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Three famous film scenes re-enacted at home

We may go to the cinema to be immersed in unique and unlikely stories, but sometimes movies push the boundaries of believability a bit too far. If you’ve ever had a film ruined by a scene you just couldn’t take seriously, you’ll enjoy Re-enactment Radio. The show puts questionable moments from Titanic, Catwoman and Swordfish to the test by recreating them on a shoestring budget.

Not sure how to fill another weekend spent cooped up in the house? Pop on a classic film and join in with the re-enactments at home...

Titanic - The Door Scene

What’s the scene?

James Cameron’s 1997 blockbuster Titanic tells the story of wealthy Rose (Kate Winslet) and cash-strapped Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio), who meet and fall in love on the doomed ocean liner’s maiden voyage. The $200 million dollar, three-hour-long movie culminates in a scene where the two of them are fighting to survive in the freezing sea amidst the wreckage of the ship. Luckily for Rose, Jack manages to manhandle her onto what appears to be a door, and she’s able to have a lie down while he grips on tightly to the edge of it. In the end, the struggle to stay alive in Arctic waters is too much for Jack and he sinks to the bottom of the sea.

It looks like there鈥檚 room for two on the back of that big plank of wood for both Jack and Rose. What happened when we tried it in a pond?

What’s the problem?

As Leonardo DiCaprio fans the world over have long lamented: it looks like there’s room for two on the back of that big plank of wood. The poignancy of Jack’s tragic death is undermined by the frustration of audiences the world over, desperately thinking, “budge up a bit and you’ll both fit on!” Such is the extent of people’s preoccupation with the scene, a meme illustrating how the tragic lovers could have happily cosied up on the door went viral. But director James Cameron still insists, “I’ve never really seen it as a debate, it’s just stupid. There’s no debate.”

What happened when it was re-enacted?

The resourceful Re-enactment Radio team recreated Titanic’s multi-million dollar effects using a garden pond, a door that had blown off a shed, and two of the show’s producers. The highly unscientific verdict? Jack didn’t have to die – two people could both fit on the door and just about keep their heads above water.

How to prove that Jack could have survived the end of Titanic

Emily Knight and Miles Warde re-enact the icy climax of James Cameron's famous film

Catwoman: The security guard fight scene

What’s the scene?

In the 2004 movie Catwoman, Halle Berry single-handedly takes out three security guards while clad in tight leather trousers, a tiny jacket and razor-sharp high heels. As well as leaping around the walls, turning backflips, and pretty much flying across the room in between kicks and punches, at one point she also surfs across the floor on a man’s back.

What’s the problem?

Mainly her outfit. Yes, Berry’s moves are more like a highly choreographed dance than a fight. Yes, no one could pull off anything that athletic without a lot of help. And yes, there’s a cartoonish ridiculousness to the way in which the kicks and punches do no lasting damage. But since this is a superhero movie it’s easy enough to forgive those things. What’s hard to let go of is the idea of someone being able to perform all those acrobatics in six-inch stilettos.

What happened when it was re-enacted?

With the help of theatrical fight director Jonathan Howell, two of the Re-enactment Radio production team tried reproducing Berry’s moves in similarly challenging footwear. The result? CGI and stunt doubles are definitely needed.

Can you smell a movie?

Perfume expert and blogger Dariush Alavi believes we can.

Swordfish: Hacking the government鈥檚 computers

What’s the scene?

In 2001’s Swordfish, John Travolta’s criminal mastermind forces hacker Hugh Jackman to find his way into the Department of Defence computer system. With 60 seconds to do it and some serious distractions to contend with (including Vinnie Jones holding a gun to his head, among other things), Jackman’s character types at turbo speed and succeeds in hacking the server.

How long would it realistically take for a criminal mastermind to hack into the Department of Defence computer system?

What’s the problem?


While IT isn’t known for its glamour, Swordfish injects some serious – and spurious – drama into proceedings. As Jackman’s fingers furiously thump the keys, the computer flashes up eye-catching strings of code, random words and informative phrases like ‘Access denied’. Unbelievably, he gets in within 60 seconds as instructed. It might be entertaining, but surely this isn’t what a real government hack would look like?

What happened when it was re-enacted?

This scene would be a tricky one to legally reproduce, so computer expert Simon Brew offers his take on it instead. His view? There’s very little that’s realistic about the scene – including the code we’re shown, which wouldn’t work if you tried to actually use it. In fact, a real hack would probably look a lot more like “a very lonely man... just bashing characters into a keyboard, oftentimes not knowing whether it had been successful. Could take days, weeks, months. That would be a very different film.”