Britannic

Britannic starts off quite well, with relatively good effects and interesting characters, although its claim of being "based on true events" is very misleading, somewhat similar to saying that Men In Black was based on true events as Earth, where it was based, existed. The Britannic did indeed sink off Greece, although the sinking was believed due to a torpedo strike or mine, not German agents on board the ship as the film pretends. Too many facts are wrong in this film, either made up or worse still blatantly contradicting the real event - but taken as a work of total fiction, which it basically is, it is still enjoyable. That said, it just copies its sibling, James Cameron's Titanic, far too much - too many things in this film are copies of Titanic's plot, right down to the love story between two people of different classes - in this case German and British rather than First Class and Third Class. The film weakens noticeably towards the end, the special effects (which seem to have been quickly put together by the same effects house as for Titanic, but with little of the attention to detail) get a lot poorer, and the plot falls to pieces in its attempts to copy the Titanic formula. Watch it if you've nothing else better to do, but don't expect the plot to live up to the real event's promise...

Firstly the facts:R.M.S.Britannic was the third of the "Olympic" class of liners to be launched by White Star from Harland & Woolf's shipyard in Belfast after the original "Olympic" (1910) and "Titanic" (1911).She was launched in 1914 but due to the outbreak of the First World War in Britain in August of that year, was requisitioned by the Admiralty and soon converted into a hospital ship with her distinct white hull and huge red cross on her sides.On her 6th outward voyage to the island of Mudros (Greece) she was either torpedoed or mined in the Kea channel in November 1916.The actual cause is still something of a mystery and I presume this doubt partly inspired the "plot".Lessons had been learnt from the earlier loss of "Titanic" (1912), notably the cellular double bottom, higher watertight bulkheads together with distinctive and exaggerated davits from each of which several lifeboats could quickly be launched. Mercifully there was minimal loss of life since it only had the White Star crew and medical staff onboard who were going to tend the casualites arising from Winston Churchill's ill advised Gallipoli campaign (1915) which he ordered when acting as First Lord of the Admiralty.Had this tragedy occurred after embarkation of the troops, the disaster could have become monumental.As one perceptive critic has observed below, one Violet Jessop had the dubious distinction in serving as steward/nurse on all the three aforementioned sister ships but was not mentioned in the film.

It seems almost "de rigeur" in all these type of marine disaster films to have a fictional slushy love story wrapped up in a few facts.We had Robert Wagner and Audrey Dalton in "Titanic"(1953) Leonardo de Caprio and Kate Winslet in "Titanic" (1997) to name but two.I have read Robert Ballard's account of his expedition to the wreck which is still in remarkable condition lying on her starboard side when compared to what is left of "Titanic".I also have another video which explores the second explosion (the first being caused either from a German mine or torpedo) and whether this was caused by igniting coal dust or cold water causing the exposed boilers to explode.The most fascinatng part of the film was what appeared to be authentic newsreel footage of the launching of "Britannic" as I had never seen this before.As regards the film itself, it can only be judged on entertainment value alone.Present are the usual Hollywood stereotypes of "Irish Freedom Fighters" given free reign in a wildly imaginative plot adequatly dealt with by my fellow reviewers below.

Violet Jessop fractured her scull in the water as the ship ploughed on while her rising propellers still turned and I assume this gave rise to the suicidal scene where the German agent commits virtual suicide while sitting in his life boat as it advances towards them without making an effort to avoid them.This was at odds with his desperate escape earlier.On enertainment value alone I rated it 5/10.

30 or so people died when the H.M.H.S Britannic sank, 55 minutes after striking a mine, and this is how we respect them?

I am shocked at the fact that the film makers had the nerve to use the name Britannic in this steaming pile of a movie.

Don't even bother seeing this movie for yourself, the real story is far more dramatic. For instance, Violet Jessop, who was a nurse on the Britannic, was also on the Titanic 4 years earlier, and she was onboard the Titanic's other sister ship, the R.M.S. Olympic, when she collided with the British cruiser, the H.M.S. Hawke, in 1911. This poor women was on all three Olympic-Class liners (as they were called) when they experienced tragedies, and she isn't even mentioned. However, I believe that the main character in the movie is loosely based on her.

Another reviewer compared this to Young Indiana Jones and it's a fair comparison. The presence of John Rhys-Davies reinforces the comparison. Amanda Ryan is a lovely looking actress. I'm surprised I hadn't heard of her before. I didn't think Britannic would be particularly good as it is a made for TV movie and they tend not to be too memorable but I was pleasantly surprised. Naturally the effects are not as good as those in James Cameron's film. Some shots, though, do remind you of shots in Titanic but mostly they're the kind of graphics you see in historical TV documentaries. There is quite a bit of suspense in it and the presence of the two kids makes it a good family film. Miss Ryan goes undercover as a governess and this is a departure from the way they are usually portrayed, as sadistic tyrants who abuse the children in their care. It is definitely better than SOS Titanic and the Catherine Zeta-Jones mini-series Titanic. Jacques Cousteau's discovery of the wreck is referred to at the end of the film and if anyone's interest in the Britannic has been kindled by this film I'd recommend that you try and get hold of the National Geographic video of Jacques Cousteau's 1976 expedition. It is very interesting. In 1976 some of the survivors were still alive and they give first hand testimonies in this documentary. One survivor, an elderly lady from Edinburgh, Mrs Sheila Macbeth-Mitchell went down in one of Cousteau's submarines to the wreck. She must have been 86 at the time but still brimming with enthusiasm and fun. She definitely would have been interested in this film.

This movie was defanately far from the truth. There were not german agents onboard who tried to blow up the ship and sink it and the ship didn't get hijacked and crew members were not shot by german spys. The Britannic was torpedoed off of Greece. So, this movie was extremely fictional so if you are looking for something historical acurate, this will not make your list. But, the story, I personally thought, was very neat and the effects and settings were very well done and looked very true to life. It's worth the time watching but THIS IS FICTION!