FAQ

Titanic hit the iceberg on April 14th around 11:40 pm and finally sank on April 15th around 2:20 a.m.

However, people tend to confuse dates saying things like "Titanic sank on April 14th" or "Titanic hit the iceberg on April 15th".

Yes, the wreck that you see in the film that Brock Lovett and his team visit in the film is indeed the real Titanic. The footage was the first shot for the film back in 1995, long before the sets were built. Though when we see the interior of the wreck, with the submersible searching the rooms, that was an underwater set.

An early movie theater where a film or a variety show could be seen, usually for the admission price of a nickel.

Traditionally the rich derived their fortunes from property which was handed down through inheritance, becoming landed gentry and aristocrats. However the advent of the industrial revolution meant that people from ordinary backgrounds could also attain great wealth (Molly Brown's fortune was from her mining engineer husband inventing a system to prevent tunnel collapses at goldmines). This caused tension between the 2 groups, the traditional upper classes viewing the newcomers as vulgar and resenting the challenge to their historical dominance of society.

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Eighty-four years after the sinking of the RMS Titanic, deepsea explorer Brock Lovett (Bill Paxton) has located her carcass on the floor of the Atlantic Ocean. Using robot technology, he recovers a safe containing a drawing of a young woman wearing what looks like the Heart of the Ocean, an immense, heart-shaped diamond. When 101-year-old Rose Calvert (Gloria Stuart) sees the drawing on a TV news broadcast, she is flabbergasted, because the woman in the drawing is herself. Lovett brings Rose aboard the Keldysh, where Rose tells the story of how she, as 17-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet), met drifter and artist Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) aboard the ill-fated ship.

The sinking of the British passenger liner RMS Titanic is, indeed, a true event that took place in April 1912 when it hit an iceberg and sank at 2:20 a.m on April 15, 1912. The movie is based on a screenplay by Canadian-born producer and director James Cameron. Cameron did extensive research on the Titanic, including organizing a dive to the wreck itself. During his research, Cameron was given access to the Titanic builders' blueprints and other archives. However, the drama between Rose and Jack is fiction.

She left Southampton, England on Wednesday 10 April 1912 and took on more passengers at Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland (now called Cobh) later that day. On Sunday at 11:40 p.m. (ship time), she struck an iceberg 400 miles (650 kilometers) south of Newfoundland, and went under at 2:20 a.m.

Warm weather causes huge chunks of ice to break off from glaciers at the point where they meet the ocean. The icebergs then float south with the currents until they eventually melt. Because of its location in the North Atlantic, the iceberg that the Titanic hit is thought to have most likely come from Greenland.

Lewis makes this cynical comment after Brock has emptied the salvaged safe in the beginning, and finds out the diamond is not in there. Many viewers outside the USA may not be familiar with Geraldo Rivera and this infamous event. Rivera is an American journalist who was known for his talk show Geraldo and several famous human interest stories. In April 1986, he hosted a two-hour live television special called The Mystery of Al Capone's Vault; surveyors had recently discovered a secret room below the Chicago Lexington Hotel. The special focused on Riviera's attempts to retrieve Capone's vault that was buried there. The show was extremely hyped in advertisements, due to the allusion that the excavation might reveal dead bodies and riches. Approximately 30 million people watched the show ending in disappointment, when no bodies were recovered and the vault contained merely dirt and some empty bottles. The term "Al Capone's vault" has since become a description for an overhyped event that ends in an anti-climax. As for Rivera, he became more of a news reporter than a journalist let alone a talk show host.

