Atlantic (1929) User Reviews

A rousing adventure...with a dozen or so passengers and crew on a mostly empty ship!

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 29 June 2020]

I was very surprised that I found this 1929 film on YouTube today.. I had no idea it existed and I was excited to see a talking picture made only a decade and a half after the disaster. However, my excitement turned out to be rather muted, as instead of having a grand scope (as ANY picture about the Titanic should have), it looks amazingly claustrophobic. Despite the ship having about 3300 folks aboard (counting crew and passengers), you mostly see scenes with a small handful of folks in them!! I think this is for two reasons. First, the film was obviously made on the cheap. Second, 1929 was the first year for sound pictures in the UK and like the earlier American films of 1927-28, the sound technology was primitive and they had no idea how to film large rooms full of people. Instead, folks had to stand around hidden microphones and talk...which seems unnatural when you see such movies.

As for the title, apparently the White Star Line had a lot of nerve and wouldn't allow the studio to use the name 'Titanic'. I am no barrister, so I have no idea about British law, but this seems more a ploy by White Star than a legitimate case where a copyright or trademark is involved. The sinking of the Titanic was a historical event and mentioning this and the ship's name seem reasonable...and I am not sure why the studio caved and named the movie 'Atlantic' instead of 'Titanic'...but they did.

One thing that was bad about the movie but isn't the filmmakers' fault is that the print is rather jerky and it jiggles a bit. You probably won't need Dramamine to watch the picture, but it is noticeable and annoying.

Another thing to note is that there apparently were several versions of the movie. In the earliest days of sound, they studios had no idea how to dub films into other languages...so they filmed multiple versions in various languages. Laurel & Hardy did this, the Bela Lugosi version of "Dracula" has another version starring a Mexican count and with "Atlantic", they filmed it in German, English AND as a silent (as most theaters didn't have the technology to play sound films yet). And, after finishing the filming, the film was re-cut and French language scenes were added. I saw the English language version...and have no idea if these other versions even exist today nor where you can find them if they do exist.

The movie is odd in that it just begins on the ship in a small drawing room just before the ill-fated crash. I checked...the print I saw WAS the entire 90 minute picture and the normal introduction apparently just wasn't made. This provided little in the way of suspense and over an hour of the film consists of what happens after the ship collides with an iceberg. And, since it was made with very few extras and cast, the whole thing seems a bit small and anticlimactic. But I do cut the film some slack because of when it was made....expecting the same spectacle as in the Nazi propaganda film "Titanic" (1943) or "A Night to Remember" (1958) or "Titanic" (1997) would be ridiculous. Cramped productions were certainly the norm until about 1930-31....and, in hindsight, it might have worked better had they just waited a year or so to make the movie. Additionally, the film lacks reasonably well developed characters and even for 1929, it was a bit of a disappointment in this regard. So, overall it's a very mixed bag for 1929...and a film that must have impressed back in the day but which became quickly dated as well. Mostly of value to the curious and film historians. I give it a 5 because it is watchable and some of the scenes were well made...but overall, it is disappointing and cramped!

Everything about this film needs to be taken in context

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 7 July 2013]

let me firstly say that too many of these reviewers ,particularly the film student,are viewing the film in a modern context and not as a film made at the coming of sound.In an interview given by John Longden for the BBCs programme "Yesterdays witness" he stated that the ridiculously long pauses between dialogue were entirely the idea of the director.So it is unfair to blame the actors for this.Also in that same programme sound men were interviewed.They said that the effects were recorded on a liner berthed at Tilbury.The ship was linked by phone line to Elstree studios.Before each effect someone would come on the line to describe the effect and it would be recorded at Elstree.The problems with early sound films were quite apparent here.few directors here or in America had the skill of Hitchcock in adapting to the new medium.In fact one should praise the attempt to tell the story in what was then effectively a new medium rather than decry the effort some 84 years later because it is old fashioned.no doubt in the year 2097 young film students will be looking at the like of Man of Steel and chuckling at its antique quaintness.

