A Night to Remember Essay Example For Students

A Night to Remember Essay The first thing that I noticed when watching the film was that it was not in chronological order. The introducing scene is of the wreck of the Titanic from a submarine, we know that the people are searching for something valuable because they have a robot that is scouting the ship. This shows that the events that had taken place many years ago were no longer of any importance to us and to show that there are no longer any strong feelings towards the events. The opening scene makes us think about the disastrous events and about the many shattered dreams that were carried by the passengers in 1912. We are then introduced to a survivor of the Titanic. This shows how significant an event the Titanic was because we are shown that people can still remember 84 years ago and still have a picture perfect memory of what happened.  Cameron uses main characters very cleverly in the film. He makes us care about the characters so that the events that happen seem even more tragic. He does this by making us feel as if we know the characters and he makes us like them. Jack is the character that gets sympathy from the audience because he is a steerage class passenger and is looked down on by many of the characters in the play. He is also a fun loving, exciting character, as we see in the film when there is a shot of Cal drinking brandy with the men and then a shot of Jack and Rose in the steerage part of the ship, dancing to Irish music and having a good time.  Rose is very similar to Jack, as she gets the sympathy vote from the audience, basically because she is a women in Edwardian England that is always seen as inferior and mistreated by Cal, as he shows during his argument with Rose when he says, You will honour me, you will honour me like any other fian This also shows that he thinks that she is just a normal women he doesnt think that she is special, and you would expect that he would think his future wife was special to him. The first time you see Rose you can see that she is a good, kind character because the way the camera is used to show her as stunning and beautiful.  Cameron makes us dislike Cal by emphasising his arrogance and snobbishness. From the first time we see him we know that he is the villain of the film. The first impression that we get of him is as if he is too big for his boots.  James Cameron also makes sure that we notice the class divide in Edwardian times by having the love affair be between Jack (a steerage class passenger) and Rose (a first class passenger). We are introduced to the class divide very early, when the passengers are getting on the boat we see 3rd class passengers being checked for lice and then the camera focuses on a 1st class passenger walking on the ship with a dog without being checked. When we are actually on the ship we see Jacks room and then the camera jumps to Roses luxurious room, which is more like a house than a room. One quote that is typical of Edwardian England is, You dont want to stay out here with the women  This reminds us that we are in 1912 when watching the film because we know that men thought women as inferior in those times. Another example is the line,  Come along sweet pea,  Said by Cal when he is at the harbour. He says this with a hint of superiority in his voice, which makes him immediately disliked and also reminds us about Edwardian England. There is a time in the film when setting is very important. When Rose is about to commit suicide and she is speaking to Jack is when the phrase of never letting go comes into the film Jack tells Rose not to let go of the railings that she is holding onto, which separates her from Jack. In this scene Jack describes thoroughly what the water at that specific temperature feels like when it hits you.  This sets the scene for the end of the film so that you know what the character must be feeling when the ship sinks. Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong EssayAll of the people are those that she met and more importantly liked, on the Titanic. We then come out of Roses eyes and travel with her towards the clock on the stairs where Jack is stood waiting. She walks up the stairs and they kiss with the music still able to be heard and the clapping of peoples hands. The music is the theme tune to the film and it is at this moment where you pay more attention to the lyrics of the song, as the directly relate to what has happened in the film. The music builds up emotion well in this scene, as it is touching and very moving. A Night To Remember (produced by William MacQuillty, directed by Roy Baker 1958) is fairly different to James Camerons Titanic- Most probably because it was made 38 years before Camerons version. The most recognisable difference in the two films is that A Night To Remember is in black and white, which makes it less exciting. It is also in chronological order unlike James Camerons version. In A Night To Remember we dont get attached to a character, which makes the sinking of the ship seem less tragic. The film made in 1958 concentrates more on informing the audience about what had happened. There is great emphasis on the ice warnings in A Night To Remember, whereas; in the Titanic we are only briefly told about ice in the ships course. The crew are very organised in A Night to Remember with everything under control even when the ship has collided with the iceberg. There are no people screaming or running about the ship, unlike what is seen in the Titanic. Every passenger is calmly getting into a boat and sailing away. One of the main differences is that the ship does not split into two in A Night To Remember and there is no suction created by the ship, although in the Titanic these two important facts are made very clear. The fact that we didnt get attached to any character in the film makes it have less of an impact on the audience, which results in the film being less successful than the Titanic.  James Cameron focussed on two fictional characters (Jack and Rose) so that he could make the events seem more tragic. If we were to become attached to one or more characters, Cameron knew that when the iceberg hit we would immediately be concerned about them because we care for them so much. Taking it even further would make the film an even better story and more successful, so Cameron decided to have Jack die as the tragic hero, saving Roses life numerous times and becoming loved by the audience, from sympathy because he was 3rd class and because he was a gracious man. Rose dies at the end of the film at 101 to join Jack; I believe Cameron did this to show how love is eternal and also, (for a more obvious reason) so that the story was believed to be true from a true Titanic survivor. I believe that James Camerons intention when he made the film was to portray the film well enough so that the audience would be moved and care more about the events that happened in 1912. I think he also wanted to show that love and can blossom between two totally different people. I think that the way Cameron used the sound track and sound effects to create atmosphere was very professional. The way that he can get through to the audiences emotional side by making us feel attached to the characters and therefore making the disaster seem more tragic. I think that Cameron wanted to make people like teenagers who had a brief idea of the events but had no idea of how many people it affected care more about the event, and also people like Brock Lovett who are so insensitive towards the event that they make sarcastic jokes about it.  I have thoroughly enjoyed watching and analysing The Titanic and believe that it was a terrific piece of work by James Cameron.