It starred an international cast headlined by Danish matinée actor Olaf Fønss and Austrian opera diva Ida Orloff.

The film tells the tale of a doctor who travels to the United States in search of a cure for his ailing wife and of the tragic sinking of an ocean liner after it strikes an object at sea.

Released only one year after the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the film drew considerable attention as well as criticism due to similarities to the actual tragedy.

"[1] Dr. Friedrich von Kammacher (Olaf Fønss), a surgeon, is devastated after his wife develops a brain disorder and is institutionalized.

Von Kammacher travels to Berlin, where he meets a young dancer named Ingigerd Hahlstrom (Ida Orloff) and the doctor becomes fond of her and very interested in her.

Shortly after, he is called to treat a young Russian-Jewish woman with seasickness and they nearly get romantically involved but class stops this from happening.

Dr. Schmidt, who is a friend of von Kammacher, offers him the use of a mountain cabin near Handon, where it is hoped that Friedrich will find some peace and solace.

Due to the large number of cast, extras, and locations, and the amount of equipment, Blom took the unusual step of employing two assistant directors for filming.

However, the Atlantis sinking scene used a large-scale model and about 500 extras as swimmers, and was filmed in the bay off Køge, Denmark.

[3] Because his original story was partly autobiographical, Hauptmann's contract with Nordisk Film required two roles be acted by the actual people who were their inspiration.

A letter from Nordisk Film to Fred A. Talbot of England explained, "...the part of "Ingigerd" and the armless virtuoso "Arthur Stoss" were played by the very same persons, who where [sic], so to speak, used as models by Gerhart Hauptmann, when he wrote his famous novel.

Reviewers of Atlantis criticized the choice of Orloff because, by the time of filming, she was no longer a svelte athletic dancer who could embody the eroticism of the part.