The First Movie About the Titanic to Feature Sound

[Uriah43 · 6/10 · 11 May 2016]

From what I understand this was the first movie about the RMS Titanic that featured sound and it was produced in English, German and French (along with a silent version as well). The title was changed to "Atlantic" for fear of lawsuits. In any case, this film essentially depicts a small handful of passengers who have some interpersonal drama going on both before and after the ship hits the iceberg and begins to sink. Initially, most of the passengers are unaware that the ship is sinking which compounds the problem even more. At least that is the scenario that is portrayed in this particular film. Whether any of that is true or not is unknown to me. Be that as it may, I believe that in order for a person to enjoy this movie it is necessary to appreciate the era in which this film was made and for the viewer to make certain allowances for that fact. Likewise, although there have certainly been better films produced pertaining to the subject at hand, this is still a decent movie overall and I have rated it accordingly. Slightly above average.

Well handled and dramatic, despite unfamiliarity with a new medium.

[reptilicus · 22 March 2001]

How interesting that E.A. Dupont who created one of germany's most memorable silent films (VARIETY) also helmed one of England's first talkies. Obviously he was uneasy with the medium of talking pictures, note how the first 6 minutes of this film is entirely visual. Most of the cast had stage experience, you can tell because they over-exaggerate their lines and cannon out the words like they were playing to the back row. Still this is a well paced dramatic film and the final few minutes have an impact that can stand on their own alongside the later versions, TITANIC and A NIGHT TO REMEMBER. (I am deliberately excluding James Cameron's film with its budget that would have fed a 3rd World country for 10 years and its plethora of computer FX.)

Barely afloat

[Bob-321 · 2/10 · 8 February 2002]

No movie with Madeleine Carroll in its cast could possibly be unwatchable. That said, I have to add that this British film comes close. The story takes place on board the `SS Atlantic' and it's loosely based on the `Titanic's' unfinished voyage. The word `unsinkable' is spoken, the liner strikes an iceberg, and we hear a heavenly choir sing `Nearer My God to Thee.' The doomed passengers eventually take over the anthem, in a clever bit of sound work. But the year of the film's release (1929) means that a modern viewer has to accept otherwise primitive sound and many of the acting conventions of silent films and the stage. These aren't problems. The film's major flaw is pacing, and pacing had been well developed in silents. However, if the dialog were delivered at a realistic speed, the movie's running time would be cut in half. The intended effect was drama (and clarity in a new medium), but the result unhappily is tiresome now. The film's structure is preposterously illogical and inept. Paradoxically, I found certain details of the editing quite modern in technique: fine, abrupt cuts from one area of the ship to another, sometimes even on sound effects. Although we're on board the `Atlantic' from the first shot, we were well over 4 minutes into the movie before I discovered that fact. There are long, intrusive musical passages by the ship's dance orchestra. (Entertaining, easy sound.) Personal stories are presented in an utterly uninvolving and unconvincing way. Don't even think of spectacle. The berg is a tiny thing and the exterior damage it does to the ship's hull is a minor dent. However, the scenes of passengers swarming into the lifeboats - clearly staged on a real liner, presumably tied up to a dock - generate great excitement. Other than the glorious Miss Carroll, these sequences are the film's only points of excellence. As the movie and the ship near their end, the screen goes totally black several times when the power generators begin to fail. Their last, eternal blackout is the end of the film, with a sunset/sunrise tacked on, a clumsy symbolic effect. `Atlantic' is a cinema curiosity. At best.

