The Titanic has been featured in numerous films, TV movies and notable TV episodes. On television, the Titanic has been featured in genres ranging from epic dramas to short cartoon parodies.
Theatrically released cinema dramas
| Year | Title | Director | Cast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1912 | Saved from The Titanic |
Étienne Arnaud | Dorothy Gibson Alec B. Francis |
Co-written by and starring Titanic survivor Dorothy Gibson and released only 29 days after it sank. Now a lost film following a studio fire in which the last known prints were destroyed. Only a few production stills remain. |
| 1912 | La hantise | Louis Feuillade | Renée Carl René Navarre |
Also known as The Obsession, the film focuses on a woman who is told by a palm reader that one of her loved ones will die. The woman then tries to convince her husband not to board the Titanic, which is departing at Cherbourg. |
| 1912 | In Nacht und Eis | Mime Misu | Waldemar Hecker Otto Rippert Ernst Rückert |
("In Night and Ice"), also called Der Untergang der Titanic ("The Sinking of the Titanic"). Silent film produced in Germany; believed to be lost, but was rediscovered in 1998 from a collector's copy. |
| 1929 | Atlantic / Atlantik | Ewald André Dupont | Franklin Dyall Madeleine Carroll |
A highly fictionalized account, retitled Titanic: Disaster in the Atlantic in American home video releases; the first sound film made about the disaster, and a pioneering sound-on-film release, being produced in three languages: English, German, and French (and silent versions). The German version was the first full-length German sound film and was a major hit there. Filmed aboard the White Star liner RMS Majestic. The title of the film, Atlantic, is also the name of the ship in the film, as the White Star Line refused to give the filmmakers permission to use the word Titanic in the film. |
| 1933 | Cavalcade | Frank Lloyd | Diana Wynyard Clive Brook Margaret Lindsay John Warburton |
This drama film was based on the eponymous play by Noël Coward. Two fictional main characters perish in the sinking. |
| 1943 | Titanic | Werner Klingler Herbert Selpin |
Sybille Schmitz Hans Nielsen E.F. Fürbringer |
A 1943 German Nazi propaganda film (personally overseen by Joseph Goebbels) casting a fictitious German First Officer on the Titanic as the hero and the British as villains. The first film to use singularly the name Titanic and intermix fictional subplots and characters with historical persons on board the ship. Filmed on board the German liner SS Cap Arcona which was later mistakenly sunk by the RAF with civilian loss of life greatly exceeding that of the Titanic. |
| 1953 | Titanic | Jean Negulesco | Clifton Webb Barbara Stanwyck Robert Wagner Audrey Dalton |
American dramatic film centered on an estranged couple sailing on the Titanic during its ill-fated maiden voyage. |
| 1958 | A Night to Remember | Roy Ward Baker | Kenneth More Ronald Allen Robert Ayres Honor Blackman |
British docudrama based on the eponymous book by Walter Lord starring Kenneth More as the ship's Second Officer Charles Lightoller. Regarded as one of the most historically accurate Titanic disaster films, with the notable exception of not featuring the ship breaking in half. (There was still doubt about the fact she split in two when the book and film were produced. The accepted view at the time and the result of the inquiries was that she sank intact; it was only confirmed that she split after the wreck was found in 1985.) Some effects scenes were 'borrowed' from the 1943 German film. |
| 1964 | The Unsinkable Molly Brown |
Charles Walters | Debbie Reynolds Harve Presnell Ed Begley |
American musical film about the life of Molly Brown, which culminates in her voyage aboard the Titanic. The screenplay by Helen Deutsch is based on the Richard Morris book of the 1960 musical. The scene of the Titanic hitting the iceberg is from the 1953 film and the scene of the ship sinking is colorized footage from A Night to Remember. |
| 1980 | Raise the Titanic | Jerry Jameson | Jason Robards Richard Jordan David Selby Anne Archer Alec Guinness |
Although adapted from Clive Cussler's popular novel Raise the Titanic!, this movie was poorly received by critics and proved to be a box office bomb, failing to recover its $40 million budget. |
