History Film / ANightToRemember

** Thomas Andrews says that the ship has suffered a 300ft gash. In the 1990s, a series of sonar scans determined that ''Titanic'' actually suffered a series of small holes. Obviously as with the above event we don't know how much information the real Andrews had at that point (any witnesses who saw the internal damage don't seem to have survived and obviously the outer hull below the water line could not be observed) so its not to shocking he's incorrect. He's also urgently trying to make the point ''Titanic'' is doomed at that moment and could be playing to the crowd.

** ''Titanic'' is shown sinking in one piece, which was the received wisdom at the time the film was made. The discovery of the wreck in 1985 proved that it actually broke apart as it sank.
** Thomas Andrews says that the ship has suffered a 300ft gash. In the 1990s, a series of sonar scans determined that ''Titanic'' actually suffered a series of small holes.
* TheDeterminator: Captain Rostron of the ''Carpathia'', who tries to reach the ''Titanic'' before it sinks with no regard to the hazards facing his own ship.

* BittersweetEnding: The Titanic has fallen and 1500 people were lost, but the film concludes with a hopeful message that the story isn't finished and their sacrifice was not in vain. The disaster led to sweeping reform to future designs of cruise ships, among them more lifeboats for passengers, unceasing radio communication, and patrols to scout for icebergs, so a disaster of that caliber doesn't happen again.

* CaptainOblivious: The crew of the Californian ignores all distress calls by the Titanic. Even after the Titanic mysteriously vanishes, they don't seem to notice that anything out of ordinary is going on.

** Thomas Andrews: ‘She can’t float’ when Captain Smith claims Titanic is ‘unsinkable’ and ‘Yes we may’ to Robbie Lucas on ‘being on the same boat later’

* DisneyDeath: As Titanic begins her final plunge into the ocean the main Irish third class passengers are amongst those performing last rites and it seemed they all died. But somehow the young Irish man and most of his friends and family miraculously survive the sinking as though God answered they prayers. However the young man's father is missing and when he is not present on the Carapathia at the end of the film it symbolises he died during the sinking. And another Irish passenger who survived the sinking dies of hymphoia.

** There is a subtle effect used for scenes involving both the Carpathia and the Californian. While all shots of the Titanic are steady (including the Dutch Angles), scene shots of the other two ships show a slow rocking back and forth, as these smaller ships are more affected by wave action than the massive Titanic.

* SurvivorGuilt: Most demonstrably in Ismay's face as he watches the boat go down from the safety of the lifeboat he sneaked onto.
* TakeThat: One of the taglines of the film was 'The Real Story of the RMS Titanic', a jab at the less-than accurate 1953 ''Film/{{Titanic|1953}}'' film. Sylvia Lightoller, widow of the real life Charles Lightoller, remarked in an interview that "the film is really the truth and has not been embroidered," though there is still some artistic licence made both for dramatic effect and to avoid [[NoHistoricalFiguresWereHarmed legal action]].

* BittersweetEnding: The Titanic has fallen and 1500 people were lost, but the film concludes with an ending message that the story isn't finished and the sacrifice was not in vain. The disaster led to sweeping reform to future designs of cruise ships, among them more lifeboats for passengers, unceasing radio communication, and patrols to scout for icebergs, so the tragedy is not repeated.

[[caption-width-right:350:"[[GallowsHumour I take it you and I might both be in the same boat later?"]]]]

* FamousLastWords: ''"Abandon ship!"'' by the captain. Interestingly, this happens several minutes before the ship sinks.

Before Creator/JamesCameron's ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'', there was ''A Night to Remember'', a 1958 black-and-white British movie about the 1912 sinking of the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic, directed by Roy Ward Baker and [[TheFilmOfTheBook based on]] Walter Lord's nonfiction book of the same title chronicling the maritime disaster that claimed the lives of 1,517 of the 2,223 people on board.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: Inverted with the Strauses, who are portrayed as an elderly Hassidic couple with heavy Yiddish accents. In reality, Isidor and Ida ([[AdaptationalNameChange renamed Rachel]] in the film) were assimilated wealthy New Yorkers, who lived in the United States since childhood and would have had spoken with an American accent.