Early Titanic Stinker

[fuhgeddaboutit01 · 3/10 · 6 December 2005]

Yes I know "talkies" had just been invented for the cinema 2 years earlier when this was produced in 1929 but this film showed that much had to learnt about the art of producing films.It comes over as a filmed "hammy" stage play with the actors melodramatically enunciating their lines,rolling their eyes, using too many pregnant pauses and using gestures more appropriate to silent cinema, which I suppose was normal during the process of educating them to appear more naturalistic on screen.The gaps between lines spoken should have been tightened up during editing as it considerably slows the film.It is now only of interest for Titanic buffs who want to see an early example of this marine accident on film.In next chronological order they could see "Titanic" (1953) A Night to Remember (1958)"Titanic (1997), to see how the cinema's depiction of this tragedy as evolved over the years.There have been many documentaries and TV films made including the atrocious "SOS Titanic" (1979) On my version which is a DVD, David McCallum gives the introduction.It was he who played Harold Bride Marconi's junior wireless operator in "A Night to Remember"(still the best feature film - please read my "Tribute to Walter" comments on IMDb under Howard Morley.demon.co.uk)and gave the commentary on the series of 4 videos entitled "End of a Dream" so he was well qualified to give the narration.Of more interest I found was a recording accompanied by actual photos of the 1912 US Senate hearing which is also on the DVD.Actors speak the actual words spoken by Lightoller 2nd officer, J Bruce Ismay,Managing director of White Star, Harold Bride and others including Gloria Stewart (The "old Rose" in Titanic 1997) whose voice is used for one of the first class women survivors.

A horrible early sound film

[jwb02 · 2/10 · 4 April 2003]

I am a Motion Picture Production major at Wright State University in Ohio, and yesterday I was sadly given the opportunity to watch this god-awful film in class. We were informed by our professor that it would be very funny to us, but the reason we were watching it was because it was one of the first sound films - a complete disaster.

The problem with early sound films was that Hollywood actors only knew how to do silent movies and they weren't good at memorizing lines. So producers and directors would look to the stage to get actors. Sounds like a great idea, right? Well, the kind of acting one does on stage doesn't show up too well on film. Most of the actors in "Atlantic" look and sound like they're acting in a play, which results in lots of hearty laughs at the over-acting. Another limitation of early sound film was the technology of microphones. You couldn't move the mikes like you can today, you had to keep them static or it would pick up the sound of air moving through. There was usually one mike used in any given scene in this movie. In one particular scene, there is a man sitting at a table. Someone walks right up to him and delivers their line, then walks away. Another actor comes up from behind him, delivers their line, then walks away. It goes on like this for a couple more people. The microphone is obviously right by the man at the table, making for a laughable actor carousel.

Those are only technical problems. If you get into the story and direction, then it gets even worse. The story is a fictionalized account of what happened on the Titanic. The characters are unbelievable and pointless. A "story" about a man cheating on his wife and their teenage daughter has no place in the movie. It is barely resolved and leaves you wondering why it was there in the first place. A lousy attempt at high drama, the actors take long, pregnant pauses between lines many times. It is tiresome, and you can't wait for this 90 minute (feels like 180 at least) movie to get over with. I'm not going to talk a whole lot about the issue of racism at this time in our country, but it really offended me that there were only two blacks in the whole movie, and they were portrayed as animals. They both pushed past the women and children to try and get in one of the lifeboats. They were ordered to stop or be shot, and of course they didn't so they were shot. I was appalled.

I give this movie a 2/10. I would have given it a 1/10 (the lowest rating possible), but I gave it an extra point just because it was one of the first sound films, and I tried to put it into context. If you want to see a good early sound film, check out Alfred Hitchcock's "Blackmail" that also came out in the year 1929. You will find that the best directors were able to adapt to new technology immediately.

E.A. Dupont rides again!

[JohnHowardReid · 7/10 · 27 September 2013]

Despite some stagey dialogue and acting, this is an impressive version of the Titanic story. Although most of the characters are fictitious, the narrative sticks close to the facts. Although hampered by poor sound recording of some of the dialogue, director Dupont presents graphic images of panic and confusion, using what seems to be a no-expense-spared budget – in fact, one of the highest ever for a British film. A pity the acting is so self-conscious. Miss Carroll delivers one of the worst performances in a major role that I've ever witnessed. Fortunately, although it's a major part, her on-screen time is limited. Admittedly, the other leads are not a great deal more competent, but despite all efforts to sabotage the picture, the drama does come across forcefully. A very effective music score and sound effects help no end.

