Britannic

While this is one of the better sort of 'made for TV movies', it did contain one mistake that made me cringe. During a conversation between the German Spy and an Irish accomplice, the accomplice states that many of the Irish seamen aboard will be glad to take part in the seizure of the ship because ' they've had family killed by the Black and Tans'. This is supposed to be 1916. The Black and Tans weren't founded until 1920. Its just a pity that that small element wasn't properly checked out first.

30 or so people died when the H.M.H.S Britannic sank, 55 minutes after striking a mine, and this is how we respect them?

I am shocked at the fact that the film makers had the nerve to use the name Britannic in this steaming pile of a movie.

Don't even bother seeing this movie for yourself, the real story is far more dramatic. For instance, Violet Jessop, who was a nurse on the Britannic, was also on the Titanic 4 years earlier, and she was onboard the Titanic's other sister ship, the R.M.S. Olympic, when she collided with the British cruiser, the H.M.S. Hawke, in 1911. This poor women was on all three Olympic-Class liners (as they were called) when they experienced tragedies, and she isn't even mentioned. However, I believe that the main character in the movie is loosely based on her.

This movie was defanately far from the truth. There were not german agents onboard who tried to blow up the ship and sink it and the ship didn't get hijacked and crew members were not shot by german spys. The Britannic was torpedoed off of Greece. So, this movie was extremely fictional so if you are looking for something historical acurate, this will not make your list. But, the story, I personally thought, was very neat and the effects and settings were very well done and looked very true to life. It's worth the time watching but THIS IS FICTION!

Britannic starts off quite well, with relatively good effects and interesting characters, although its claim of being "based on true events" is very misleading, somewhat similar to saying that Men In Black was based on true events as Earth, where it was based, existed. The Britannic did indeed sink off Greece, although the sinking was believed due to a torpedo strike or mine, not German agents on board the ship as the film pretends. Too many facts are wrong in this film, either made up or worse still blatantly contradicting the real event - but taken as a work of total fiction, which it basically is, it is still enjoyable. That said, it just copies its sibling, James Cameron's Titanic, far too much - too many things in this film are copies of Titanic's plot, right down to the love story between two people of different classes - in this case German and British rather than First Class and Third Class. The film weakens noticeably towards the end, the special effects (which seem to have been quickly put together by the same effects house as for Titanic, but with little of the attention to detail) get a lot poorer, and the plot falls to pieces in its attempts to copy the Titanic formula. Watch it if you've nothing else better to do, but don't expect the plot to live up to the real event's promise...

Another reviewer compared this to Young Indiana Jones and it's a fair comparison. The presence of John Rhys-Davies reinforces the comparison. Amanda Ryan is a lovely looking actress. I'm surprised I hadn't heard of her before. I didn't think Britannic would be particularly good as it is a made for TV movie and they tend not to be too memorable but I was pleasantly surprised. Naturally the effects are not as good as those in James Cameron's film. Some shots, though, do remind you of shots in Titanic but mostly they're the kind of graphics you see in historical TV documentaries. There is quite a bit of suspense in it and the presence of the two kids makes it a good family film. Miss Ryan goes undercover as a governess and this is a departure from the way they are usually portrayed, as sadistic tyrants who abuse the children in their care. It is definitely better than SOS Titanic and the Catherine Zeta-Jones mini-series Titanic. Jacques Cousteau's discovery of the wreck is referred to at the end of the film and if anyone's interest in the Britannic has been kindled by this film I'd recommend that you try and get hold of the National Geographic video of Jacques Cousteau's 1976 expedition. It is very interesting. In 1976 some of the survivors were still alive and they give first hand testimonies in this documentary. One survivor, an elderly lady from Edinburgh, Mrs Sheila Macbeth-Mitchell went down in one of Cousteau's submarines to the wreck. She must have been 86 at the time but still brimming with enthusiasm and fun. She definitely would have been interested in this film.