| Titanic: Death of a Dream re-released as: Titanic: The Complete Story | |
| Director: | Melissa Jo Peltier |
| Narrator: | David McCallum |
| Editing: | Yann Debonne |
| Distributors: | --> |
| Runtime: | 200 minutes (in four parts) |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
Titanic: The Complete Story is a 1994 American two-part documentary chronicling the story of the ocean liner which sank on its maiden voyage in 1912. It is a compilation of a four-hour documentary special produced by A&E Television Networks in 1994. A&E Home Video originally sold the entire documentary in a 4-tape VHS set and later a DVD release. It is considered by many critics and historians to be the definitive documentary regarding the Titanic. It is most famous for being one of the few Titanic documentaries to feature survivors.
The documentary is narrated by actor David McCallum (who played survivor Harold Bride in the 1958 film A Night to Remember) and begins with a quote from first-class passenger Jack Thayer, about how the world's mindset was forever altered by the sinking. Rare interviews with some of the few remaining Titanic survivors, including Edith Brown, Eva Hart, Ruth Becker (who had already died in 1990), Millvina Dean, and Michel Marcel Navratil; discussions with leading historical authorities on the sinking, including Charles Haas, John Eaton, Ken Marschall, Don Lynch and Robert Ballard; and excerpts from survivor's writings and newspaper articles accompany McCallum's telling of the story.
The documentary is presented in two parts:
The first half, Titanic: Death of a Dream, encapsulates the first two hours. It tells the story of the RMS Titanics origins, from its conception and construction, to its maiden voyage, leading up to the initial collision with the iceberg that would ultimately sink the ship.
The second half, Titanic: The Legend Lives On, concentrates on the ship's sinking, its immediate aftermath, and its discovery in 1985 by Dr. Robert Ballard, along with Titanics continuing legacy.
In 2002, the documentary was re-released on DVD as Titanic: The Complete Story – Special Commemorative Edition, supplemented by a third film - the 1998 documentary Beyond Titanic.
In 2012, the documentary was again re-released on DVD as simply Titanic: The Complete Story, and included the 2007 documentary Titanic's Achilles Heel.
The film received a positive review from DVD Magazine.[1]