S.O.S. Titanic 1979
The saga of the supposedly unsinkable R.M.S. Titanic has captured the world’s imagination for over a century. Its story of greed, loss and survival remains as fascinating today as it did on that fateful, moonless night in April 1912. Long before James Cameron’s blockbuster Titanic (1997), this film meticulously recreated the world’s most lavish luxury liner and its sumptuous gala atmosphere during the four-day journey leading to the disaster. Based on detailed research, this intriguing docudrama gives a rich sense of life aboard the Titanic as it explores the lives of various passengers, ranging from the most impoverished to the wealthiest, and movingly finds the courage amidst the horror and tragedy. The film follows the survivors’ lives after their traumatic rescue.

Director: William Hale (as Billy Hale)
Cast: David Janssen, Cloris Leachman, Harry Andrews, Susan Saint James, Ian Holm, Helen Mirren, David Warner
Country: UK, USA
Genre: Drama, History


It is a two-disc set that contains the Theatrical Version of the film, which was restored in 4K, as well as the TV Version, which has been remastered. The TV Version is quite a bit longer, with significantly better characterizations that are crucial for the evolution of the drama that takes place in its second half.

2 x BD50 | 1080p AVC | 01:43:00, 02:24:33 | 28.6 Gb + 45.8 Gb + 3% rec
Language: English
Subtitles: English

Extras:

THEATRICAL CUT

-- Audio Commentary - critic Evgueni Mlodik discusses in great detail the production history of S.O.S. Titanic and its stylistic appearance. Also, there is some very interesting information about small but important historic errors that can be observed in the film. It is a good, very nicely researched and presented commentary.

TV VERSION

-- A Tour of the Olympic - Titanic Sister Ship - presented with music composed and performed by Donald Sosin (17 min, 1080i).

-- Original 1912 Newsreel - presented with music composed and performed by Donald Sosin. (10 min, 1080i).

-- Titanic 1943 Trailer - in German, with imposed English subtitles. (3 min, 1080i).