Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

EvilCalvin t1_j5kf658 wrote

Reply to comment by howescj82 in TIL that Titanic crewman Herbert Pitman made an attempt to row his lifeboat over to rescue people in the water, but was overruled by the other occupants of the boat, who were worried about people swarming them and duly complied. Pitman said that this haunted him throughout his life. by ChadExtra

If it was anything like the movie, when the lifeboats returned, almost everyone were dead and frozen.

if they went back 15 minutes earlier they would have been swamped by panicking people.

9

OtisTetraxReigns t1_j5l5c6s wrote

I’d caution you against taking anything from that movie as factual.

18

SofieTerleska t1_j5my5ma wrote

In this case it was pretty close, though. Harold Lowe, the only officer who went back for people, redistributed the already-rescued people into several boats and waited for the shouting to die down before he went back, be cause he was afraid of the boat being swamped. Later he said he realized he had waited too long, that the water was too cold for people to survive in it for more than a short while. I think about four people got pulled out of the water total.

8

EvilCalvin t1_j5oa3x7 wrote

Cameron wanted it to be as much 100% factual based on what they knew from the survivors stories, boat's layout and how it was found. The only thing fabricated was the story between Jack and Rose (and some other story beats)....but as far as the ship and the disaster....I'm pretty sure was spot on.

6

OtisTetraxReigns t1_j5ooets wrote

A filmmaker’s version of “100% accurate” lasts precisely as long as it takes them to run into an aesthetic, dramatic, or practical limitation. For instance, they sought to “exactly recreate” the interiors of the boat. But then Cameron decided the main staircase wasn’t big enough to fit his vision, so they enlarged it. It’s a minor thing, inconsequential on its own, but it’s not historically accurate. There’s also the case of the crewman who shoots people for trying to board the lifeboats, and then shoots himself. There are reports from survivors of shots being fired, but iirc, no one actually saw him execute anyone. They used the real person’s real name and portrayed him as a callous killer, based on speculation. Even Cameron has admitted he regrets that.

The fact is, Cameron’s film is based as much on A Night to Remember as it is on historical record.

7