Titanic: Case Closed

I really enjoyed watching this documentary! Tim Maltin seemed like a respectable guy with neat enthusiasm. The various ways he came to his conclusion was hard work and adventure. For example, the various places he went to to gather evidence was intriguing.

The character reenactments, the over portrayal of his theory, and explanations were well done. I walked away learning much on science, history, and record keeping. The film is well balanced between reenactments and general documentary shots.

The reason why I gave it not a perfect score is because I felt the speed moved a little slow with the repeat of the dialogue of the characters and with the CGI effects- though I get they wanted emphasis on witness accounts.

I recommended this film to some friends.

The documentary looks at the reasons behind the sinking and lack of rescue of the RMS Titanic, and sees Tim Matlin, author of several books about the Titanic travel to locations across Europe, North American and the Atlantic Ocean to meet experts and perform experiments to test theories.

I have never read a book on the Titanic or seen any documentaries. I was vaguely familiar with some of the theories discussed here, about the captain being drunk (false) and about the lack of lifeboats. This not only covered what little I did know (and set me straight on false assumptions), but introduced me to new concepts I had never considered, such as the shipping routes and radio communication (which I would have thought minimal at the time).

Really a great film for those who want to learn about the Titanic.

Now, I have recently been watching a bunch of documentaries on the Titanic, but I must admit that the 2012 titled "Titanic's Final Mystery" (or "Titanic: Case Closed") is actually one of the more enlightening and enjoyable of documentaries I have watched on this tragedy in a long time.

This 2012 documentary sheds some very interesting light on the events that transpired and led to the tragedy of 1912. And it is a documentary that shows a lot of enthusiasm in bringing information to the viewer and does so in a quest for finding answers. And let me be the first to say that this was definitely interesting, and the things discovered and brought to attention were really enlightening, not to mention fully and wholly new to me. So that was really a good thing about this 2012 documentary.

Running at 1 hour and 33 minutes, this is a very in-depth documentary, but it didn't feel like a long documentary at all. Not once was there a feeling of it dragging on pointlessly.

If you have an interest in the sinking of the majestic Titanic and the events surrounding it, then "Titanic's Final Mystery" is without a doubt a documentary well-worth taking the time to watch.

My rating of this 2012 documentary lands on seven out of ten stars.

Titanic's Final Mystery (2012)

*** (out of 4)

One of many documentaries that were produced for the great ship's 100th anniversary sinking, this one here tries to explain a couple of the biggest mysteries that remain about that horrid day. Author and Titanic expert Tim Maltin goes through some major research trying to turn up new evidence on why the Titanic hit the iceberg and why the California didn't come to her rescue. If you've seen one Titanic documentary then more than likely there's not too much in the first hour that's going to catch you off guard. The start of this is just like so many other documentaries in that it explains the time, the historic nature of this ship and how everyone believed it would be impossible for it to sink. From here we get to the night that it did hit an iceberg and sink. The story of the Titanic is simply so fascinating that I think it would be nearly impossible to make telling it boring. The first portion of the documentary might be something we've seen countless times before but I found the dramatic re-enactments to be quite good and I thought there were some terrific diagrams used to show what exactly happened. There's also a terrific shot from above the ship of what it might have looked like to those coming down the side on a lifeboat and it was quite chilling to see the front of the ship under water. Yes, we've seen CGI effects of this before but it's very well done here. The second portion of the documentary turns more scientific as it tries to find out why the ship hit the iceberg. We're told that most of the time you'd have thirty-minutes to see an iceberg and get out of its way but the Titanic had just a thirty-second warning. I won't ruin what explanation is given but I'm sure Titanic buffs will debate if this was the actual cause. In the end, this is a good look at the events of that night that I'm sure die-hard buffs will enjoy.

This documentary does provide convincing answers for two lingering questions - why the lookouts on the Titanic didn't see the iceberg sooner, and why the nearest ship, the SS Californian, didn't come to the rescue, but this is NOT the final answer to all of Titanic's mysteries. While this is an informative documentary explaining the atmospheric and hydrological conditions contributing to the disaster, there are many other factors as well, and they are left unaddressed. This incomplete coverage is all the more disappointing because the documentary (as well as the title) claims to be the final word on why the Titanic sunk. Even worse, it mentions a number of other explanations that have emerged over the years - shoddy construction, the steel or rivets were too soft or too weak, for example - but dismisses them as "myths" without explaining why. The producers certainly had time to cover other issues: this is one of those documentaries that crams 30 minutes of information into 93 minutes of programming as they try to heighten the suspense by dragging out or repeating even the smallest details. Overall, this documentary is convincing on two mysteries that have never been satisfactorily answered before, but is disappointing in that, despite its claims, it is not the final word on why the Titanic sunk - there are plenty of mysteries still remaining.