The Sinking of the 'Lusitania'

From Winsor McCay, the revolutionary animation pioneer and director of the charming classic "Gertie the Dinosaur" comes a much darker animated tale. This film recounts the tragic striking and sinking of the Lusitania which took away over 1000 lives. This film is highly respectful in execution, and it certainly isn't what you would expect from McCay, who normally crafted extremely funny and enjoyable animations rather than heartbreaking dramas. But, although its execution is much different than any other silent drama on the subject could be, it is highly effective and powerful, not to mention well made! The animation is wonderfully done, and doesn't look too "cartoony" for the depressing subject matter. McCay creates haunting and slightly propagandic images with this invention, images that wouldn't have been successfully captured on a 1918 movie set.

This is a tough animated film to rate, as in some ways this is a wonderful film and in others it's lousy. When it comes to mobilizing the American public to demand war and volunteer to fight abroad, it was top-notch propaganda. It did so much to justify our entry into the war to destroy the evil Hun! But, history has shown us a lot that was not discussed in the film. First, the Lusitania was not an innocent passenger liner. Recent dives have found detonators and other contraband were being carried on this passenger liner. Second, the Germans were at fault for this pointless war--as were the Russians, Austria-Hungarians, French, British, etc.! And third, although widely circulated during the war as a deliberate hoax, the Kaiser did NOT decorate the captain of the sub for sinking the Lusitania!! If you ignore all the controversy above and just focus on the quality of the animation, for 1918, this is an amazing film. Well animated with excellent backgrounds and a jerking and super-effective finale featuring a drowning mother and her child--this is an amazing film. While most today would probably find the animation primitive and dull, for its time it was terrific. Too bad the central message is so fatally flawed and inaccurate.

McCay's animation is hypnotic and the realism is shocking. It's all on the same horizontal plane of action, but that makes it so strong and potent to look at, since the point of view doesn't change too much, except to show people falling off the boat. The intertitles don't help so much; they break up the flow of the images and even down to seeing the names and faces and bios on certain 'famous' people of the period (major figures I'm sure but still a distraction), and I wanted to get more Windsor McKay drawings. Showing his process was fascinating too, as the short begins with McKay getting his drawing-marching orders, and you see how he starts with the water, and then lays in everything else. The most shocking part comes with those little figures falling off the ship in droves, but each one has enough detail that they can be distinguished as human beings.

Animation historians must view this film immediately, but I suppose if you can find one McCay cartoon you can find them all - they're compiled on the 'Animation Legend' video and DVD. 'Lusitania' is the film where McCay tries to escape the caricatural confines of the animated picture to produce a serious and moving film, and damn, he succeeds. The meticulous care which he put into the thousands of drawings necessary for this short cartoon meant that by the time it was finished, it was barely topical and WWI was over, leaving its calls for vengeance somewhat stranded. However, as a study of technique it is perhaps unsurpassed. McCay's animation has a dimensionality which is worlds apart from the character animation of Koko the Klown or Felix the Cat, perhaps a deliberate differentiation from such gentle entertainments. The grim monochrome images of the Lusitania's stern raised in the air while hundreds of people leap to their deaths while remind most audiences of shots from James Cameron's 'Titanic'. While the barely-concealed rage and maudlin tributes to the famous noblemen who died in the sinking (as opposed the penniless plebs who we can afford to forget) now appear unpalatably heavy-handed, the elegant curls of smoke from the stricken vessel are simply powerful cinematic touches which seal McCay's reputation as one of the great film artists of the silent era. If only he, and not Disney, had become the template for the future of American animation...

Animation pioneer Winsor McCay applies all his considerable skills in this feature, creating a detailed and memorable account of the sinking of the Lusitania. The technique still looks quite good, and it really brings the events to life. It must have been quite effective in its time.

There are lots of details that not only are carefully rendered, but that also are used effectively to add to the overall effect. It both communicates the factual details and brings out the horrors of the situation as well as any short feature could do. The events seem to be depicted with great care and accuracy, and only the strongly-worded commentary on a few of title cards reveals the creator's viewpoint. (It doesn't detract from the fine quality of this movie, but it's always unfortunate when entire nations of people are condemned for the barbarous or irresponsible actions of some of their leaders. It's understandable, of course, but unfortunate.)

The Lusitania sinking was one of the most notorious events in a century that saw more than enough of them. This carefully crafted movie does its job in preserving both what happened and the response to it.