (200 feet) of the ship's promenade deck and 50 metres (160 feet) of the boat deck. Other sets featured 75 metres (246 feet) of internal corridors and rooms such as the ship's bridge, pursers' offices, staterooms for the different classes, dining rooms and boiler rooms. [3]
The production also involved the construction of the largest indoor water tank in Europe. The 900-square-metre (9,700-square-foot) tank contained an immersible section representing part of the ship's interior and decks. [2]
The promos were shot at Pinewood Studios.
It was released in March and April 2012 for the disaster's 100th anniversary. The final episode aired in the United Kingdom and the United States on 15 April 2012, the 100th anniversary of the ship's sinking; in Canada, Global aired it on 11 April 2012.
The drama received mixed reviews from critics. John Doyle of The Globe and Mail described Titanic as "exemplary entertainment", "a high-grade nobs-and-slobs story set on a sinking ship". He found the use of flashbacks and changing perspective to be an effective yet simple "approach to a story that everyone feels they know." [4] Alex Strachan of Montreal's The Gazette considered the drama "a mixed success" as the "upstairs-downstairs class struggle is old fodder for U.K. costume dramas" but it is "not as emotionally gripping" as James Cameron's film nor as informative as the many documentaries that exist. What makes it worth seeing is the "decision to tell his story using flashbacks and fast-forwards. Each hour-long instalment begins and ends at a different point in the ship's voyage, and the pace never flags." [5] Brad Oswald of the Winnipeg Free Press said that the miniseries lives up to the story it endeavours to tell, that it is a disaster. With such emphasis on class distinction "it completely misses the mark in terms of portraying the emotional and organizational chaos of the tragedy." He went on to say that, in comparison to the many programmes on so many channels and the James Cameron film, "this tepid offering feels rather redundant and pointless." [6] On Rotten Tomatoes, the series has an aggregated score of 38% based on 3 positive and 5 negative critic reviews. [7]
Episode-viewing figures are from the Broadcasters' Audience Research Board.
Episode No. | Airdate | Total viewers (millions) |
---|---|---|
1 | 25 March 2012 | 9.07 [8] |
2 | 1 April 2012 | 6.19 [9] |
3 | 8 April 2012 | 5.85 [10] |
4 | 15 April 2012 | 7.73 [10] |
The drama's soundtrack was composed by Jonathan Goldsmith.
Benjamin Guggenheim was an American businessman, who was a wealthy member of the Guggenheim family. He was among the most prominent American passengers aboard RMS Titanic and perished along with 1,495 others when the ship sank on her maiden voyage taking 1,496 of 2,208 on board with her.
Thomas Andrews Jr. was a British businessman and shipbuilder, who was managing director and head of the drafting department of the shipbuilding company Harland and Wolff in Belfast, Ireland. He was the naval architect in charge of the plans for the ocean liner Titanic and perished along with more than 1,500 people when the ship sank on her maiden voyage.
Titanic is a 1953 American drama film directed by Jean Negulesco, and starring Clifton Webb and Barbara Stanwyck. It centers on an estranged couple and other fictional passengers on the ill-fated maiden voyage of the ship of the same name, which took place on April 14, 1912.
S.O.S. Titanic is a 1979 drama disaster television movie that depicts the doomed 1912 maiden voyage from the perspective of three distinct groups of passengers in first, second and third class. The script was written by James Costigan and directed by William Hale. It is the first Titanic film to be filmed and released in colour.
Henry Tingle Wilde, RNR was a British naval officer who was the chief officer of the RMS Titanic. He died when the ship sank on her maiden voyage in April 1912.