| 1992 | Titanica | Stephen Low | Cedric Smith (original version) / Leonard Nimoy (edited versions) | 95-minute IMAX documentary film largely focused on the discovery and exploration of the wreck of the Titanic. Two survivors are featured: Frank Goldsmith's recollections (1977 clip), and Eva Hart is interviewed. |
| 1997 | Titanic | James Cameron | Leonardo DiCaprio Kate Winslet Billy Zane Kathy Bates Frances Fisher Gloria Stuart |
This American romantic epic disaster film combines fictional main characters with some portrayals of passengers and crew based on historical figures. The film became one of the most expensive films ever made, costing approximately US$200 million (more than the Titanic itself), topped the list of highest-grossing films for twelve years and won 11 Academy Awards. Re-released in 2012 in formats which include IMAX 3D; often billed as Titanic in 3D. Re-released in Dolby Vision in 2017 for the 20th anniversary. Actual footage of the wreck is included in the opening scenes. |
| 1997 | The Chambermaid (on the Titanic) |
Bigas Luna | Aitana Sánchez-Gijón Olivier Martínez Romane Bohringer |
French-Spanish-Italian romantic film about a stevedore who falls in love with one of the Titanic's chambermaids. From the French novel by Didier Decoin La femme de chambre du Titanic (also original title of film). |
| 1999 | The Legend of The Titanic |
Kim J. Ok Orlando Corradi |
Jane Alexander Sean Patrick Lovett Francis Pardeilhan Gregory Snegoff |
An animated fantasy tale about the sinking of the RMS Titanic, an international co-production between North Korea, the United States, Italy and Spain. This family-friendly retelling of the most notable maritime disaster of all time spawned a rival and a sequel (see below). |
| 2000 | Titanic: The Legend Goes On |
Camillo Teti, Kim Lox | Lisa Russo M. Thompson-Ashworth Gisella Matthews Kenneth Belton Gregory Snegoff |
A Spanish-Italian animated film about the sinking of the RMS Titanic. Also released as Titanic: The Animated Movie. |
| 2004 | In Search of The Titanic |
Kim J. Ok | Jane Alexander Rodolfo Bianchi Fabio Boccanera |
A North Korean-Italian sequel to the animated film The Legend of the Titanic. Also known as Tentacolino. |
| 2018 | Holmes & Watson | Etan Cohen | Will Ferrell John C. Reilly |
In the final climax of this comedy film, two detectives prevent a plot to assassinate Queen Victoria by detonating a bomb on board the Titanic. The Titanic was actually conceived and built a decade after Queen Victoria died. |
| 2021 | The Six | Arthur Jones | Steven Schwankert | A Chinese documentary film about the story of the six Chinese survivors of the RMS Titanic. |
| 2024 | UNSINKABLE: Titanic Untold | Cody Hartman | Cotter Smith | An American independent film based on the rushed investigations, political interference and the grasp for corporate accountability, woven amongst flashbacks of the Titanic disaster as it unfolded. |
Documentaries
| Year | Title | Studio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1981 | Search for the Titanic | Titanic 1980, Inc | Narrated by Orson Welles, documents Jack Grimm's July 1980 expedition. |
| 1981 | Return to the Titanic | Jack F. Grimm Productions | Narrated by James Drury, documents Jack Grimm's June 1981 expedition. |
| 1981 | In Search of Titanic | Titanic 1981, Inc | A compilation film featuring footage from Search for the Titanic and Return to the Titanic. |
| 1986 | Secrets of the Titanic | National Geographic | Documents the finding of the wreck of the Titanic and the 1986 expedition led by Robert Ballard to find the Titanic |
| 1986 | Titanic: The Nightmare and the Dream | TVS Television | This film shows the Titanic and the work carried out by Bob Ballard and his team when they discovered the historic vessel at the bottom of the Atlantic ocean. |
| 1994 | Titanic: The Complete Story | A&E Channel | Four hour documentary in two parts: Death of a Dream (origin of the Titanic, and its tragic sinking. Includes interviews with survivors),
and The Legend Lives on (the legacy of the Titanic, and the 1985 discovery of the ship by Robert Ballard). Considered by many experts as the definitive documentary of the Titanic. |
| 1996 | The Investigation Begins | Discovery Channel | Documents the first, failed attempt to recover "the big piece" of the Titanic's hull |
