Ship of Dreams: Titanic Movie Diaries

I can't call myself a hard core fan of the 1997 movie "Titanic," but my interest in the film AND its actors has definitely grown after watching this fascinating and heartfelt documentary. Learning how the actors who kept diaries went through the whole process of getting to and being on the set, but also how the film changed their lives forever. And the super-fans whose lives were also tremendously impacted after seeing the movie for the first time. Any film buff like myself will truly enjoy this "deep dive" into the world of "Titanic."

Alexandra Boyd and her team have woven a beautiful tapestry of stories, recollections, imagery and music in this documentary that celebrates and commemorates the 25th anniversary of the original 1997 movie. This is a definite must-watch for "Titaniacs" or lovers of movies in general.

I'm delighted to pop up in Alexandra Boyd's charming and compelling documentary with my own Titanic Tale. It's a First Class film that will engage and entertain you from the first frame.

Of course, lovers of James Cameron's classic film will especially relish it, but even a casual observer will appreciated its affection for pop-culture and what it means to be a true "fan." It's not just for "Titaniacs!"

The filmmaker travels far and wide to introduce us to a diverse cast of characters ranging from super-fans to stuntmen to several of her "Titanic" co-stars, offering new insight into an old favorite.

I love this kind of behind the scenes stuff! Hearing from the actors involved that weren't the big stars makes it more accessible and allows us to get a better feel for what it was like to work on that enormous project. Alexandra is a delight and what a fun watch.

I so enjoyed the actors reading recollections of the casting process, the actual building/recreation of the ship, how they prepped and played their scenes, the makeup process for the frozen water scenes, the different degrees of hypothermia they had to portray, being starstruck by James Cameron.

Also loved the super fans - the costume recreations and Milton and all his coincidences. So well done!

Purchased this with a promising feeling after reading positive reviews. But instead, I got so frustrated when I finally had the time to watch it. Got back to some of the reviews, trying to understand if I've missed the point. A second read and most of them seems more like an attempt to promote rather than give honest feedback. So I've decided to write something more technical, without excess, pointing out what did not work out for me, as I feel cheated by "positive" reviews.

My first impression was like watching one of those pieces made to surf and profit over a hype. On this case, using James Cameron's "Titanic".

The documentary itself has a nice and beautiful proposal: to let background actors (those who generally are never remembered when it comes to a peek behind the scenes) have a moment to share their experiences while filming the blockbuster. But "Ship of dreams: Titanic movie diaries" does not present enough reasons to justify its 1h30 running time. To start: if you expect to see new or rare photos/footage/making-of from the original film, it's a visual disappointment. There are none. The use of pencil drawings in most moments (when real footage from the behind the scenes would have been a wonderful addition) gives the impression of poor resources on archival material, but a strong need to illustrate the moment. A particular moment to point out: when one of the cast members showed enthusiasm to read from her own diary, leading to a confusing moment if it was all scripted for the documentary or really written by them all these years ago.

Back to the actors themselves: you won't recognise them without a description of the exact moment where you can spot them in the original film. If you blink, you might miss them. But still, they've managed to tell so many things that sometimes you might want to go back just trying to figure the relevant connection between an airport and "Titanic", for example. And in an attempt to extend the documentary's length even more, fan base from the 1997 "Titanic" gives an insight on what the film means to them. But what should be a more to-the-point thing, turns into tedious moments through the entire documentary, going too much into personal details, like meeting for the first time in person to discuss about dolls and sewing techniques.

A particular guest, Nelson Aspen, seems to be the only one quite lost on the subject. Without a real purpose connected to "Titanic". More of an eccentric figure trying to promote himself on top of everything else (giving himself a 10/10 review, of course). Most of his moments felt totally unnecessary. But then you understand his presence better when you realise the long time friendship between him and actress/director of the documentary, Alexandra Boyd (aka "First Class woman" on the 1997 film).

With necessary cuts, sticking only to a shorter version of the actors sharing about their time on set, the overall idea would have worked great as an extra featurette on the home edition from the original film.

As someone who is particularly active in the online Titanic community, I first heard about this documentary by Alexandra Boyd in 2023, when it was available to watch for a limited time online. The concept really intrigued me because as a huge fan of James Cameron's Titanic (practically lifelong actually) I always love hearing stories from behind the scenes. I'd of course already seen the various documentaries that accompanied Cameron's Titanic on the DVDs/Blu-rays, which were generally told from the point of view of Cameron, producer Jon Landau, the main stars like Kate, Leo, Billy Zane etc with also a big focus on the spectacle of the film and how the groundbreaking technical achievements were accomplished, which is brilliant, but Ship of Dreams differs from those in that it follows a much more personal journey from the perspective of the supporting actors. These actors are not movie stars, they are everyday working actors, many with a background in theatre and independent film. Talented, hard-working thespians without question, but not necessarily people you would usually associate with a $200 million Hollywood studio film. In an amazing twist of fate, these actors were brought together to play small, but nevertheless important parts in what would become the highest grossing movie of all time (holding that record for 12 years) and the winner of 11 Oscars, though when they signed on, they couldn't possibly have foreseen that.

