''Titanica'' is a 1992

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (approximately either 1.43:1 or 1.90:1) and steep stadium seating. Graeme ...

documentary film about the RMS ''Titanic''. The film was directed by Stephen Low and narrated by Cedric Smith,

Anatoly Sagalevich Anatoly Mikhailovich Sagalevich (russian: Анатолий Михайлович Сагалевич; born 5 September 1938) is a Russian explorer, who works at the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (USSR Academy ...

and Ralph White. The film mostly focuses on footage taken at the wreck of the RMS ''Titanic'', also featuring footage of the expedition crew searching the wreck as well as interviews with ''Titanic'' survivors

Frank John William Goldsmith Frank John William Goldsmith Jr. (19 December 1902 — 27 January 1982), was a young third-class passenger of the and a survivor of the sinking in 1912. He later wrote a book about his experiences on the ship, published posthumously as ''E ...

and

Eva Hart Eva Miriam Hart Member of the Order of the British Empire, MBE (31 January 1905 – 14 February 1996) was a British woman who was one of the last remaining survivors of Sinking of the RMS Titanic, the sinking of RMS Titanic, RMS ''Titanic'' on 1 ...

. Using Eva and the crew members, Low conveys the voice of the documentary by showing the Titanic's wreckage as a graveyard which is to be respected and treated with caution and care. It was the second feature-length IMAX film released, following ''

Stones at the Max ''Rolling Stones: Live at the Max'' (also known as ''Stones at the Max'') is a concert film by the Rolling Stones released in 1991. It was specially filmed in IMAX during the Urban Jungle Tour in Europe in 1990. It was the first concert movie sh ...

'' in 1991. An edited 40 minute version of the film was also later released for IMAX theatres in 1995; this version had new narration by

Leonard Nimoy Leonard Simon Nimoy (; March 26, 1931 – February 27, 2015) was an American actor, famed for playing Spock in the '' Star Trek'' franchise for almost 50 years. This includes originating Spock in the original ''Star Trek'' series in 1966, th ...

, though it retains most of White's narration. This edited version later became the basis for another edited version released in 1997, featuring 27 more minutes of interviews with Ralph White,

Emory Kristof Emory Kristof (November 19, 1942 – February 6, 2023) was an American photographer. He was on the expedition that discovered the Titanic. His work has been published in '' National Geographic Magazine'' and elsewhere. Life and career Kristof ...

, and other experts.

Production

The expedition crew was composed of a Russian, American and Canadian who were operating off the Russian research ship ''

Akademik Mstislav Keldysh The R/V ''Akademik Mstislav Keldysh'' (russian: Академик Мстислав Келдыш) is a 6,240 ton Russian scientific research vessel. It has made over 50 voyages, and is best known as the support vessel of the ''Mir'' submersibles. ...

''. Footage of the wreck was obtained by two Mir submersibles, sometimes working together, that had been equipped with IMAX cameras and lights that consumed 150,000 watts, capable of clearly lighting up the ocean floor. Footage of the wreckage is often compared with historical photos, showing the full impact of the tragedy. In the film, Eva Hart comments that prior to the ''Titanic'' striking the iceberg, her mother had commented that calling the ship 'unsinkable' was "flying in the face of the Almighty."

Reception

The film holds a 60% approval rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

based on 5 reviews.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

gave the film 3½ stars out of 4, stating the footage "achieve a remarkable intimacy" with the ''Titanics wreck, though also stating he would have liked to see more footage of the ''Titanic'' and less of the expedition crew. Margaret McGurk from ''

The Cincinnati Enquirer ''The Cincinnati Enquirer'' is a morning daily newspaper published by Gannett in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States. First published in 1841, the ''Enquirer'' is the last remaining daily newspaper in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, al ...

'' gave a positive review in 2000, particularly praising the detail and size of the footage, stating it was "an instance when the oversized Imax film format truly lives up to its potential." Edward Johnson-Ott from '' NUVO'' spoke favourably of both the footage of the wreck and the crew, stating the crew added "welcome humor while maintaining the dignity such an excursion demands." Eva Hart, who had expressed concern about looting of the ''Titanics wreck, commended the IMAX film, stating "The IMAX Titanic expedition weren't going down to plunder it. I think it's splendid."

References

External links

* * * {{Stephen Low 1992 films Documentary films about RMS Titanic Films directed by Stephen Low IMAX films IMAX documentary films Canadian documentary films 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films