| 1997 | Anatomy of a Disaster | Discovery Channel | Documents an expedition to the Titanic to determine the effects of microbes on the wreck, document the damage from the iceberg, and test the strength of Titanic's steel |
| 1998 | Titanic: Untold Stories | Discovery Channel | Historians retell the stories and experiences of the passengers from submersibles above the Titanic |
| 1999 | Deep Inside Titanic | Discovery Channel | Explores inside the Titanic with mini-subs |
| 1999 | Titanic: Answers from the Abyss | Discovery Channel | Efforts to document the entire wreck in a photomosaic, explores the breakup angle of the ship, the effect of watertight doors and the sinking of the bow section to the sea floor |
| 2002 | Titanic: 90 Years Below | Discovery Channel | Documents the efforts to find, explore and document the Titanic wreck, and the technology developed to find her... including a 2001 expedition to document the Titanic wreck with HD cameras |
| 2003 | Modern Marvels: Titanic Tech | History Channel | Explores the technology used aboard the Titanic |
| 2003 | Ghosts of the Abyss | Disney | James Cameron returns to the Titanic with select cast members from the 1997 movie to explore more of the wreck |
| 2005 | Last Mysteries of the Titanic with James Cameron | Discovery Channel | Expedition with James Cameron to explore the interior of the wreck of the Titanic and document the condition of many unseen areas such as the Turkish baths and First Class Boarding Entrance |
| 2005 | Titanic: Birth of a Legend | Discovery Channel | Dramatization of the construction of the Titanic at Harland & Wolfe Shipyard, with many photographs of the ship and her sister Olympic under construction |
| 2007 | Titanic's Achilles Heel | History Channel | Documentary explores the theory that Titanic's expansion joints contributed to the breakup of the hull
|
| 2008 | Titanic: Ballard's Secret Mission | National Geographic | Documentary reveals the true purpose of Robert Ballard's expedition to find the Titanic was a secret mission by the US Navy |
| 2011 | What Sank Titanic | Discovery Channel – Curiosity | Explains how the mechanical sophistication of the Titanic was beaten by an iceberg. Recreations and historical analysis explore the mysteries of the tragedy. |
| 2012 | Titanic at 100: Mystery Solved | History Channel | Explores the possibility that Titanic had a fatal flaw that doomed the ship. |
| 2012 | Titanic: Case Closed | National Geographic | Presents a new theory why Titanic was unable to avoid the iceberg, and why nearby ships seemed to ignore the Titanic, and were even uncertain whether the lights they saw were the Titanic |
| 2012 | Titanic: The Final Word with James Cameron | National Geographic | James Cameron presents a new analysis and theory into the sequence of the sinking and breakup of the Titanic, informed by a paper by J.W. Stettler of the USCG |
| 2012 | Save the Titanic with Bob Ballard | National Geographic | Bob Ballard examines the damage to the wreck from repeated expeditions and implores that the wreck be protected by international agreements to prevent looting |
| 2020 | Back to the Titanic | National Geographic | First Expedition to return to the Titanic in nearly 15 years (claimed) examines the worsening state of decay of the wreck |
| 2022 | Mysteries From The Grave: The Titanic | Tubi | Interviews with survivors family also features Titanic honor and glory |
Television movies and notable episodes
| Year | Title | Director | Cast | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1955 | "The Sinking of the Titanic: You Are There" You Are There |
Walter Cronkite | Tod Hunter Klieth Roberts Harlow Wilkoff |
Episode of a CBS program called You Are There. |
| 1955 | "The Titanic Incident" Screen Directors Playhouse |
Ted Tetzlaff | Leo Genn, May Wynn, and Philip Reed | Television episode of Screen Directors Playhouse set aboard the Titanic. |
| 1956 | "A Night to Remember" Kraft Television Theatre |
George Roy Hill | Bradford Dillman Neil North |
Live TV adaptation of Walter Lord's 1955 book of the same name; narrated by Claude Rains. |
| 1957 | "The Unsinkable Molly Brown" Telephone Time |
Erle C. Kenton | Cloris Leachman | Short segment (using footage from the 1943 German film) from the TV version of John Nesbitt's Passing Parade series. Leachman would again play the same role in S.O.S. Titanic (1979). |