Jack Dawson, Rose Bukater, Brock Lovett, Rose's fiancé Cal Hockley (Billy Zane), Rose's mother Ruth (Frances Fisher), Spicer Lovejoy (David Warner), Fabrizio (Danny Nucci), Tommy Ryan (Jason Barry), Helga Dahl (Camilla Overbye Roos) and family, and Cora Cartmell and family are all fictitious. The most prominent real-life characters mentioned by name are multimillionaire John Jacob Astor (Eric Braeden) and his wife Madeleine (Charlotte Chatton), Ben Guggenheim (Michael Ensign) (the guy who dresses in his best and asks for brandy), Margaret "Molly" Brown (Kathy Bates) (in real-life her nickname was Maggie, not Molly), the Countess of Rothes (Rochelle Rose), Colonel Gracie (Bernard Fox), Sir Cosmo (Martin Jarvis) and Lady Duff Gordon (Rosalind Ayres) (who really did design lingerie), the ship's architect Thomas Andrews (Victor Garber), White Star Line president Bruce Ismay (Jonathan Hyde), Captain Edward J. Smith (Bernard Hill), 1st Officer Murdoch (Ewan Stewart), 2nd Officer Lightoller (Jonny Phillips), as well as other officers and crew members. Shown but not named are Ida (Elsa Raven) and Isidor Strauss (Lew Palter) (the old couple shown lying on the bed near the end), who co-owned Macy's with Strauss' brother, and Charles Joughin (Liam Tuohy) (the baker on the railing with Jack and Rose). Named but not shown is Arthur Ryerson. Robert Douglas Spedden is the kid spinning the top on the promenade deck, a scene based on an actual photograph taken en route to Queenstown.

"Eternal Father, Strong to Save". This is also known (to Americans) as the Navy Hymn-note the lyrics: "Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee, For those in peril on the sea!" Its use in this movie constitutes an anachronism, because although the original lyrics of the hymn were written by William Whiting of Winchester, England, in 1860, and were set to music by John Dykes, an Anglican clergyman, in 1861, the verse that precedes Whiting's famous reference to "those in peril on the sea"... O Spirit, Whom the Father sent / To spread abroad the Firmament; / O wind of heaven, by Thy Might, / Save all who dare the eagle's flight; / And keep them by Thy watchful care / From every peril in the air. ...is the one that first appeared in the printed hymnal of the U.S. Protestant Episcopal Church in 1940 and so would not have been part of services aboard a British ship in 1912.

It's likely that Cal knew about Rose's situation. He is a very calculating business man, so he is probably well aware of general financial situations, especially of people with whom he has dealings. Given his attitude towards Rose, it seems that he perceives her primarily as an accessory that will solidify his name, so it would make sense for him to assess the benefits and risks of entering into a commitment with her beforehand. He was probably aware that her family was financially ruined, but the fact that they came from a high-class background and had only lost their wealth recently meant that Rose was still a suitable "match." In any case, his family is very rich, and he would probably have liked the idea of Rose being financially dependent on him. The movie makes a point of the distinction between "new" and "old" money indicating that financial gain is not on its own as powerful as the name that accompanies it. This is evident in the first-class passengers' attitude towards the "vulgar" Molly Brown, who is described as "new money", meaning her family had only recently become wealthy, which doesn't carry the same status as families who have been rich for several generations (like Rose's). Also, when Jack mentions he is called Dawson, the immediate assumption is that he is of the Boston Dawsons. Rose's mother indicates that Rose's father had a name sufficient enough to cover his destitution. It is even possible that Rose and Cal were already betrothed before Rose's father died, and her financial crisis was not yet apparent. In any way, Cal probably appreciated that her name joining his would consolidate both their status and didn't care if it came with money or not.

That song was a popular tune back then called "Come Josephine in my Flying Machine." It was first written in 1910 by Fred Fisher and Al Bryan, then recorded by Blanche Ring. In 1911 it was recorded again as a duet between Billy Murray and Ada Jones. On the "Back To Titanic" soundtrack it is heard sung by Maire Brennan with lines from the movie in the background said by Rose towards the end. It is also heard again on a deleted scene on the special edition DVD.

Rose is laughing because she is remembering the night before when she was with Jack after the steerage party and they sing the song together. This is a deleted scene on the three disk special edition DVD.

At the time of the Titanic disaster, steering orders were still given in concurrence with an old tradition. Early ships were steered with an oar and then later with a tiller that would control the rudder. In order to turn to starboard you would turn the tiller to port and vice-versa. So if an officer said "hard-a-starboard", that meant "turn the tiller to starboard and the ship would go to port". During the early 18th century, the wheel was introduced. Now turning the wheel to port (as in counterclockwise) would steer the ship to port, but the old orders stayed the same—i.e., if an officer said "hard-a-starboard" (as in the movie), the helmsman would turn to port; in essence the helmsman had to turn in the opposite direction to what the officer had said. Confusing? Yes, but this was finally corrected in the UK on January 1st, 1933, when "hard-to-port" finally meant "turn to port" and "hard-to-starboard" finally meant "turn to starboard".

