As most of us know there are many types of true story, you have documentaries, docu-dramas, based on real events, based on real facts, based on something that kev told me down the pub last friday and we all know kev tells the truth.
(Okay that last one isn't real but honestly I would trust kev)
I was once told that in the movie world if someone tells you something is based on real events it is most like not true but possible and if something was based on real facts than you should not believe it at all, I am not sure how fare that is but I am only quoting.
Titanic is based on real events. We know it was a ship, we know it was called the titanic and we know that it crashed into an iceburg but everything else within Titanic could not entirely be called fact. I have been to a museum where the Titanic was helped built in Workington in the Lake District and it was also built in Ireland. Nothing in the museum states of any evidence of anyone of the names used or indeed of a love story, I appreciate that the film itself was not meant to be a documentary and that Cameron did not create it as such but I think some people may see it as such (at which point I would love to direct them to Titanic II which in it's own right is a masterpiece).
So my question is where does the line draw for you? If someone presents something as a true story and it comes out in cinematic style do you do any research into if it is real? Do you care? Does it matter to you or do you just think as long as it is entertaining then that is what is important.
One thing I do know of Titanic is that an apology was made to the family of William McMaster "Will" Murdoch for Cameron's representation as discussed below:
(Okay that last one isn't real but honestly I would trust kev)
I was once told that in the movie world if someone tells you something is based on real events it is most like not true but possible and if something was based on real facts than you should not believe it at all, I am not sure how fare that is but I am only quoting.
Titanic is based on real events. We know it was a ship, we know it was called the titanic and we know that it crashed into an iceburg but everything else within Titanic could not entirely be called fact. I have been to a museum where the Titanic was helped built in Workington in the Lake District and it was also built in Ireland. Nothing in the museum states of any evidence of anyone of the names used or indeed of a love story, I appreciate that the film itself was not meant to be a documentary and that Cameron did not create it as such but I think some people may see it as such (at which point I would love to direct them to Titanic II which in it's own right is a masterpiece).
So my question is where does the line draw for you? If someone presents something as a true story and it comes out in cinematic style do you do any research into if it is real? Do you care? Does it matter to you or do you just think as long as it is entertaining then that is what is important.
One thing I do know of Titanic is that an apology was made to the family of William McMaster "Will" Murdoch for Cameron's representation as discussed below:
Responsible for sinking?
The orders Murdoch gave to avoid the iceberg are debated. According to the Quartermaster Alfred Olliver, who was nearby, Murdoch immediately ordered the helm "hard to port" to ward off the stern of the iceberg. Hichens and the fourth officer Joseph Boxhall made no mention of this order. However, since the stern avoided the iceberg, it is likely that the order was given and carried out.
Furthermore, the avoidance maneuver was denounced during the United States Senate inquiry into the sinking of the RMS Titanic. The results suggested that if the Titanic had collided with the iceberg head on, it may have only damaged two water-tight compartments. If this were true, then not only would everyone have had been saved, but the ship could have lived a full career.
This claim has been hotly debated ever since it was published. Before the iceberg was sighted, Titanic had been traveling around her cruise speed of 21 knots, her top speed being 24 knots. For a ship weighing more than fifty-thousand tons to come to a complete stop within a matter of seconds would have not only caused her to sink, but most likely would have shattered her keel, causing her to sink in a matter of seconds or minutes as opposed to two hours and forty minutes. Therefore, it is widely believed by the historical community that Officer Murdoch made the right decision, and in doing so, saved 700 lives
The orders Murdoch gave to avoid the iceberg are debated. According to the Quartermaster Alfred Olliver, who was nearby, Murdoch immediately ordered the helm "hard to port" to ward off the stern of the iceberg. Hichens and the fourth officer Joseph Boxhall made no mention of this order. However, since the stern avoided the iceberg, it is likely that the order was given and carried out.
Furthermore, the avoidance maneuver was denounced during the United States Senate inquiry into the sinking of the RMS Titanic. The results suggested that if the Titanic had collided with the iceberg head on, it may have only damaged two water-tight compartments. If this were true, then not only would everyone have had been saved, but the ship could have lived a full career.
This claim has been hotly debated ever since it was published. Before the iceberg was sighted, Titanic had been traveling around her cruise speed of 21 knots, her top speed being 24 knots. For a ship weighing more than fifty-thousand tons to come to a complete stop within a matter of seconds would have not only caused her to sink, but most likely would have shattered her keel, causing her to sink in a matter of seconds or minutes as opposed to two hours and forty minutes. Therefore, it is widely believed by the historical community that Officer Murdoch made the right decision, and in doing so, saved 700 lives
In both the 1996 and 1997 films, Murdoch committed suicide. The 1997 film depicted Murdoch taking – but later rejecting – a bribe from Caledon Hockley; and shooting two passengers (Tommy Ryan and another unidentified passenger) dead in a mob on the deck after Murdoch presumes they intend to storm one of the remaining lifeboats. Murdoch then salutes Chief Officer Henry Wilde and commits suicide by firing the pistol into his temple, his body crumpling backwards into the sea. Murdoch's descendants including his nephew objected to this portrayal and studio executives later flew to Murdoch's hometown to issue an apology for this depiction to his surviving relatives.
According to Cameron, his depiction of Murdoch is not of a man ‘gone bad,’ a ‘cowardly murderer,’ but of an “honorable man” saying “I’m not sure you’d find that same sense of responsibility and total devotion to duty today. This guy had half of his lifeboats launched before his counterpart on the port side had even launched one. That says something about character and heroism” (James Cameron’s Titanic, p. 129). This is maybe why Murdoch has the privilege of being among those seen in Rose’s ‘dream sequence’ at the end of the film. He is standing next to Thomas Andrews, smiling as Rose drifts by and clapping along with the rest of the crowd of happy onlookers as Rose and Jack kiss and implying Murdoch's heroic reputation
According to Cameron, his depiction of Murdoch is not of a man ‘gone bad,’ a ‘cowardly murderer,’ but of an “honorable man” saying “I’m not sure you’d find that same sense of responsibility and total devotion to duty today. This guy had half of his lifeboats launched before his counterpart on the port side had even launched one. That says something about character and heroism” (James Cameron’s Titanic, p. 129). This is maybe why Murdoch has the privilege of being among those seen in Rose’s ‘dream sequence’ at the end of the film. He is standing next to Thomas Andrews, smiling as Rose drifts by and clapping along with the rest of the crowd of happy onlookers as Rose and Jack kiss and implying Murdoch's heroic reputation
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twitter: @ginock
livejournal film reviews: http://windsoc.livejournal.com/
photos: http://www.instagram.com/christopherwindsor