| 1959 | "Night of April 14th" Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond |
John Newland | Patrick Macnee Barbara Lord Isobel Elsom |
Purported docudrama relating stories of premonitions and nightmares preceding the disaster. The scene of the Titanic hitting the iceberg is from the 1937 drama film History Is Made at Night of the fictional ocean liner SS Princess Irene. |
| 1961 | "I Heard You Calling Me" Way Out |
Daniel Petrie | Constance Ford Neil Fitzgerald Anthony Dawson |
A woman planning to elope with a married man is invited on a free ocean cruise – by the ghost of the man's mother, who died on the Titanic. |
| 1966 | "Rendezvous With Yesterday" The Time Tunnel |
Irwin Allen | James Darren Robert Colbert |
In the first episode of the series, the time travelers arrive on board the Titanic one day before the pending disaster. They try to warn the captain, but disbelieving them, he has them locked up and they narrowly avoid going down with the ship. Some footage and sets from the 1953 film are included in the episode. |
| 1971 | "Lone Survivor" Night Gallery |
Gene Levitt | John Colicos Torin Thatcher Hedley Mattingly |
This story in the anthology series was written by Rod Serling. A survivor in a Titanic lifeboat is discovered – three years after the event, by the Lusitania. |
| 1973 | "Miss Forrest", "A House Divided" Upstairs, Downstairs |
Bill Bain; Christopher Hodson |
Rachel Gurney Patsy Smart Meg Wynn Owen David Langton Simon Williams Gordon Jackson Jean Marsh |
The series' 3rd season opens with "Miss Forrest" where it is learned that two main characters are aboard the Titanic. Mistress Lady Marjorie Bellamy (Gurney) and her maid, Miss Roberts (Smart) are both presumed dead. In the next episode, "A House Divided", it is learned that the maid survives, but is in emotional shock. Eventually she relates how her mistress died on the Titanic. |
| 1979 | S.O.S. Titanic | William Hale | David Janssen Cloris Leachman |
Depiction of the doomed 1912 voyage from the perspective of three distinct groups of passengers in First, Second, and Third Class. Some characters are based on historical figures. Shorter version released theatrically in Europe. The scenes of the ship sinking are colorized footage from A Night to Remember. Some scenes were filmed aboard the TSS Manxman and the RMS Queen Mary. This was the first Titanic film to be released in color. |
| 1983 | "Voyagers of the Titanic" Voyagers! |
Winrich Kolbe | Jon-Erik Hexum Meeno Peluce |
Bogg and Jeff find themselves aboard the doomed Titanic. Jeff wants to prevent the disaster, but Bogg warns him he can't: it is destined to happen. Although failing to prevent the disaster, they save the Mona Lisa from being lost with the ship. Footage of the ship sinking was cut from the opening from Raise The Titanic. Also contains colorized footage of the iceberg and the Titanic from the 1953 film, stock footage of the RMS Queen Mary and some scenes filmed aboard the Queen Mary. |
| 1983 | "Terror on the Titanic" Superfriends |
During a diving exploration on the Titanic wreck two divers were attacked by algae monsters caused by a mutation from the ship's wreckage when it sank. When Aquaman and Black Vulcan was sent over, the algae monsters turn the Titanic into a living monster that eats boats and went on a rampage on Newfondland. The Titanic-monster was defeated by Aquaman and Black Vulcan when they tricked it into crashing into a iceberg and made it sank again as a result. | ||
| 1984 | Titanic - Nachspiel einer Katastrophe | Lutz Büscher | Hans Korte Volkert Kraeft Arthur Brauss |
(Titanic – Aftermath of a disaster), German TV courtroom drama centered on the United States Senate inquiry into the sinking of the Titanic. |
| 1996 | Titanic | Robert Lieberman | Peter Gallagher George C. Scott Catherine Zeta-Jones Tim Curry |
This two-part television drama was the first depiction to show the Titanic splitting in two. |
| 1996 | No Greater Love | Richard T. Heffron | Kelly Rutherford | Romance in which a young woman takes charge of her young siblings, upon losing her fiancé and parents in the disaster. Based on the Danielle Steel novel of the same name. The scenes of the ship sinking include footage from S.O.S. Titanic; as in that film, some scenes were filmed aboard the Queen Mary. |
