In Nacht und Eis

In Nacht und Eis (1912)

** (out of 4)

The German title translates to IN NIGHT AND ICE but the film was also released as THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC. This film is certainly historic as it's the first movie to deal with the Titanic tragedy. This was filmed a month or so after the real event and released not too long after wards. There's really no point in trying to compare this to any future film so one shouldn't expect a realistic telling of the events or great special effects. I think what's so interesting in viewing this film today is just what they did show and perhaps what they thought happened. It should go without saying but the ship never breaks in two pieces and this film shows the ship pretty much running onto the ice burg. The way the Captain is shown here has him being very heroic and it seems most of the attention is given to the wireless operator as he's made out to be the hero here. The film shows the crash but this special effect is obviously just a fake boat running into some ice. It's nothing special but it looks decent enough. The most interesting thing is what we're not shown and the biggest thing is that we never see people in panic. I'm going to guess we don't see anyone dying simply because it was too close to the actual events or perhaps the film didn't want to add to people's fear of sailing. We also don't see the lack of lifeboats get blamed for all the deaths. In fact, we're never really told or showed why so many people ended up dying. The film is very brief in the sinking as it happens rather quickly and we really don't get to see anyone getting into the lifeboats. We see them taking off at sea in them but that's about it. The film runs 35-minutes, which was pretty long for 1912 but the sinking doesn't start until the 18-minute mark. The opening pretty much introduces us to various characters as we get to see what type of games they were playing on board as well as a few other items. The "history" side of this film is the main reason to watch because as a "movie" it's pretty weak. The director is rather weak from start to finish and the thing really doesn't contain as much power as it should. Again, this was probably due to not wanting to really scare or upset people but if you're going to have a movie on Titanic you need a little bit more than what's here. Another problem is that there's way too much time focused on the characters and not the event but, then again, this is something that would be an issue with all disaster films to follow. The best moment in the film is after the ship hits the ice and we see the impact on the people sitting inside. Even though this film isn't very good, it's history makes it a must-see.

The sinking of the Titanic was a shocking event in 1912 and four months later, this movie about the event was made. The characters shown are unnamed, but described; there's little doubt that the audience knew their names.

The choices of whom to show may seem peculiar to the modern audience: the captain, the officer who spots the ice berg, the telegrapher who stuck to his key, some waiters and the black gang; the passengers we get to see are first class passengers. If there is anyone from the lower classes, they are incidental.

Is this a feature film? The copy I saw was 35 minutes in length, and handsomely tinted. For a modern audience, that would be a long short subject, but in 1912 it definitely was. Because the mechanics and the acts of the movie are the interest of this film, the acting and characters are undefined.

The First Dramatic Motion Picture about the Titanic Disaster. This is a very rare film and has only very recently been restored, it was a real treat to see the film, as it was believed that this screening (British Film Institue, London 14 Apr, 1999) was the first time in its history that it was shown to a British audience, in other words it was its UK premier, only 87 years late.

The film is 40 minutes long (a long film for its day), it is a surprisingly good piece if cinema, and despite the very theatrical silent movie style acting, it has a very strong atmosphere.

One very interesting point that comes out of the film is the different emphasis on the Wireless operator, he and the machine were considered the heroes of the story, as without them all the passengers might have been lost, there is no mention of the lack of life boats, indeed before the invention of the wireless a ship at sea in trouble was basically on her own, and so it was seen as an incredible feat that so many lives were saved.

The story behind this movie is more interesting than the movie itself, but that's okay, seeing as it's only about 42 minutes long, it's very straightforward, and it's also 110 years old. It's pretty easy to cut it at least some slack, for those reasons.

Apparently, this was made and released the same year the Titanic sunk, and that's exactly what it depicts: the lead up to the Titanic's fateful collision, the chaos it caused, and the rescue of those who survived. Being made so close to a tragic event, this could arguably be the first exploitation movie, too.

I feel like maybe it needed a little time before telling the story in such a direct way, but then again, who knows what people wanted back in the 1910s, or whether this film was seen as exploitative or educational back then. We can't ask anyone who was around when this came out, either; they're all gone.

Of course, the special effects used to depict the collision are kind of bad, but cutting to all the different parts of the ship one by one, all showing their reaction to the collision was effective. And even if there's little by way of story or characters (title cards tell you whether each character survived or perished as they're introduced), the brief runtime makes that more forgivable.

Overall, it's not a very good movie, but it's fascinating from a historical perspective, and considering its position as an early docudrama/possible exploitation film. Also interesting is how it was believed to be a lost film until a print was discovered some 86 years after its release (and the restored version on YouTube looks really good). It's another thing that makes this film more interesting to read about than watch.

Contrary to what many believe this was not the first movie created about the Titanic. The first was "Saved From The Titanic" starring survivor Dorothy Gibson which was released 31 days after the disaster. Unfortunately a fire destroyed all known copies.