While a number of film versions show the band playing the hymn "Nearer My God to Thee," it's quite problematic. The major point is that the only ones who know the answer for sure (that is, the band), went down with the ship. However, many of the rumours which sprang up as soon as the survivors of the Titanic reached land said that "Nearer My God To Thee," was indeed the last music that the band played as the Titanic sank. In Walter Lord's book, A Night To Remember, which recounts the specific events from that night, Lord states that the last tune to be played by the band was "Autumn." Wireless Operator Harold Bride, who was one of the last survivors to leave the ship, also said in later interviews that the last piece the band was playing was "Autumn." While that hymn has been ruled out, what's now believed is that Bride was referring to "Songe d'Automne," with which he would undoubtedly have been familiar, and which he would have referred to mistakenly as "Autumn," as it was widely known at the time. If we assume the hymn in question was "Nearer My God To Thee," there's still room for debate, although Eva Hart, a reliable Titanic witness, said she ran out of a church in distress when she heard it played a few months later. This hymn comes in three main versions (and five other alternate versions): the American version ("Bethany"; played in this very movie), the British version ("Horbury," played in A Night to Remember (1958)), and the British Methodist version "Propior Deo," currently not yet played in any Titanic movie to this date). All the members of the Titanic's band, save for one French member, were British. Thus the American version played in this movie is out of the question. The leader of the band, Wallace Hartley, was a Methodist, although he did attend a non-Methodist church around 1912 in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, on a street called Halifax Road (ironically), and so could have been influenced to play "Horbury," the version from "A Night To Remember." And so the possible versions of "Nearer My God To Thee," that could have been played that night are the British and the British Methodist versions, though unfortunately Ms Hart failed to hum the tune for posterity whilst being interviewed. Suggestively, she was evidently a British Catholic and not a Methodist. She also refused to watch Titanic movies so there's no confirmation from that source. The band was playing to keep the passengers calm as the ship was sinking, and playing "Nearer My God to Thee," could have worked against the calm that the band had been working so hard to instill in the passengers that night.

That was the Norwegian girl Helga Dahl with whom Fabrizio was dancing in the third-class dance. She was supposed to be Fabrizio's love interest, but all her other scenes were cut from the movie. They are included in the Special Edition DVDs.

Women and children meant females of all ages and boys who were 14 or younger. However, the lifeboat boarding policy depended on which officer was controlling the boarding. Second Officer Charles Herbert Lightoller had a strict policy of women and children only (he tried to keep Arthur Ryerson's 13-year-old son out, but relented when the father protested. "No more boys," Lightoller grumbled, according to Walter Lord's account in the book A Night To Remember). Other officers allowed any passengers to board the boats. Lifeboat #1 was boarded by Sir Cosmo Duff Gordon, his wife, her secretary and two other first-class men, for a total of only 12 passengers in a lifeboat made for about 40 (Mr. Andrews even makes an angry comment about this in the movie).

In many ways, everyone's and no one's. The radio room had received warnings of icebergs in the area but were too busy sending private messages for the passengers to pass it on to the bridge. Lord Ismay pressed Captain Smith to travel as fast as he could but this was not unusual for Atlantic liners and he certainly would not have done so if he had received the ice warnings. The lookouts were in the crow's nest rather than at the front of the ship where they would have seen the iceberg sooner and lacked binoculars which were locked in a cabinet for which the key was missing (the crewman in possession of the key had been transferred to another ship forgetting to leave it behind and no one wanted to be responsible for smashing the lock on the cabinet). Upon sighting the iceberg, the crew turned the ship and threw the engines into reverse but this meant that the Titanic struck the iceberg at an angle rather than head-on. Had she struck head-on only the first few compartments would have been flooded and the ship would almost certainly have survived. Striking the iceberg at an angle meant the damage extended down the side of the ship, flooding more compartments and resulting in its loss. Depending upon the maneuverability of the ship, steering without putting the engines in reverse may have allowed her to dodge the iceberg, whereas the catastrophic combination of two approaches were taken as the crew tried to think fast. Meanwhile, the designers of the model to which the ship belonged, the Olympic class, likely had not anticipated any of the ships being damaged in the way this one was, since the compartments were organized into a cell sequence rather than a cell grid (though it's worth noting that the latter would have cost more in resources).