Atlantic review

[JoeytheBrit · 4/10 · 22 June 2020]

Creaky British disaster movie which focuses more on passengers' reactions to hearing of the Titanic's impending sinking than the actual disaster itself. One tortuous scene between John Longden and Franklin Dyall is often shown as an example of how bad early sound movies could be.

First Talkie on the Titanic Sinking

[springfieldrental · 7/10 · 3 July 2022]

The list is long for the number of movies made on the 1912 sinking of the cruise liner the Titanic. The first version not containing the name of that fatal ship was November 1929's "Atlantic." The British International Pictures' movie is based on the 1929 London West End play, 'The Berg,' written by Ernest Raymond, where it ran for a measly 29 performances.

Just as future Titanic movies have, the first talkie version contains subplots to make the lead up to the ship's collision with an iceberg all the more interesting. The film introduces several passengers, most notably the philandering husband who has an affair on the ship while his wife is lamenting his habitual cheating. Actress Madeline Carroll plays the faithless husband's daughter, Monica.

The movie's producers wanted to name the film 'Titanic.' But the fated ship's owners, White Star Line, and its lawyers enacted a court injunction to stop the movie from mentioning the ship's name anywhere, feeling the loss of lives were so recent, 17 years, that it would have been inappropriate to reopen those wounds. Both parties agreed to call the sinking ship the "Atlantic." Even though a White Star passenger liner 'Atlantic' sank in 1873 off the coast of Nova Scotia, Canada, with a loss of 535 passengers and crew, the event was so long ago the company felt no survivors were alive to see the film version. Another concession was the producers faded to black at the movie's ending when the doomed passengers were reciting the Lord's Prayer before showing the already filmed sinking reenactment.

Since "Atlantic" was distributed to German and French-speaking countries (it was the first German talkie film), the movie became one of the first talkies to film varying versions specifically geared for certain countries. The practice, known as Multiple-Language Versions (MLVs), was popular from 1929 until the early 1930s. This ended when studios realized subtitles made it cheaper to translate than hiring international actors who knew the language. In "Atlantic's" case, German and French actors waited in the wings while their English-speaking counterparts filmed their scenes. Then, using the same film crew, the German-speaking actors duplicated the same scene in German, then on to the French. In some MLV's, the primary English actors learned phonetically how to say their lines while the supporting cast spoke their particular language. If a production were lucky, the main actors were bilingual or multilingual.

For instance, Madeleine Carroll knew French, majoring in the language in college. She was a stage actress for a couple of years before appearing in her first film in 1928. Carroll, 23 when she appeared in "Atlantic," was already popular in both England and France, traveling back and forth between the two countries to act in their films. She's noted for playing opposite Robert Donat in Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 "The 39 Steps," becoming the highest paid English actress two years later.

As for White Star Line, the company merged with its chief rival, Cunard Line, during the Depression before being gobbled up by Carnival Corporation in 2005. Passengers on Carnival will notice the term the 'White Line Service," which is a luxury service offered by the company giving its customers extra comfort for a higher premium.

Fairly lame account of the Titanic disaster...

[dwpollar · 3/10 · 18 May 2002]

1st watched 5/17/2002 - 3 out of 10(Dir-Ewald Andre Dupont): Fairly lame account of the Titanic disaster is the first filmed version of this much-heralded event. The replication of the disaster is not bad, but the drama around it is at some times silly, badly acted and way-too soap opera-like. The story is very much the same as the most recent Oscar-winning one except that we are shown how the crew tried to hide the actual disaster that was occurring until almost too late. Good for nostalgia purposes only and to get a feel for what James Cameron was competing against(barely…) in his recreation.