A Night to Remember is a 1958 British historical disaster docudrama film based on the eponymous 1955 book by Walter Lord. The film and book recount the final night of RMS Titanic, which sank on her maiden voyage after she struck an iceberg in 1912. Adapted by Eric Ambler and directed by Roy Ward Baker, the film stars Kenneth More as the ship's Second Officer Charles Lightoller and features Michael Goodliffe, Laurence Naismith, Kenneth Griffith, David McCallum and Tucker McGuire. It was filmed in the United Kingdom and tells the story of the sinking, portraying the main incidents and players in a documentary-style fashion with considerable attention to detail. The production team, supervised by producer William MacQuitty used blueprints of the ship to create authentic sets, while Fourth Officer Joseph Boxhall and ex-Cunard Commodore Harry Grattidge worked as technical advisors on the film. Its estimated budget of up to £600,000 was exceptional and made it the most expensive film ever made in Britain up to that time. The film's score was written by William Alwyn.
Barbara Joyce Dainton was the penultimate remaining survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on 14 April 1912 after hitting an iceberg on its maiden voyage. She was the last living survivor who travelled second-class on the ship.
Eleanor Ileen Shuman was an American telephone operator and one of the last remaining survivors of the sinking of RMS Titanic on April 15, 1912.
RMS Titanic sank on 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, Titanic was four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City, with an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg at 23:40 on 14 April. Her sinking two hours and forty minutes later at 02:20 ship's time on 15 April resulted in the deaths of more than 1,500 people, making it one of the deadliest peacetime maritime disasters in history.
A total of 2,240 people sailed on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, the second of the White Star Line's Olympic-class ocean liners, from Southampton, England, to New York City. Partway through the voyage, the ship struck an iceberg and sank in the early morning of 15 April 1912, resulting in the deaths of 1,517 passengers and crew.
The crew of the Titanic were among the estimated 2,240 people who sailed on the maiden voyage of the second of the White Star Line's Olympic-class ocean liners, from Southampton, England, to New York City in the United States. Halfway through the voyage, the ship struck an iceberg and sank in the early morning of 15 April 1912, resulting in the deaths of over 1,500 people, including approximately 688 crew members.
Lifeboats played a crucial role during the sinking of the Titanic on 14–15 April 1912. The ship had 20 lifeboats that, in total, could accommodate 1,178 people, a little over half of the 2,209 on board the night it sank.
There were many animals aboard the Titanic during her disastrous maiden voyage, which ended with the ship sinking on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg.
Rhoda "Rosa" Mary Abbott was a passenger on the RMS Titanic. She was the only female passenger who went down with the sinking of the ship and survived.
"How the Mail Steamer Went Down in Mid Atlantic by a Survivor" is a short story that was published in the 22 March 1886, issue of the Pall Mall Gazette by the English investigative journalist and newspaper editor William Thomas Stead. Stead included this editorial comment: "This is exactly what might take place and will take place if liners are sent to sea short of boats".
Dickinson H. Bishop was an American businessman who traveled on board the ill-fated maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic while on his honeymoon with bride Helen, née Walton. They both survived the sinking of the Titanic on 15 April 1912.
George Thomas Macdonald Symons was a British sailor who worked as a lookout on board the ill-fated RMS Titanic. Symons, who was 24 at the time of the sinking of the ship, was put in charge of one of the first lifeboats to be launched, lifeboat #1. The boat was an emergency cutter which was launched with only 12 people on board, including seven crew members, and had gained notoriety after the disaster.
Frederick William Barrett was a British stoker. After having served as a stoker on several ships, on 6 April 1912, he was hired on board the RMS Titanic as lead stoker. On April 15, 1912, while the ship was sinking, Barrett boarded lifeboat No. 13 and took command of it, thus surviving the disaster. He later testified before commissions of inquiry into the sinking of the ship and continued to work in the navy until the 1920s. In 1923, after losing his wife Mary Anne Jones, he remained in Liverpool and worked ashore as a logger.
"A Night to Remember" was an American television play broadcast live on March 28, 1956, as part of the NBC television series, Kraft Television Theatre. The play was based on Walter Lord's 1955 book, A Night to Remember, depicting the final night of the Titanic. George Roy Hill was the director.
Jane Quick was a British-American woman who was a survivor of the sinking of the RMS Titanic on 15 April 1912.