PopSyndicate.com

If there is a documentary about the Titanic, or a book with photographs of the underwater mass grave, I snap it up. I am fascinated with all things Titanic – the beauty, the craftsmanship, the arrogance of its creators, the stories of those who decided at the last minute not to board. I’m not into Hollywood creations like James Cameron’s monstrosity, Titanic, but I do like the black and white version, A Night to Remember, based on the book of the same name.

I couldn’t wait to see what new facts and interviews would be featured in Titanic, Born in Belfast. This particular documentary focuses on the shipbuilders of this thriving Irish port city who worked doggedly to complete Titanic for its doomed 1912 maiden voyage. It is an angle not yet explored, and teased my curiosity.

While the 61-minute DVD offered up a few interesting interviews and odd factoids, it did not captivate me as I’d hoped. It’s rather dull and difficult to watch. There were a few very cheesy dramatic interpretations taking viewers from construction through the sinking. Some of the audio was low and difficult to hear. The subtitles scroll across the screen too fast at times to read.

That said there is interesting information that Titanic followers will want to hear. The documentary offers up interviews with the director of A Night to Remember, the children of the shipbuilders, and curators of museums about the ship’s construction. The unsinkable White Star liner was constructed in Belfast. When it left to pick up passengers in Southampton, the people celebrated. There was music, dancing, laughter and a sense of accomplishment and hope for the future. It was a time to embrace the most advanced shipbuilding of the 20th century.

After the April 14, 1912 wreck – whether by iceberg or explosion, depending on your personal theories – no one in the town spoke of the liner again. They built more White Star liners, including the Titanic’s sister ship, Britannic, and avoided the world’s obsession with finding the wreckage and swapping theories about what really happened on board. It wasn’t until decades later that historians began to piece together the building of the ship, which is an important part of history for this seaside city. They realized the importance of developments in the design of the ship – some of which are used today by the same company. Interviews showed that men were still working on the ship when it sailed out, and that the crew took a very short test drive before the maiden voyage because of pressure to be on time for passengers.

Besides shipbuilders, there is a section about Titanic being about love and not just death. It features a couple who married after meeting at a Titanic convention. Another focuses on memorabilia that survived the wreck, some of which decorates an Irish pub.

Titanic, Born in Belfast, is not bad, but it does take some stamina to watch in one setting. The information is interesting, but the delivery leaves something to be desired. 

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