A young Madeleine Carroll and more

[kiroman101 · 9/10 · 12 June 2006]

I purchased this film on DVD to add to my collection of Madeleine Carroll films, and although the stunningly beautiful actress does not have a tremendous amount of screen time, I was not disappointed in the final product. I've never particularly cared for disaster films, and the Cameron blockbuster of a few years ago left me decidedly cold, as it were. Not being an expert on the events surrounding the sinking, I was still quite sure that this mega-hit had little relation to what actually transpired on that fateful night. In any event, I am convinced that the film under review is of greater historical accuracy, and unlike the other reviewers, I am not particularly discouraged to discover that a film made almost 80 years ago is not quite as "spiffy" as more recent products. At the very least, films of this type should be regarded as valuable documents of the ways things were done in the not too distant past, and when you realize that "Atlantic" was made a mere 17 years after the Titanic went down, that is all the more reason to cherish it as an invaluable time capsule of a significant event in the annals of the 20th century that still apparently fascinates a great many people.

As far as the individual performances are concerned, I thought that the players effectively conveyed the starkness of the dilemma the doomed passengers were facing, especially the futility of those remaining men who had hope no hope of salvation, the end being only a matter time. Of particular note was the abrupt contrast between the gay frivolity that permeated the mood immediately before the bad news was conveyed by Lanchester and what immediately followed. Add to that Monica's frantic separation from her husband, as she was literally dragged on to the hanging lifeboat, was quite poignant, made all the more so when the news that she was pregnant became known later.

For those interested in a well made vintage film that provides a fascinating look at a sensational event with which practically everyone alive has at least some inkling of, I highly recommend this film. (And there's the added bonus of a very young Madeleine Carroll to feast your eyes on).

The voyage was a disaster, but this early talkie escapes that.

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 6 January 2022]

This is the first feature film to be made about the Titanic disaster, and while technically weak compared to even the 1953 and 1958 versions, it's interesting from a historical standpoint even if it is painful to watch. There apparently are none of the historical characters we saw in any of the other versions. There's no Molly Brown, no John Jacob Astor or Guggenheim or the Strauss's. Certainly no poor American or High Society rich girl, just a bunch of fictional characters with their own individual soap opera storylines, and those aren't particularly well developed. As far as the crew, they have been given fictional names, including the captain. A scene where the captain describes what will happen as the ship sinks is told painfully slow, sounding more like a radio drama rather than a motion picture.

Of the cast, only Madeline Carroll will be familiar to classic film fans. Some scenes have lots of extras (particularly a dancing scene) and others have very few. There's none of the opulence of future films , and certainly the special effects will seem poor. However, there are certain moments where they do the best that they can with what they had, particularly a scene of what happens in the boiler room when the iceberg first hits, 22 minutes into the film. A genuine curiosity that movie history students must see, but other than them and select others, it's understandable that most movie buffs will either pass on or wish they had.

VERY GOOD - for 1929/30

[gardencitypbconline31408 · 5/10 · 23 April 2012]

Granted this particular movie, the first widely produced movie about the Titanic would have more enemies than friends among modern audiences, citing the fact that it was filmed less than 20 years after the actual Titan disaster, none the less it was well made for its time. I purchased a copy of "Atlantic"which recently arrived. It was a 13 year old DVD tape. And it broke the first time I watched it. I had to dispose the tape. But fortunately there is you tube, and I have the movie link in one link. Prayers were prominent on the Titanic toward the end. This is not overlooked in the first of Titan Films. Many followed. Some better than others. One particular a spectacle (of course 1997) but there is always a first.

Interesting disaster effort.

