Jonathan Melville: All hands on deck for Titanic

then there are a couple of re-releases coming to town next month that might just interest you.

It was on April 15, 1912 that the RMS Titanic sank in the North Atlantic, 1517 passengers and crew perishing in the icy waters during the ship’s maiden voyage. One hundred years on, two very different Titanic-related films are about to resurface as studios capitalise on our fascination with the disaster.

The highest profile version is James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster, Titanic, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

Titanic, which won 11 Oscars, has been dusted down and given the 3D treatment for an April 6 re-release and, despite Cameron cynically pulling out all the stops to tug at the heart strings and squeeze every ounce of drama he can from the story, it’s hard to deny that Titanic makes an impressive, big-screen experience, although I suspect the IMAX edition is the one to see.

If Cameron’s film gives you that sinking feeling, there’s also a re-release of 1958’s A Night to Remember on April 13, the very British take on events from director Roy Ward Baker starring Kenneth More and Honor Blackman and featuring some stock footage from the afore-mentioned ‘Nazi’ Titanic.

I saw the digitally restored classic recently and found it a far more rewarding version than Cameron’s. More level-headed and rounded, it focuses on the facts rather than the fiction and is all the better for it. See both films if you can, just remember to stock up on the hankies.

@jon_melville

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