Le Titanic redévoilér

This fascinating documentary uses painstakingly detailed digital 3-D reconstructions of the Titanic's wreckage made from thousands of underwater photographs. The program's chief interest is that it provides clear views of entire sections of the ship that are impossible to see of the real ship because of the darkness of the water more than two miles below the ocean's surface. The digital images look very much like what one would expect the actual wreckage to look if the surrounding ocean could be drained away.

It's all very impressive, but the documentary's presentation has some irritating features. After explaining how the digital images were made, virtual cameras move past wreckage so rapidly it is difficult to take in details. The images would be far more interesting if the cameras were to linger over parts of the ship longer. For example, instead of showing the same rapid panning shots of the ship's bow repeatedly, it would have been better to use some of that time for much slower close-ups. It is also disappointing that the documentary provides almost no close-ups of the surrounding debris fields. What are all those large objects scattered around the ship's hull sections? Despite these reservations, the documentary is fascinating and well worth watching. Perhaps a future documentary will use the digital images to give us better views of the wreckage.