In Nacht und Eis

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.

There's really nothing much I can add to the poster's more than excellent review above but just a few more details on the film itself and the events it portrays.

As said, well done. The first of it's kind. A true film/Titanic buff's collection treasure.

We start off on the Southampton docks boarding the doomed luxury liner and get a good introduction to what life was like on a ship at that time. What was offered for entertainment and general life on board.

Then disaster strikes. (You know the rest)

The film takes on a very interesting point of view from the point of impact with the iceberg, as stated above, which focuses primarily on the radio operator and his tireless efforts to get assistance to the stricken vessel as soon as possible. He keeps at the key (wireless transmitter) until the very end. The Captain clearly releases him from duty toward the end, but he stays and continues to struggle to find help even as the electrical power is failing around him.

Very little emphasis is given to the shortage of lifeboats, or the actual evacuation for that matter. Passenger panic is rarely seen, this being more than likely because the death factor was still so fresh in the minds of audiences in 1912, it centers more around the boiler room stokers, wireless operator, and the Captain...basically the bravery of the crew and the heroics of the story, versus the tragedy.

The film, as is the case with ALL historical films, is not without it's inaccuracies. BUT, given the time it was made (a few months after the actual Titanic's sinking and with differing reports on both sides of the Atlantic from surviving officers, passengers, and managers, the "facts" the filmmakers had to work with were few and far in between. So some "uneducated guesses" came into play.

Example: Passengers sing in mass a final hymn, boilers explode with flames shooting out of the funnels, etc. But hey, what movie has ever been without it's technical or historical errors? There will never be a "perfect film". But for it's time, 'In Nacht Und Eis' is a true masterpiece, in my opinion.

With a running time of about 35 minutes, double to that of most films of it's day, 'Nacht Und Eis' captivated audiences of 1912 and left them spell-bounded.

Two thumbs waaaay up from me! I will reiterate though, this is not a film for one looking for great sinking effects or visual stimulation, it genuinely tells the story of Titanic (as generally perceived at the time) and would be seen as very melodramatic. And it's silent with text screens that appear ever-so-often, but in German. So if you know German, you might understand what's being said. Me, I had to go on what was visually being acted out by the actors to figure out what was going on, and it's not hard to tell.

The actors in this film did an excellent job at visually showing every emotion very clearly so as could be undertood in any language.

In drawing this comment to a close (It's long enough already), I would just like to say that if you're ever lucky enough to get an opportunity to obtain this film...do it. You won't regret it. Blind luck, and a perfect stranger that I happened to cross one day, was how I was lucky enough to obtain the film finally, after searching for years.

A must see for Titanic and film history Buffs!

Matt.

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.

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.

This German film was one of the first attempts to film the sinking of the Titanic. From a historical standpoint, that fact makes it interesting. But the film itself is not that entertaining. It's only about 35 minutes long, but there is one stretch which seems like an eternity as we just see people socializing in the dining room. Part of the problem is that the title cards are in German, and the version I watched had Portuguese subtitles. One semester of college German was not enough to get me through this, but then again, you really didn't need the title cards to describe what was going on. A larger problem is that there are no characters to "latch on to." The ship's captain might have evoked some sympathy, but he ridiculously overacts.

The film opens with what appears to be actual footage of people boarding a ship, and many of the scenes do take place aboard a ship. However, the miniature models are not convincing, but let's be honest ... the director did not have James Cameron's budget.

The film does have an interesting backstory. It was made on Berlin backlot by director Mime Misu, just two months after the Titanic sank. Presumed lost, it was discovered in 1998 after some publicity surrounding the release of Cameron's Titanic in late 1997. A 74-year-old retired film collector named Horst Lange remembered he had obtained a copy some twenty years earlier, paying around $120 for it. Lange said "it is an impressive film for June 1912. But there are mistakes in it. For instance, the captain and officers are showing wearing Germany navy uniforms." To provide the sinking effect, the set was tipped by hand using ropes and pulleys.

Newspapers erroneously reported the discovery as the first film ever made about the Titanic. But according to film historian Frank Thompson, the Éclair Moving Picture Co. Of Fort Lee, New Jersey, released a short entitled "Saved From The Titanic" just one month after the sinking. (This film is presumed lost, despite someone on Youtube trying to foist off an old documentary as this film.) The film starred actress/model Dorothy Gibson, who had survived the sinking.