The Sinking of the Lusitania

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Sinking of the Lusitania
Directed by	Winsor McCay
Written by	Winsor McCay
Release date(s)	20 July 1918
Running time	12 minutes
Country	United States
Language	Silent films English intertitles
IMDb profile

The Sinking of the Lusitania, released in 1918, is an animated short film by American artist Winsor McCay. It features a short 12 minute explanation of the sinking of RMS Lusitania after it was struck by two torpedoes* fired from a German U-boat. The film was one of many animated silent films published to create anti-German sentiment during World War I. It runs on 35 mm film, commonly used by McCay in other productions such as How a Mosquito Operates, and Little Nemo. McCay illustrated some 25,000 drawings for the production. The film is stylized as a documentary, informing viewers on details from the actual event, including a moment by moment recap, casualty list, and a list of prominent figures who were killed. A modern edition was released on DVD in January 1999.

*It has been revealed since that it was in fact struck by only one torpedo. A second, more violent explosion is speculated to have been caused due to the Lusitania carrying munitions for the war effort. This being the reason it had sunk within 20 minutes.

[edit] External links

• The Sinking of the Lusitania (National Geographic DVD release) at the Internet Movie Database
• Eye Witness To History page concerning The Sinking of the Lusitania