[onnanob2 · 13 May 2002]

For some reason this 1929 film was titled Atlantic when it could have easily been titled Titanic, or something with "Titanic" in its title (however it has been released on video as Titanic.) I suppose they might have titled it Atlantic due to fictional characters and stories that didn't really happen on The Titanic and its fateful voyage, but the story of the film is clearly the disaster that happened to The Titanic. The ship in the film is crossing The Atlantic, and enters areas known to have icebergs. Many of the characters introduced are wealthy types, and we know there were very rich and prominent passengers on The Titanic. Some of the characters include: A husband and father, who cheats on his wife during the voyage; his wife, who tearfully knows her husband was with another woman; their daughter, who outspokenly resents her father for cheating on her mother; a recently wed couple with child on the way; a wheelchair bound gentleman who seems to become the wisdom during the crisis; his wife, who will not leave his side when it's "women and children first;" and a man who seems to drink heavily even before the disaster happens. During the voyage the ship strikes an iceberg, and begins to sink. Lifeboats are being filled with women and children as the ship sends S.O.S. Pandemonium breaks out with many passengers, but our main characters seem to fall into a sad calmness. There is a gathering of many passengers in a lounge, and they drink or play cards to pass the time while waiting to die. On another part of the ship, people are huddled together and singing, "Nearer My God To Thee." Soon all goes black and we know the ship has gone down. This is where the film ends, and there are no scenes of the lifeboats after the sinking. Nor are we shown any scenes of surviving characters, or a rescue ship. Obviously many facts of what happened on The Titanic are correctly portrayed, but other events in Atlantic are either incorrect to The Titanic's disaster, or added as fiction. Atlantic was released by British International Pictures, and the quality of this feature is fine. The film has its typical (of the era) share of crudeness (grainy, jumping, lighting, editing), and there are several instances where it seems like a silent film. There are a couple instances where cheerful music seems very inappropriate to situations going on in the film, (I don't mean when the band begins to play as passengers are being put in lifeboats; this inappropriate music is before the ship strikes the iceberg.) There are a few instances of continuity errors in Atlantic. Atlantic does not attempt much in the way of special effects, but what is attempted is nicely done. The sinking of the ship is not shown, but is indicated when the screen goes black one final time. Having the film end right at the sinking creates a feeling of incompleteness, and it seems the story should have had a more meaningful conclusion. The acting in Atlantic is fair to good, and the film as a whole is fair to good. I found the film to be more thought-provoking than exciting, and it is an interesting disaster effort.

Although technically fascinating to my mind, is a sleepy movie that does not matter in any way

[lucaspd-99044 · 4/10 · 23 July 2017]

E.A. Dupont was a great director, he made great silent films. But if we compare this film with other films of his career, this is one of the weakest. Starting with the dreadful direction, we have long segments with a completely static camera and that are basically a filmed theater, does not work and sleep. The cast is even quite competent for the time the film was made, since we were still in a time of transition from the cinema to the theater, other than this was one of the first films spoken. But if we look at them today, they will be too much caricature and theatricality. Technically the movie redeems itself, the sound design is very good, and, although rough, the shipwreck scenes are interesting. But I think it's a boring movie. I do not recommend unless you want to combat your insomnia.

And The Band Played On

[boblipton · 8/10 · 19 February 2020]

It's about the sinking of the Titanic, of course, even though the White Star Line refused to let them use the name, convinced that it would keep anyone from thinking bad thoughts. For a 1929 talkie, it's visually lively, with cinematographer Charles Rosher taking advantage of the scenes of mass panic, shot wild and covered with crowd noises. There are even a couple of carefully handled moving shots in other scenes.

Although there are some big set scenes, most of it takes place in the first-class saloon, where wheelchair-bound Franklin Dyall holds court and passes regal judgment on events, bucks up panicky Monty Banks, and gets John Stuart to persuade his wife, Madeleine Carroll, to get on a lifeboat.

The acting is a bit stolid, concessions to the theatrical cast and the novel sound equipment. The final sequences, in which the captain sends John Longden off to rescue a trial, the telegraph operator sticks to his post, and the crew sings "Nearer My God To Thee" while the screen goes intermittently black, are very powerful: just the sort of early talkie technique that did not long survive.

British International Pictures produced it, but DuPont shot three versions, one in French and one in German.