Before Creator/JamesCameron's ''Film/{{Titanic|1997}}'', there was ''A Night to Remember'', a 1958 black-and-white British movie about the 1912 sinking of the UsefulNotes/RMSTitanic, directed by Roy Ward Baker and based on Walter Lord's nonfiction book of the same title chronicling the maritime disaster that claimed the lives of 1,517 of the 2,223 people on board.

-->'''Benjamin Guggenheim:''' "It was uncomfortable. We have dressed now in our best, and are prepared to go down like gentlemen."
** Also the ships band who play to calm the other passengers, even though they had a chance to try to evacuate, and go down with the ship. Their being resigned to their fate is one of these scenes.

[[TogetherInDeath "We have been together for many years. Wherever you go, I go."]]

* AmbiguouslyJewish: Inverted with the Strauses, who are portrayed as an elderly Hassidic couple with heavy Yiddish accents. In reality, Isidor and Ida ([[AdaptationalNameChange renamed Rachel]] in the film) were assimilated wealthy New Yorkers, who lived in the United States since childhood and would have had spoken with a regular American accent.

* AmbiguouslyJewish: Inverted with the Strauses, who are portrayed as an elderly Hassidic couple with heavy Yiddish accents. In reality, Isidor and Ida ([[AdaptantionalNameChange renamed Rachel]] in the film) were assimilated wealthy New Yorkers, who lived in the United States since childhood and would have had spoken with a regular American accent.

* ButNotTooJewish: Inverted with the Strauses, who are portrayed as an elderly Hassidic couple with heavy Yiddish accents. In reality, Isidor and Ida ([[AdaptantionalNameChange renamed Rachel]] in the film) were assimilated wealthy New Yorkers, who lived in the United States since childhood and would have had spoken with a regular American accent.

** Plus if Thomas Andrews had the watertight bulkheads sealed the ship may have not sank.

* DatedHistory: ''Titanic'' is shown sinking in one piece, which was the received wisdom at the time the film was made. The discovery of the wreck in 1985 proved that it actually broke apart as it sank.

** And we can't forget the Strauses, who stay together to the bitter end. As she says to her husband when he refuses to leave the ship while other men are aboard, urging her to go: [[TogetherInDeath "We have been together for many years. Wherever you go, I go."]]

* BadassLongcoat: The officers on all three ships featured (the ''Titanic'' herself, the ''Carpathia'', and the ''Californian'') all wear badass greatcoats. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]], in that it was part of their uniforms and that it was a very cold the night the Titanic sank.

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar: There is some graffiti on the crew quarters door in the scene where a steward tries to rouse his sleeping cremates and is met with derision. It's barely readable while the door is open but as it swings shut it's just about legible. It says THE GLORY HOLE.
** The ''Carpathia''[='s=] radio operator and officer of the watch are apparently having a discussion about whether they would rather go out with a female passenger, or her daughter just before the first distress call from the ''Titanic'' comes in.

* INeedAFreakingDrink: After giving up his spot in one of the boats, Charles Joughlin, the ship's gourmet cook and baker, goes below and quietly downs a bottle of alcohol. He later drunkenly tries to go back for the bottle, but thinks better of it when he sees water rising on the deck. Also some of the other male passengers decide to deal with the situation by playing a game of who can down the most alcohol in one go.

* ForWantOfANail: The appalling death toll could have been prevented if lifeboats were provisioned on the basis of passengers and if ships had to maintain a 24 hour radio watch - the ''Californian'' was visible on the horizon but their only radio operator had finished his shift and gone to bed.

* ThousandYardStare: A steward finds Andrews alone just before the sinking and asks, "Aren't you even going to make a try for it, sir?" Andrews shoots him an absolutely ''terrifying'' one of these.