| 1999 | "A Flight to Remember" Futurama |
Peter Avanzino | Billy West Katey Sagal John DiMaggio |
The Planet Express team take a cruise on the largest starship ever built: the Titanic, which is torn in half and sucked into a black hole on its maiden voyage. |
| 2000 | Britannic | Brian Trenchard-Smith | Edward Atterton Amanda Ryan Jacqueline Bisset John Rhys-Davies |
This television film is mostly about the sinking of the Titanic's sister ship HMHS Britannic, but includes a Titanic survivor's flashback showing the Titanic sinking. |
| 2002 | Thumbtanic | Steve Oedekerk | Short film (26 min.) which parodies the 1997 film; part of the Thumbs! series | |
| 2005 | Titanic: Birth of a Legend | William Lyons | Charles Dance Gordon Langford Rowe Charles Lawson Damian O'Hare Christopher Wright |
A 70-minute docudrama. The story focuses on the lives of the men who built Titanic and her sister ship RMS Olympic. |
| 2007 | "Voyage of the Damned" Doctor Who |
James Strong | David Tennant Kylie Minogue |
A luxury space cruiser called the Titanic, a pastiche of the ocean liner, crashes into the TARDIS. The Doctor works with a waitress to prevent a collision with Earth. In another episode entitled "Turn Left", the Titanic crashes into London, killing millions. |
| 2008 | "The Cursed Tuba Contingency" The Middleman |
Jeremiah Chechik | Matt Keeslar Natalie Morales |
To avert dire consequences, the Middleman (Kesslar) and Wendy (Morales) must prevent a tuba from the Titanic from being played. In a flashback of the ship's sinking, footage from the 1943 film is used. |
| 2010 | "The Mutants Are Revolting" Futurama |
Raymie Muzquiz | Billy West Katey Sagal John DiMaggio |
In the sewers of New New York, the Planet Express crew discover the wreck of the Land Titanic, the largest articulated bus ever built, which sailed down Fifth Avenue in 2912 and struck a mail box and sank into the ground. |
| 2010 | Titanic II | Shane Van Dyke | Shane Van Dyke Brooke Burns |
A cruise liner sets sail on the 100th anniversary of the Titanic's doomed maiden voyage. When a tsunami hurls an iceberg into the ship's path, the crew and passengers struggle to avoid suffering the same fate as their predecessors. |
| 2010 | "Episode One" Downton Abbey |
Brian Percival | The first series opens with news of the Crawley family heir's death aboard the Titanic. Also referenced in Episode Six of Season 2. | |
| 2011 | "My Heart Will Go On" Supernatural |
Phil Sgriccia | Jared Padalecki Jensen Ackles Misha Collins |
An angel changes history by averting the sinking of the Titanic, with unforeseen consequences. |
| 2012 | Saving The Titanic | Maurice Sweeney | David Wilmot Ciarán McMenamin Owen McDonnell |
90-minute PBS docudrama. The story of the selfless engineers who kept the Titanic's essential electricity running during the tragedy. Renamed as Heroes of the Titanic for UK broadcast on History. |
| 2012 | Titanic | Jon Jones | Linus Roache Geraldine Somerville |
Four-part television drama based around characters present on the ship during its sinking. Shows the Titanic splitting in two at a much shallower angle, in accordance with a new breakup theory. |
| 2012 | Titanic: Blood and Steel | Ciaran Donnelly | Neve Campbell Derek Jacobi |
12-part television drama, telling the story of the construction of the ship. Contains numerous deviations from historical facts, mostly regarding the construction timeline. |
| 2012 | Titanic: The Aftermath | Marion Milne | Jeremy Akerman John Dunsworth |
90-minute docudrama on the lives of those who survived the sinking. |
| 2015 | "Stewie, Chris, & Brian's Excellent Adventure" Family Guy |
Joe Vaux | Seth MacFarlane Alex Borstein Seth Green |
In the second half of the episode, Stewie, Brian, and Chris end up on the Titanic during their time travel adventure and manage to leave the ship during the sinking. |
| 2022 | Titanic 666 | Nick Lyon | Joseph Gatt Jhey Castles Michael J. Chen |
Following the events of Titanic II, the Titanic III begins its maiden voyage to the original wreck site. However, the passengers start turning into ghosts after the ship's arrival, resulting in the sinking of the ship. |
See also
References
- "La hantise (1912)" (in French). MoviePilot. Retrieved 13 November 2012.
