DVD OF THE WEEK 16/04/2012 Titanic

	Monday 16th April 2012 Titanic [ITV] It has been difficult to miss the fact that last weekend was the 100th anniversary of the sinking of luxury cruise liner Titanic. Especially being based in Stoke-on-Trent and only 5 minutes away from our office is the house of Titanic captain Edward John Smith so this week news crews and historians world wide have traveled to Stoke for a plaque unveiling to mark the occasion. Producer Nigel Stafford-Clark and creator of Downton Abbey, Julian Fellowes also felt that with the anniversary looming, a retelling of the story as a 4 part TV Series would act as a fresh and interesting way to re tell the tragedy. This is not a simple retelling though as it adds a new edge to the Titanic story known so well from the James Cameron classic released in 1997. Whats is very interesting about this TV series is the drama does not come from the sinking of the legendary ship but rather the Titanic is cleverly used as a tool to mix different levels of class and ethnicity in a confined space. This allows a very intense character drama to play out not dis similar to what you have come to expect from Downton Abbey but in this case it is on a sinking ship. Each episode follows different characters and at the end of each episode the Titanic sinks. Having the titanic sink at the end of each episode allows you to view the tragedy from many different perspectives ranging from Rich upper class lords to the Waiting Staff to the Poorest of the Poor. This does really add a fresh eye to to the story. I can honestly say I thought the story had been told well enough originally in 1997 and this was old news but, I was wrong there is a lot added in this well made TV Series. Check out this interview, i was lucky enough to attend with the show creators at the worlds greatest venue the BFI. Titanic + Q&A I BFI Live I British Film Institute www.bfi.org.uk/live/video/911 D. Waterman