A Standard Setting Flick

[zpzjones · 24 February 2004]

True this movie is creaky by today's standards. It's a British maritime story & British production directed by a German Expressionists director who himself was getting acquainted with sound at the time. I had waited a long time to see this film in it's entirety when I found a video two-tape copy in a Sam Goodys. Before I had only seen clips of this in Titanic documentaries. If the Producers changed the Title from Titanic to Atlantic it was more in conjunction with the movie being made only 17 years after the real disaster. Many of the survivors' relatives would have been alive and well and lawsuits would have probably abounded from them as well as The White Star Line, the Titanic's owner, which was still up and running and had an image to uphold. Remember at this time the White Star Line considered the Titanic as a ship they'd rather forget. But even with the title being Atlantic the film's makers infringed upon an earlier White Star disaster in 1873 with over 300 lives lost. The ship from the 1873 disaster was called: THE ATLANTIC. The biggest White Star disaster 39 years before the Titanic.

This movie, based on an earlier stage production, was a big undertaking for 1929 sound film. Dupont is obviously a novice with sound technique. Dialogue from characters such as Tate-Hughes is often spoken in a slow-witted fashion presumably for some kind of stage effect. Characters are given names to protect the identities of the real life victims. So Captain EJ Smith-becomes-"The Captain", Charles Lighttoller-becomes-simply "Lanchester", Ben Guggenheim-becomes-"Tate-Hughes" albeit in a wheel chair and so on. Charleston type music is played instead the Ragtime & Waltzes that were actually heard on the Titanic. But Dupont set a standard with this film that all later Titanic films imitated in one way or another. This film shows the goings-on on the bridge, scenes of the engine room(pretty good by the way), the effects on important first class passengers, the steerage passengers in the lower holds and the sinking, while very stagey, is handled poignantly with the cast singing Nearer My God To Thee...this was imitated in the 1953 Titanic w/Barbara Stanwyck. But there was no visual aspect of the actual ship sinking. Perhaps a bit to harrowing to portray since it was only 17 years and the disaster would've still been fresh in some survivors minds.

Most Titanic buffs should want to see this just to see how 1929 audiences would have handled the sinking of the Titanic as told through a fictional ship called Atlantic. It's an obvious story on the Titanic but done to protect survivors & relatives of which many were living at the time. Seeing this, one can compare it to Titanic(1953), A Night To Remember(1958 classic), the made for tv S.O.S Titanic(1979) or the recent James Cameron Oscar winner. I would give it just for historical purposes 2 1/2 stars out of 4.

Best film I Ever Saw!

[liamtsharpe · 10/10 · 29 August 2017]

Atlantic is a very interesting take on the Titanic Disaster. However, like any other Titanic film, there is always an inaccuracy. Right now, I'm trying my best not to get picky but, this film is inaccurate on so many levels. (But I still enjoyed this Film lots!) But it was inaccurate because it's a late 1929 film. Not much about the disaster was known at the time. Anyway, the main character in this film is John Rool. He is an elderly disabled man who writes books about himself 'Making fun of Everything' as one of the other main characters named Monica later says in the film. Monica is meanwhile in love with a man named Lawrence or as Monica calls him for short, Larry. The young couple is due to get married and have a child in the next 4 months, however, half way in the film, a berg is spotted and the captain orders "Hard to starboard". The S.S Atlantic is just about to miss the berg but it's too late. The Berg Dents the Hull of the ship, causing enough damage for the ship to sink in just 3 Hours. 2nd officer Lancaster sounds the Alarm, thus waking the passengers up. Many of them disturbed. So he travels to the smoking room to reassure the passengers, that the ship is fine. After he dismisses most of the main characters, John Rool is still in his chair. Lancaster Han tells him, the the ship will last no more than three hours. Than about 55-60 minutes into the film, the dance orchestra begins to play music to calm passengers down. I'm honestly not surprised because this happens in every Titanic film...The band plays what I believe to be 'Bethany'. Than John Rool tells Lawrence (Which is in the room with Monica) to take her to the boats. Lawrence refuses. This motivates Rool to tell him the terrible truth. Lawrence than takes her to the boats.and In my opinion, the music was one of the most appealing parts of the film. It was very catchy and nice to litsen to. The scene switches to a bunch of panicked people on the promenade deck of the ship. The ship is now beginning to list forward. Because in some scenes, the camera actually starts to tilt forward. At this point, the band is playing 'To be in love'. Which is a newer song that just got released at the time. So this suggests that the film takes place in 1929 almost 1930. Monica than gets picked up and thrown into the lifeboats where she than screams out "Larry!" Out of grief. She than passes out.the lifeboat than begins to lower into the sea.he next boat than lowers to the promenade deck. This is when a man rushes through the crowd and fights people with fists to get into a boat. Another person also does this. They both get shot. Now this is when I'm not going to give much more of the film away. You can watch the full version of this film by searching up 'Atlantic 1929 movie' on Youtube. You can also go to amazon and search up 'Titanic disaster in the Atlantic' and but the movie there. And if you wanted to, you can search up on Ebay, 'Atlantic 1929' to buy the film there.

