1

Kathryn Gray

Blue Group

7 October 2020

A Night to Remember Q1 Cinematic Analysis

Part A

A Night to Remember, a 1958 documentary-style film adapted from a book of the same name, tells the

story of the sinking of the RMS Titanic through the eyes of a variety of characters. As the events of the tragic night

of April 14th, 1912 play out, the film illustrates the importance of being prepared for the worst to happen, no

matter how unlikely it may seem for something to go wrong. The movie begins with the introduction of different

characters from all three classes setting off to board the Titanic. Once the ship has set off and the night progresses,

parties begin in the different classes. Soon the ship begins to receive several ice warnings from other steamers

nearby. However, only a few of the messages are relayed to the Captain, and the rest are ignored or overlooked.

Suddenly, a lookout spots an iceberg right in the ship’s path and alerts the crew. Despite attempts to slow down

and steer around the iceberg, the Titanic ends up colliding with the iceberg, causing significant enough damage

that it is determined that the ship will sink in about two hours. The passengers are unconcerned with this event

and some even play with the ice from the collision, convinced that they are in no danger since they are on an

“unsinkable” ship. A distress signal is sent out and reaches the RMS Carpathia, but isn’t successful in getting to the

SS Californian, which is visible 10 miles away. The Carpathia sets out, but won’t reach the Titanic in less than 4

hours. The Titanic begins to send out distress rockets to try and signal the Californian, but is unsuccessful and the

crew members of the other ship only wonder why such a luxurious boat as the Titanic is sending up rockets. The

crew begins ordering people to put on life jackets, but many are reluctant because they don’t think they are in real

danger. Passengers start to load into lifeboats, but there are not nearly enough for all of the passengers, and so

women and children of first and second class are prioritized. Many women refuse to get into the lifeboats because

they don’t want to leave their husbands, and some boats are sent out before they are completely full. As the ship

begins to sink, the captain declares all men for themselves, and many fall off the ship and are killed as it sinks. As

the ship goes down, several passengers on a lifeboat spot the Carpathia. Once they are on board, they learn that of

the 2,224 passengers, only 705 survived. The screen fades to black as the legacy of the Titanic is presented on the
 2

screen, and we are reminded that today, there are regulations so that another sinking hopefully won’t happen

again.

Part B

A Night to Remember is considered to be one of the most historically accurate films about the sinking of

the RMS Titanic, and it pays considerable attention to detail (Badame). In fact, one of the only major inaccuracies

in the movie is that it doesn’t depict the Titanic breaking in half as it sinks, but this information wasn’t found out

until 1985. It is otherwise very successful in portraying just how unprepared the Titanic was for a disaster, as well

as the passengers on board. After the Titanic collided with the iceberg, 6 of its 16 compartments flooded with

water, which resulted in it becoming too heavy to remain afloat (Johnson). Once it began to sink, passengers

started to evacuate, but there were not nearly enough lifeboats to carry everyone aboard. In order for everyone to

survive, there would have had to have been 48 lifeboats instead of the 20 equipped to just meet the requirements.

This lack of lifeboats is often thought of as the chief reason for the enormous loss of life (Gavin, Zarr). Of the 2,223

passengers, 1,517 people died. The lack of a response from the SS Californian also made this problem worse, and it

didn’t react to the Titanic’s distress calls in time (Johnson).

Since the sinking of the Titanic, many new safety regulations have been established for passenger ships at

sea to hopefully try and prevent a similar tragedy from occurring (Bassett). Mandatory implementation and use of

wireless communications, increased lifeboat capacity, and the implementation of the ice patrol have all been put in

place as a result of the incident. Wireless communications allow ships to receive weather reports, check their

positions, and call for help in emergencies, all skills that would have greatly benefited the Titanic. At the time, the

Titanic's twenty lifeboats actually exceeded requirements by 10 percent. New safety regulations have increased

the required number to fit everyone aboard the ship. The sinking of the supposedly “unsinkable” Titanic has

become one of the most well-known disasters in history.

Part C:

In A Night to Remember, various cinematographic techniques are used to increase the viewer’s awareness

of the setting, characters, and plot development. One cinematic technique used is zoom-ins on critical details

throughout the story. One example of this technique being used is when the Titanic receives a message from
 3

another ship about ice, and the camera zooms in on the note where this message was written down. This scene

and technique help to indicate the significance of this detail, and progress the plot as the viewer realizes the

foreshadowing of an iceberg. Another time when a zoom was used is in a scene in the dining room, where the

camera zooms in on a rattling glass full of liquid as the ship begins to fail. This was a very pivotal moment in the

film as the characters begin to realize something is wrong, and the zoom helps to emphasize the tension and

change of tone at this point in the film. Another cinematic technique used in the film are pans. These are used

most often to help establish setting, and the different locations on the Titanic. One of the first times this technique

is used is in a scene in the dining room, where a party is being held. The shot pans around the room, focusing on

many different characters and features in the room. This helps to establish the elegance of first-class, and how

beautiful the Titanic is. In contrast, this technique is also used in a scene in the lowest level of the ship to establish

what steerage was like. The various techniques used in the film help to illustrate the tragic events of that night,

and create a very accurate movie depicting the sinking.

 4

Works Cited

Badame, Emma. "A Night to Remember: The Ultimate Titanic Film." That Shelf, 15 Apr. 2020, thatshelf.com/a-

night-to-remember-the-ultimate-titanic-film/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2020.

Bassett, Vicki. "Causes and Effects of the Rapid Sinking of the Titanic." Undergraduate Engineering Review,

writing.engr.psu.edu/uer/bassett.html. Accessed 8 Oct. 2020.

Gavin, Alison, and Christopher Zarr. "They Said It Couldn't Sink." National Archives, U.S. National Archives and

Records Administration, 2012, www.archives.gov/publications/prologue/2012/spring/titanic.html.

Accessed 8 Oct. 2020.

Johnson, Ben. "The Sinking of RMS Titanic." Historic UK, www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofBritain/RMS-

Titanic-the-unsinkable-ship/. Accessed 8 Oct. 2020.