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This massive ship sank
incredibly quickly (18 minutes) just a few miles off Ireland, with the
loss of around 1,200 of the 2,000 passengers aboard.
Hannah plays one
of the survivors and his strong Scottish accent is used to great effect
as narrator.
It
has been said that this catastrophe changed the world's view about how
Germany was conducting itself during the War and ultimately forced the
United States to join the Allied Forces some two years later.
John
Hannah is really the only well known face in the cast. However, the
remaining actors do their jobs well and display a great deal of courage
in many of the action sequences.
The film has some impressive
production values with crowd scenes effectively edited into computer
generated shots of the luxury liner and the seascape. These
computer generated images of the Lusitania look real and build on the
developments made for that other seafaring disaster, Titanic.
In fact, Lusitania has a very Titanic look and feel about it!
This
being said though, the use of more modern film techniques, such as
quick editing and jerky camera work, during the sinking sequences makes
Lusitania impressive in its own right.
These final moments of the sinking of the ocean line are very realistic and keep your attention.
Many
believe that the sinking of the Lusitania is the second most famous
civilian passenger liner disaster after the sinking of Titanic, and so
viewers of the earlier Titanic film are sure to enjoy this one.
One
of the real controversial elements of this film's version of the story
is the British Admiralty's stubborn attitude not to defend the
Lusitania as a civilian ship despite the alleged use of the passenger
liner to carry ammunition for the War.
Another statement made in
the film is the fact that the consequent cover-up, including an inquiry
designed by the British Admiralty to lay blame on the liner's captain,
was apparently condoned by Winston Churchill!
Interestingly,
this approach might have come about as a result of the film being an
English-German production, evidenced by the inside submarine scenes
being filmed in Munich.
Another point of interest is the fact that the outside filming was done in South Africa for some reason!
Although
produced in 2007, the film was only recently aired in Australia on ABC1
who have cleverly arranged this simultaneous DVD release.
Recommended for those who enjoyed Titanic, this DVD is a good buy and offers a great couple of hours entertainment, action and historical information.
EXTRAS
There are no Extras included here, which is a shame, as surely there is a more detailed documentary (pardon the pun) floating around somewhere.
Conclusion: Episodes 70% Extras: N/A
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