The Board of Trade had not changed its safety rules since the days of sailing ships, the number of lifeboats specified in direct ratio to the size of the crew. However modern steam powered liners carried far more passengers and fewer crew meaning there wasn't enough for everyone (the Titanic actually exceeded the recommended number of lifeboats). The White Star line had not trained the crew well enough in evacuation procedures and they let some of the boats go without reaching their maximum capacity. The SS Californian was nearby but did not have a radio operator on watch (it was not legally required at the time) and the Titanic did not respond to her signal lamp, either it was too distant or no one noticed it during the panic of the evacuation. The Titanic fired white communication rockets rather than red which was the official distress signal and fired them at the wrong intervals for a ship requesting assistance. The boat's crews did not return soon enough to rescue the survivors from the water because they feared being swamped by hundreds of people.

1. That she was carrying gold bullion; incorrect although there would have been a great deal of precious jewelry and cash kept in the ship's safe for rich passengers during the crossing.

2. That she sank due to the curse of an Egyptian mummy that was being carried in the cargo hold from the British Museum; the British Museum has no record of any such artifact nor does the White Star line.

3. That she was sabotaged by Catholic extremists who were resentful of her makers, Harland and Wolf, employing an overwhelmingly Protestant workforce. The contemporary Home Rule Bill (Britain granting Ireland limited self-government with provision for progressive independence in the same way as Canada, Australia etc) had ratcheted sectarian tensions in Ireland up to a high degree and wild rumours spread as a result.

4. That Lord Ismay took a place in a lifeboat to save himself at the cost of others' lives; Ismay actually played a key role in persuading first-class passengers to enter the lifeboats and helping them aboard. When he himself boarded one, it was half empty with no one else queuing for it. Numerous wild stories spread in the press about his conduct on the night, and he was vilified in the press but the subsequent inquiries disproved them all.

5. That it was the first use of SOS; it had actually been introduced in 1908, but the sinking of the Titanic made it much more famous and popularised its employment.

It may have been possible for the Titanic to have been designed better, but there was nothing particularly "wrong" with her design. No ship in the world (at the time) could have survived such a collision, and the Titanic probably remained afloat longer than any other vessel could have. The Titanic's sister ship, the Britannic, also sank but that was after hitting a mine during the Great War (World War I). Her other sister ship, the Olympic, had an exemplary career with no problems whatsoever. Miraculously, White Star stewardess Violet Jessop survived the sinking of both the Titanic and Britannic and was also aboard the Olympic when she was badly damaged in a collision but remained afloat.

The sinking of the Titanic is a popular movie subject and has been so ever since the incident. Some of the more memorable movies include Titanic (1943), Titanic (1953), and A Night to Remember (1958)); Herbert Selpin's, the 1943 one, being the first big-budget (and over-budget) feature-length film on the topic. There have also been several TV series featuring the Titanic, such as S.O.S. Titanic (1979), Titanic (1996), and Titanic: Blood and Steel (2012), as well as movies about the aftermath of the Titanic including Raise the Titanic (1980), the animated Titanic: The Legend Goes On... (2000), and Titanic II (2010).

Several digital alterations were made for the Blu-ray version, e.g. corrected goofs whereby mistakes like visible lighting equipment or tools like threads etc. were removed. The probably most distinct difference is the altered background (sunset) during the famous "I am flying!" scene with Leo and Kate.

For the Blu-ray release (i.e. for the 2012 3D re-release, to be precise), James Cameron also altered the night sky in the scene where Rose floats on the door in the water after the Titanic sank and looks up in the sky, since the sky was wrong in the theatrical release.

From Wikipedia:

"The only scene entirely redone for the re-release was Rose's view of the night sky at sea, on the morning of April 15, 1912. The scene was replaced with an accurate view of the night-sky star pattern, including the Milky Way, adjusted for the location in the North Atlantic Ocean in April 1912. The change was prompted by astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who had criticized the scene for showing an unrealistic star pattern. He agreed to send film director Cameron a corrected view of the sky, which was the basis of the new scene."