I have no complaints about the quality of the story and acting, but the film-to-video transfer looks like I did it. It's all a bit murky, and things tend to merge together in the many scenes of men in dark uniforms against dark backgrounds.
Exciting submarine drama based on a true story. HMS Trojan is damaged by a mine which has been floating in British coastal waters since WWII. Many die in the explosion, but a few survivors are able to escape with the limited safety equipment. Which leaves four men waiting for the laborious rescue manoeuvres...
That's John Mills as the calm but flawed captain. Nigel Patrick plays his informal, rakish sidekick. James Hayter is an idiotic grunt. And Richard Attenborough is the hyper-panicky claustrophobic. The outcome is surprisingly bleak, but interestingly each character is given a reason for why they might not want to be saved.
Even among the last four living men on board, the dynamics are rigidly enforced by class. There is a great deal of awkward talk as the men drift very slowly into oblivion. After the rules are relaxed sufficiently for the lower ranks to be invited into the stateroom, Mills can barely tolerate Hayter's rambling stupidity.
The film explores the craft of decision making. The style is documentary realism, with no score. There's a small amount of underwater photography, but the action is mostly shot in a single interior of the submarine, betraying its stage origins. While understated with an abundance of talk, the gathering suspense is overwhelming.