After viewing Ship of Dreams on it's initial run, I was delighted to be able to add it to my DVD collection recently. Having sat down and watched it for the second time, it really is a brilliant piece of film-making from Alexandra Boyd, most notable as being the First Class Woman who raises her eyebrow at Jack as he enters the dining saloon. Alexandra has reunited a group of her fellow Titanic supporting actors a quarter of a century later to reflect on this unusual but memorable time in their career and read stories from the diaries they wrote at the time of the production. You probably don't know many of these actors by name, unless you're one of those people who watches every name roll by on the end credits while listening to Celine Dion or scroll down the cast list of the film's IMDb page. If you hadn't looked them up before, I'm you will after watching Ship of Dreams. You may even be pleasantly surprised that you'd seen a particular actor in something else without knowing, case in point, Alexandra went on to have a high profile role on one of the UK's biggest soap operas, Coronation Street, a show watched by millions. What percentage of the show's audience at the time realised they had previously seen Alexandra boarding the Titanic with her Airedale just ahead of Kate Winslet?

If you genuinely have no knowledge of who the actors are then don't worry, if you've seen the film, especially more than once, their faces and characters will surely leap out at you. We have Amy Gaipa who was Trudy, Rose's sympathetic maid who would be seen sliding down the deck of the Titanic during the sinking; Mark Capri, the steward who was famously given a bloody nose by Rose; Linda Kerns, who appears in the film in numerous scenes as a Third Class Irish Woman (the line "Jesus Mary and Joseph" may ring a bell to some); Liam Tuohy, who was the ship's Chief Baker, a real life character, dressed in his chef whites and clinging to the stern as it was going under; Rebecca Klingler, the mother clutching her small child reassuring him and herself their terrifying ordeal would be over soon; Kris Andersson, a dancer in the iconic steerage party scene; Peter White, who played an officer on the Californian, in a story arc that was left on the cutting room floor but is among the many deleted scenes that can still be viewed. The two extras Judy and Ellen also reminisce and have a clear rapport with one another stemming from their time working together on the film. Judy shares with us a very personal and emotional story which gives us a real insight into why her memories from making Titanic mean so much to her. I also really appreciate that the actors acknowledged that while working on Titanic they were depicting a real life tragedy and took this seriously. Despite some naysayers, it's clear that everybody, from the higher ups like Cameron right down to the extras had a deep respect for those who suffered and lost their lives in the actual disaster and this is conveyed very well in this documentary.

It's also a testament to Alexandra's dedication in giving a voice to those the public rarely have the opportunity to hear from, that as well as speaking to the actors and reliving their time on and off set (with humorous tales of happy hours and margaritas at their Mexican resort spliced in here and there), she reached out to the affectionately nicknamed "Titaniacs," superfans of the movie whose lives have been so touched by seeing it from a young age, it has inspired them into launching various creative endeavours, be it painstakingly recreating the costumes, hosting podcasts dedicated to analysing every scene of the film, or collecting original, hard to come by memorabilia. She shines the spotlight on them and allows them to share their own stories as to why the film has had such an impact on their lives. Many of these are relatable and while some people out there may not admit it now, it seemed like in 1997/98, half the world was in love with Titanic. Perhaps that love didn't last long for everyone, but there is still a sizeable number of people on this planet who feel the same emotions they felt the first time they saw it. Alexandra's "Titaniacs" are good representatives of the die-hard fans who "never let go," so if you do still feel a deep love and passion for the film, if anything Ship of Dreams will show you you're far from alone and it's still cool to embrace it! I should also include Nelson Aspen among the "Titaniacs" featured, a long-time friend of Alexandra's (and Titanic Talk podcast co-host) who also has a unique story to share about his fascination with the ship.

I certainly can't write this review without mentioning the superb score by composer Charli Mackie. It is absolutely beautiful and is an uplifting, evocative piece of music that even gave me goosebumps just hearing it in the trailer. Another shout out has to be to the special effects and stunt re-enactments. Understandably not many scenes from the movie itself are shown but I honestly didn't mind as watching the recreated moments remind you of each scene being discussed and was effective in representing key moments. If you already know the movie by heart (guilty as charged!), you know exactly what's being referred to anyway and the lifelike sketches are also immediately recognisable and take you right back to a particular moment/character in the film. I would absolutely recommend Ship of Dreams: Titanic Movie Diaries to any Titanic fan, that's a given, but even if you're not that much of a fan, there's still a lot to be learned about the experience of making movies and what an exhilarating, scary, frustrating but above all rewarding process it can be, especially from the point of view of an actor working on a huge movie that was really a once in a lifetime experience and this documentary just gets this across so perfectly. After you've finished Ship of Dreams, the next time you watch Titanic you'll be seeing it in a whole new light, as well as keeping your eye on the folks in the background a whole lot more! After all, without them, there would be no film at all. A must watch.