Ship of Dreams: Titanic Movie Diaries

I can't call myself a hard core fan of the 1997 movie "Titanic," but my interest in the film AND its actors has definitely grown after watching this fascinating and heartfelt documentary. Learning how the actors who kept diaries went through the whole process of getting to and being on the set, but also how the film changed their lives forever. And the super-fans whose lives were also tremendously impacted after seeing the movie for the first time. Any film buff like myself will truly enjoy this "deep dive" into the world of "Titanic."

Alexandra Boyd and her team have woven a beautiful tapestry of stories, recollections, imagery and music in this documentary that celebrates and commemorates the 25th anniversary of the original 1997 movie. This is a definite must-watch for "Titaniacs" or lovers of movies in general.

A touching and fascinating look at the making of a film icon. Alexandra Boyd has woven together memories and anecdotes from cast and crew members, alongside a brilliant and fascinating narrative. Titaniacs bring their own touching and often quirky spin on James Cameron's masterpiece, and a beautiful and sympathetic score from Charli Mackie brings everything together into a must see documentary for any Titanic film buff. A wonderful tribute to celebrate Titanic's 25th anniversary. Only available in N. America at the moment, but hopefully we'll be able to stream this in UK/Europe soon - much too good to miss !

This is one Titanic enthusiasts will love. It left me dying to rewatch one of my favorite films - The Titanic. Alexandra's bubbly enthusiasm is infectious, and it was joyous seeing how the movie affects so many people, and how people's lives have been forever impacted by the experience. We laughed a lot watching the movie, which was a surprise, but there is something innocent and charming about the characters and the the experience of watching the film that stayed with me and my friend long after the credits were over. Congratulations to the filmmaking team - a great job done by all and a great accomplishment.

I love this kind of behind the scenes stuff! Hearing from the actors involved that weren't the big stars makes it more accessible and allows us to get a better feel for what it was like to work on that enormous project. Alexandra is a delight and what a fun watch.

I so enjoyed the actors reading recollections of the casting process, the actual building/recreation of the ship, how they prepped and played their scenes, the makeup process for the frozen water scenes, the different degrees of hypothermia they had to portray, being starstruck by James Cameron.

Also loved the super fans - the costume recreations and Milton and all his coincidences. So well done!

Purchased this with a promising feeling after reading positive reviews. But instead, I got so frustrated when I finally had the time to watch it. Got back to some of the reviews, trying to understand if I've missed the point. A second read and most of them seems more like an attempt to promote rather than give honest feedback. So I've decided to write something more technical, without excess, pointing out what did not work out for me, as I feel cheated by "positive" reviews.

My first impression was like watching one of those pieces made to surf and profit over a hype. On this case, using James Cameron's "Titanic".

The documentary itself has a nice and beautiful proposal: to let background actors (those who generally are never remembered when it comes to a peek behind the scenes) have a moment to share their experiences while filming the blockbuster. But "Ship of dreams: Titanic movie diaries" does not present enough reasons to justify its 1h30 running time. To start: if you expect to see new or rare photos/footage/making-of from the original film, it's a visual disappointment. There are none. The use of pencil drawings in most moments (when real footage from the behind the scenes would have been a wonderful addition) gives the impression of poor resources on archival material, but a strong need to illustrate the moment. A particular moment to point out: when one of the cast members showed enthusiasm to read from her own diary, leading to a confusing moment if it was all scripted for the documentary or really written by them all these years ago.

Back to the actors themselves: you won't recognise them without a description of the exact moment where you can spot them in the original film. If you blink, you might miss them. But still, they've managed to tell so many things that sometimes you might want to go back just trying to figure the relevant connection between an airport and "Titanic", for example. And in an attempt to extend the documentary's length even more, fan base from the 1997 "Titanic" gives an insight on what the film means to them. But what should be a more to-the-point thing, turns into tedious moments through the entire documentary, going too much into personal details, like meeting for the first time in person to discuss about dolls and sewing techniques.

A particular guest, Nelson Aspen, seems to be the only one quite lost on the subject. Without a real purpose connected to "Titanic". More of an eccentric figure trying to promote himself on top of everything else (giving himself a 10/10 review, of course). Most of his moments felt totally unnecessary. But then you understand his presence better when you realise the long time friendship between him and actress/director of the documentary, Alexandra Boyd (aka "First Class woman" on the 1997 film).

With necessary cuts, sticking only to a shorter version of the actors sharing about their time on set, the overall idea would have worked great as an extra featurette on the home edition from the original film.