17 September, 2011

In Nacht und Eis (1912)

AKA:
In Night and Ice

About:
Believed lost until February 1998, two months after the release of Titanic when a German collector realized that he had it in his posession.

Synopsis:
First Titanic Movie ever. Released only a few Days after the sinking of the Original Ship.

The first of it's kind. A true film/Titanic buff's collection treasure.

The ship started off on the Southampton docks boarding the doomed luxury liner and got a good introduction to what life was like on a ship at that time. What was offered for entertainment and general life on board. Then disaster strikes.

The film takes on a very interesting point of view from the point of impact with the iceberg, which focuses primarily on the radio operator and his tireless efforts to get assistance to the stricken vessel as soon as possible. He keeps at the key until the very end. The Captain clearly releases him from duty toward the end, but he stays and continues to struggle to find help even as the electrical power is failing around him.

Very little emphasis is given to the shortage of lifeboats, or the actual evacuation for that matter. Passenger panic is rarely seen, this being more than likely because the death factor was still so fresh in the minds of audiences in 1912, it centers more around the boiler room stokers, wireless operator, and the Captain...basically the bravery of the crew and the heroics of the story, versus the tragedy.

The film, as is the case with all historical films, is not without it's inaccuracies. But, given the time it was made (a few months after the actual Titanic's sinking and with differing reports on both sides of the Atlantic from surviving officers, passengers, and managers, the "facts" the filmmakers had to work with were few and far in between. So some "uneducated guesses" came into play. Like: Passengers sing in mass a final hymn, boilers explode with flames shooting out of the funnels, etc. But what movie has ever been without it's technical or historical errors? There will never be a "perfect film". But for it's time, 'In Nacht Und Eis' is a true masterpiece.

With a running time of about 35 minutes, double to that of most films of it's day, 'In Nacht Und Eis' captivated audiences of 1912 and left them spell-bounded.

It's silent with screen-text that appear ever-so-often, but in German. So if you know German, you might understand what's being said. For those, who dont understand German, the actors in this film had done an excellent job at visually showing every emotion very clearly so as could be undertood in any language.

A must see for Titanic and film history !!!


Starring:
Waldemar Hecker
Mime Misu
Otto Rippert

Director: Mime Misu

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