1969: VENICE is SINKING | Cameron Country | Classic Documentary clips | BBC Archive

"Venice is a very difficult place not to make documentaries about." - James Cameron.

Journalist James Cameron visits the island city of Venice - whose wooden foundations are sinking at an ever increasing rate - while he still can. Will this grand old city really go the way of its abandoned predecessor Torcello?

Clip taken from Cameron Country: The Vanishing Lady, originally broadcast on BBC Two, 23 August, 1969.

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[MichealSeaghdha]

I learned more about Venice, past and present, in that highly intelligent fifteen minute summary than in the rest of my life put together. The commentary and cinematography were superb and this was a genuine treasure, I suppose just like the city itself.

[georgebailey]

This is when James Cameron first came up with the idea for his Titanic movie.

[lkrnpk]

This also shows that sinking does not happen in a uear or a decade. 55 years have gone by amd Venice is still there but… still
losing population… and sinking

[ssmith]

Having a smoke on camera- that alone makes this fab.

[gerryclarke]

Loved this, commentary delivered by a professional and not by a shouty 'celebrity' and beautifully filmed!

[TheNinjaMarmot]

I think the quality of the programmes on the BBC sank faster than Venice over the years.

[mathewgreen]

Thanks for posting, a fascinating documentary with an intelligent & entertaining presenter.

[gumpter]

“It costs a couple of pennies to get accross” yeah any time I’ve been lately they try to charge 100 euros for 20 mins on one.

[ToneCrome]

Never say to a Venetian: "Have you ever had that sinking feeling?" I said it once, but I think I got away with it.

[pawelpap]

Indeed, I remember these times. Within a decade the only way to see Venice was supposed to be a submarine. Half a century later it is still standing. Now I understand Maldives are supposed to sink within few years unless we give them gazillion dollars and stop driving cars in the US.

[jameslenney]

I wonder what he’d have said to the assertion “it’s still there, much the same in the year two thousand and twenty four”.

[Withtheghostoftomjoad]

The contrast between this intelligent report and the mindless guff we are exposed to today explains a lot about society then and now. To get people to watch for 15 minutes without looking at their phones would be impossible.

[andydixon]

Was anyone else waiting for our presenter to lose his balance on the Gondola?

[-Luka-Brazi]

Waters are RISING is what you want to say.

[bluzcompany]

Could it be that the water is rising...

[djtomoy]

maybe roads would work better than canals, that's how most cities work