Early Talkie? How about Early Film, Period?

[richard.fuller1 · 8 February 2004]

Try to focus on the actual disaster, having just occurred sixteen, seventeen years earlier than when this film came out, and see what was known, what was rumored, what was accepted to have happened, and not dwell on the rawness of the film-making.

Well, that was near impossible to do, right up to the end. I thought Alfred Hitchcock's "Murder" (which came out about the same time) was about one of the most experimental films I had ever seen, but I think this one might outdo it.

The sound is awful, but a silent film done well, or a totally non-talking piece, such as what Laurel & Hardy did, could be just as entertaining, if it has a good story structure. Well, this movie can't claim that either.

Hands down, that mother constantly weeping about her nerves and pressing the hankie to her mouth because she has learned her husband was cheating on her was a constant irritation. Oh, if only she had gone down with the ship!

As with the Barbara Stanwyck-Clifton Webb-Robert Wagner 1953 version, this film delved into adultery. No idea why that theme was always attached to the sinking.

Franklin Dyall, father of the impressive Valentine Dyall (best known for Doctor Who appearances to the American audience) strived for his best Lionel Barrymore, but was outdone in two seconds by Elaine Terriss as his wife, in her brief appearance when she learned he wouldn't enter a lifeboat.

Even to a novice like me, there clearly was a problem with direction; with how sound on the film would sound as opposed to dialogue delivered on stage, as well as to how it was recorded.

I was dumbstruck by Dyall questioning Manchester "you seem to think this is damn serious?"

Wasn't it a really big deal when Clark Gable said 'Damn' in "Gone With the Wind"?

Oh, he was a MAJOR star. A major star doing that. I see.

And I look at most depictions of Blacks in these old films as being historical, but to put a pair of Blacks on this thing just to have them shot because they try to storm the lifeboats I'm sure didn't help race relations back then. While these were actual Black people and not blackface, I tend to try to think how much the performers enjoyed working and getting to dive off the boat like that.

Other than the 1912 version with actual Titanic survivor Dorothy Gibson in it, wearing the outfit she was wearing when she was rescued, this stands as about the earliest version of the disaster. No idea what that Italian 1915 film could be, if it is even based on the ship-in-question.

This film was to be titled Titanic, but outrage and sensitivity toward the event, which again, had just occurred sixteen years earlier, saw a retitling, and it became "Atlantic".

The version I have on tape has a reworked title with the old stock footage of the doomed liner and it is now titled "Titanic". As a film, I would have preferred the original title to be present.

As it is, scenes of the film's disaster, and for that matter still shots I have seen from this movie, did not match up to what was present here, so I'm not sure what is going on as far as editing goes.

There are other Titanic movies depicting the ship to check out, but if you are a buff, like me, you enjoy checking out as many different versions of the Titanic that you can find.

Of all I have seen now (S.O.S. Titanic, 1943 German version, Cameron's Titanic, Night To Remember, George C. Scott-Catherine Zeta Jones, 1953, Unsinkable Molly Brown, even have the recent musical soundtrack), this one has to be the worst.