The dealer Jean Trévoux postpones trip to New York ... Then he read in a brochure of the maiden voyage of the unsinkable Titanic and booked a cabin. His wife was predicted recently by a palm reader, the loss of a loved one ...
- Danny (25 January 2013). "Cavalcade (1933) Review –". Pre-code.com. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- Lebovic, Matt (1 October 2013). "Goebbels' 'Titanic' cinematic disaster turns 70". The Times of Israel. Retrieved 7 December 2014.
- Max Arthur (16 October 2000). "RAF pilots tricked into killing 10,000 camp survivors at end of war". The Independent. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
- Isherwood, J.L. (May 1976). "Steamers of the Past: The Hamburg-South American Liner Cap Arcona". Sea Breezes.
- Michael Janusonis, "VIDEO – Documentary just the tip of the iceberg for Titanic fans", The Providence Journal (5 September 2003), E-05.
- "The Tale of Two TITANICS: a retrospective look at the VFX from A NIGHT TO REMEMBER and TITANIC". 26 May 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2012.
Several miniature shots in A NIGHT TO REMEMBER were actually re-used scenes originally featured in the 1943 German version ... The shots were often optically flopped to appear new ... Side by side frame comparison of the engine room flooding miniature sequence shows that several effects cuts ... were in fact reused for the 1958 British version
- Raise the Titanic at The-Numbers. Retrieved: Wednesday, 11 April 2012
- "Titanica". IMAX Corporation. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- "Can Anything Stop the Raising of Titanic on 23 March?". New York Observer. 22 February 1998. Archived from the original on 25 July 2008. Retrieved 1 December 2010.
- "Titanic". The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved 19 January 2010.
- Koldau, Linda Maria (2012). The Titanic on Film: Myth versus Truth. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. p. 68. ISBN 978-0786490370.
- "True Story of China's Titanic Survivors, Executive Produced by James Cameron, Heads to Cinemas". Variety. 24 March 2021.
- "A Century After the Titanic Sank, a Film Tries to Rescue 6 Survivors' Stories". The New York Times. 21 August 2021.
- "What Sank Titanic? | Curiosity". Discovery. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
- Moving Picture Archive
- "Episode Guide / The First Season Night Gallery No. 3 ( 12-30-70 )". Archived from the original on 22 September 2010. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
- "Miss Forrest". Upstairs, Downstairs : Season Three. updown.org.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2014. This was the first episode of Series 3. It was also Rachel Gurney's departure from the show since it started three years before. Fans were truly shocked at the time with Gurney's character drowning on the Titanic
- "A House Divided". Upstairs, Downstairs : Season Three. updown.org.uk. Retrieved 25 February 2014.
- "YouTube". YouTube. Archived from the original on 10 June 2020. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
- "Saving the Titanic". PBS ONLINE®. Archived from the original on 2 November 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
External links
- Titanic titles at the Internet Movie Database
- Search for the Titanic (1981 film) at IMDb
- Return to the Titanic (1981 film) at IMDb
- In Search of Titanic (1981) at the Internet Archive
