There have been a number of distinct movies and documentaries that have been made about the Titanic, but few have been able to have a current and contemporary take on the events alongside eyewitness testimony. Waking The Titanic succeeds because it is able to provide some sense of the terror that existed on the ship along with solid scientific and historical reporting of the events. I liked the way in which Waking the Titanic made contact with the descendants of the accident; it puts the sheer human cost (and the permanence of this cost) into view. With these descendents being a major part of their city, the sinking of the Titanic can be said to have major ramifications for the continued success of the city.
Waking The Titanic focuses on the Addergoole 14, a group of 14 individuals from a small Irish community that were shoehorned into third-class accommodations. A set of historical reconstructions of the events is firmly grounded on the different narratives of the group’s events while on the ship, while a set of capable actors really does make one feel for those that were impacted by the sinking of this colossal method of conveyance. Make sure to check out the BFS website for a listing of the different products that they are slated to release through the rest of 2012 – if they pull at the heartstrings like Waking The Titanic, I believe that they will fly off the shelves. Make it a point to pick Waking the Titanic up from your local well-stocked DVD store, or look at any online retailer for a discounted price.
Rating: 8.6/10
Waking the Titanic (DVD) / 2012 BFS Entertainment / 142 Minutes / http://www.bfsent.com /