Last Signals

There is a new independent movie out called the "Last Signals" which deals with the two Marconi Operators, Harold Bride and Jack Phillips and is becoming popular among the Titanic community. This film is the result of years of research and study. It is based off the accounts of Harold Bride, the only survivor of the two. It's in black and white, but don't be turned off by that if you don't like those types of movies. It's actually is a plus because it enabled them to use actual photographs of the Titanic and Carpathia and then bring them to life and gives the historical feel like A Night To Remember. The story begins in Belfast just before the ship goes on her sea trials and goes all the way through to Harold Bride's arrival to New York on the Carpathia. The set is impressively recreated and painstakingly accurate. While there are a few inaccuracies throughout the film in the set and a tiny bit in actions, they are fewer than even A Night To Remember and some are hardly noticeable. The story also goes based on research done by the director Tom Lynskey and shows that Harold Bride's starting to suffer from P.T.S.D. which wasn't known of at the time but research shows clearly that Bride clearly suffered from it throughout his life after the disaster. It is shown in greater detail in a longer version. Another good touch was the explosion of the engines which the wreck showed evidence of when the room was explored by James Cameron on his final dive. Some of the dialogue is taken from Harold Bride's account and I admire the close research put into it especially when Bride's accounts contradict themselves which makes it harder to discern truth from fiction. The film does have a little bit of mild language throughout it, but these are words that from Bride's accounts used in the real event. If you're a perfectionist regarding films, you may be bothered by a lack of continuity (such as hair length and style) or the superimposing of the characters using green screen which is easily distinguished but otherwise these things aren't very noticeable and remember that this is a low budget film. Hollywood didn't make this thankfully. If it'd been Hollywood, Harold Bride would've probably been falling in love with one of the maids or something where you have romance in the midst of a historical tragedy, a popular theme with movies about historical disasters. Instead, this film relied strictly based on accounts, research and evidence of what really happened. One thing which I find cool is that they had an original plate from the R.M.S. Carpathia in some of the Carpathia scenes that was probably eaten off by real Titanic survivors. The china and buttons are exact replicas and they built replicas of the engines in the Silent Room based off information received from museums and experts. The soundtrack was hauntingly beautiful and well done. The acting was very good and the English accents were believable, particularly that of Jake Swing who plays Harold Bride. I loved how Captain Smith was portrayed, particularly since the most recent films show him as overly incompetent. He was indeed in shock, but he still was taking charge and doing what he could to reach other ships which is shown in the film. The depictions of the officers was good as well and the fight with the stoker was well reconstructed from Bride's account. I loved how the scenes on Collapsible B during the final moments of the Titanic worked around the break up. Harold Bride didn't see the break up and so what Lynskey did was had Bride staring at a body floating by when the ship's lights went out. The break up happened right after that. You hear the ship tear apart, but it's not shown because this is from Bride's perspective who didn't see it. The next scene shows the stern making her final plunge into the sea which you can make out because of the stars and the light on the mast. I give this move 10 stars out of 10 because of historical accuracy, attention to detail, good acting, and quite frankly I liked seeing the Titanic portrayed by herself for the first time on film. It was in my opinion very well done and I'd recommend it along with A Night To Remember as the most historically accurate depictions of the Titanic made so far. Here's the shorter version on YouTube: Last Signals