Sinking of the Lusitania (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)This Discovery Channel special 90-minute feature is the closets thing to a movie that has been released on the world's second most famous shipwreck after Titanic. In many ways, it can be considered a movie because it fully renacts the events which led up to the most famous sinking of World War I. Actor John Hannah, who was in all three "Mummy" movies as Jonathan, is the star of this docu-drama. The set used as the Lusitania herself does look almost identitcal to the real ship. Newsreel footage allegedly taken on May 1, 1915 the day the Lusitania set sail from New York on her fatal voyage is included. Also included is a full recreation of the infamous German submarine U-20 and her crew, who were responsible for torpedoing the Lusitania off the southern Irish coast on May 7, 1915, killing 1,195 innocent men, women and children. In just 18 minutes, the 785-foot long ship sank after listing completly to her starboard (right) side, the same side where the torpedo struck. Within seconds of the torpedo's impact, a secondary mysterious explosion occured farther forward; this is believed to have been the TRUE cause for the Lusitania's rapid destruction. To this day, no one can say for sure what caused it; whether it was a coal dust explosion, boilers or even the war supplies rumored to have been aboard near where the torpedo hit. Unfortunatley, the docu-drama does not go into detail as to what may have caused the secondary explosion. The feature does recreate the heart-breaking aftermath of the sinking; the recovery of floating bodies in Queenstown (now Cobh) Southern Ireland; the trial held the month after; and the fate of some of those who survivied. Hopefully, a movie shall be made one day to help keep the memory of those who perished alive; and to promote further education into World War I, for there are not a lot of movies based on the First World War as there are about World War II. The story of the Lusitania coincides with her great rival TITANIC; its the story of one of the world's most luxurious, biggest and fastest ships that ever existed. And like the story of Titanic, the richest people in the world traveled aboard her during this final voyage. In many ways, the sinking of the Lusitania is perhaps somewhat more tragic than TITANIC; it was a deliberate murderous act of war upon a ship of innocent souls.

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The passenger ship Lusitania was en route home when a German sub blew it out of the water, killing more than 1,000 men, women and children. The sinking of this great ocean liner shocked the world, and "Avenge the Lusitania!" was the rallying cry that lured many young American men to enlist during World War I. In this dramatic 85-minute special, Discovery Channel brings you the story of the doomed ship and, for the first time, goes inside the cramped, foul-smelling hull of the U-boat that fired the fateful torpedo.

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Rebus (2006) Review

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(More customer reviews)With wonderfully complex plots and recurring characters, Rebus is an absolutely first-rate crime drama based on the novels by Scottish author Iain Rankin. Though set in Edinburgh, it is not the charming, picturesque, historic old city as seen by the casual visitor that we are privy to; rather, the viewer is taken on a journey through the dark, gritty, cankerous underbelly of what, on the surface, is one of Britain's loveliest old cities. This is a series peopled by characters who are all too human, and it holds back no punches in its realistic portrayal of the criminal world.
Detective Inspector John Rebus (John Hannah (McCallum)) is one of the most curious, indeed fascinating, DIs I've come across. He's a competent and committed police officer, but a flawed human being with his own set of personal demons with which he must contend. He's a deep, multi-faceted character for whom nothing is black and white, and he's not immune to making serious errors in judgement, to lying in order to achieve his objective, or to experiencing the temptation of a "pact with the devil." He often makes decisions which shock the viewer, for we know that, even though we may understand his motivation, they are decisions which would never be condoned by the police. Indeed, is it any wonder he drinks a little too much and has more than a little trouble sleeping? Nor are we surprised to find that he has more than a little trouble forming and holding on to relationships with women.
Rebus is a wonderfully rich, dynamic, and interesting character, and I personally felt that John Hannah did a superb job in bringing him to life. I don't know why Hannah left the series or if he did any more series after this one, but I do know that I prefer these episodes and Hannah's portrayal much more than the recent pair of episodes wherein Ken Stott has taken over the title role (I just didn't warm to the character as portrayed by Stott).
The set consists of four 100-minute episodes and a very interesting dvd extra on the making of the series, which features informative comments about the nature of the series and the character of Rebus by both John Hannah and Iain Rankin.
In conclusion, this is a series I recommend unhesitatingly to fans of British mysteries and crime drama in general. There may be less in the way of comic relief, but I would still say that if you enjoy shows like A Touch of Frost or Delziel and Pascoe, chances are you'll really enjoy this one.
Highly recommended!


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Rebus is adapted from the novels of award-winning writer Ian Rankin - the UK's number one best-selling crime writer. At the center of each story is Detective Inspector Rebus, an enigma, fighting his own weaknesses, while dealing with the sad consequences of human frailty. He's seen it all before, but his cynicism is redeemed by an unexpected humanity that reveals he is more disillusioned with himself than others. As he scours the streets looking for answers, Rebus is actually seeking the truth about himself. Episodes The story of a copycat killer from 15 years ago comes back to haunt Rebus in Black and Blue. He finds himself taken off the case when an official investigation is opened into the death of a convicted murderer, who Rebus helped put behind bars, 15 years ago… True to his nature, Rebus refuses to let the matter lie. He soon finds himself in pursuit of two killers, past and present. The Hanging Garden follows Rebus as he pieces together the trail of a war criminal who appears to have gone into hiding in a respectable part of town. After rescuing a young Chechen girl from a local gangster he is drawn into a vicious running battle between rival gangs. But when his daughter Sammy is deliberately run down in the street, it soon becomes plain he will stop at nothing to find the man responsible. Rebus and his colleague catch sight of a known convicted pedophile taking photographs at the zoo in Dead Souls. It transpires he has been released early from prison, is under police protection and is the key witness in the trial of two suspected abusers. The next day, Rebus' colleague is found dead in the center of Edinburgh in what appears to be suicide. Devastated, Rebus sets out to discover what exactly happened. And in Mortal Causes, the case of an underworld execution unfolds as Rebus makes a link with racist attacks that raises the chilling specter of terrorism on the streets of Edinburgh.

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