--- title: "A Night to Remember: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/a-night-to-remember/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/a-night-to-remember" critics_score: 77 critics_reviews: 11 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # A Night to Remember (1958): what the critics said Critics' score 77 from 11 reviews: 9 positive, 1 mixed, 1 negative. Most critics admire the film, and for the same reason: it keeps its head. Nine of eleven reviews are positive, and the praise gathers around its restraint, its documentary manner and its choice of hundreds of ordinary people over an invented hero. Roy Ward Baker’s direction is singled out for holding intimate scenes and the sinking itself in the same steady frame, and the British ensemble, with Kenneth More at its centre, is thought well used. Several reviews call it the best screen account of the Titanic. The reservations are small and scattered: dated effects, a cast so large that few characters develop, a couple of historical myths repeated as fact. The spread is wide all the same, from full marks to plain dislike, and the dissent comes from the film’s own era. The New Yorker, on release, finds the story too familiar to build suspense. The warmest notices arrive around the 2012 centenary. ## Time Out — Tom Huddleston Rating 5/5. 10 April 2012. Huddleston calls the film a terrific melodrama and the best screen treatment of the Titanic story. He singles out its lasting superiority amid the centenary-year flood of Titanic memorabilia. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/a-night-to-remember) ## Empire — Andrew Collins Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2000. The critic calls it the best Titanic film and a landmark of British cinema. He praises Kenneth More as an effective focal character and the film’s technical inventiveness. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/night-remember-review/) ## Evening Standard — The Standard Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 13 April 2012. The critic calls the film the most accurate and best version of the Titanic disaster. They praise its enduring drama, while noting that the special effects have dated. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/a-night-to-remember-review-7640381.html) ## Slant Magazine — Budd Wilkins Rating 4.5/5. 28 March 2012. Wilkins praises the film’s understated, human-scale approach to the Titanic disaster. He singles out Roy Ward Baker’s skill at framing intimate moments and large-scale spectacle, while noting one emotionally powerful shot is weakened by a premature fade. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/dvd/a-night-to-remember/) ## The Guardian — Catherine Shoard Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 12 April 2012. Shoard recommends the film as a worthy, moving and dignified account of the Titanic disaster. She praises its restrained ensemble storytelling and reliance on survivor testimony. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2012/apr/12/a-night-to-remember-review) ## Radio Times — David Parkinson Rating 4/5. The critic finds the film a deeply moving and compelling account of the disaster. They praise its documentary style and human focus, along with the performances of its British cast. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-ch5oey/a-night-to-remember/) ## Variety — Variety Staff Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 1957. The critic praises the film as an honest, impressively documentary account of the disaster. Roy Ward Baker’s direction of the lifeboat panic scenes stands out, while the large cast leaves little room for individual character development. [Read the review](https://variety.com/1957/film/reviews/a-night-to-remember-3-1200419181/) ## Los Angeles Times — Andy Klein Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 23 March 2012. Klein treats the film as a strong, historically faithful account, while reserving judgment on whether it remains the definitive Titanic film. He praises Criterion’s extensive collection of historical and archival extras. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/socal/glendale-news-press/entertainment/tn-gnp-0324-dvd-review-a-night-to-remember-story.html) ## The New York Times Fi1m's normalised score 53/100 (inferred from the text). 25 November 1998. The headline suggests a dismissive verdict. The inaccessible article provides no readable detail about what the critic praised or criticized. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/25/movies/film-review-a-night-to-remember-or-if-possible-to-forget.html) ## The New Yorker — John McCarten Fi1m's normalised score 40/100 (inferred from the text). 19 December 1958. McCarten finds the film’s sprawling account too familiar to create much suspense or emotional connection. He praises the photography and the performances of its large cast. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1958/12/27/it-was-sad-when-that-great-ship-went-down) ## Eye for Film — Jennie Kermode Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 15 April 2012. Kermode finds the film gripping and enduring, praising its authenticity and powerful sense of scale. She notes that it perpetuates some historical myths, but says its ensemble and restrained approach make the tragedy compelling. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/a-night-to-remember-film-review-by-jennie-kermode) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/a-night-to-remember.md