Rent The Battle of the River Plate (1956)

3.4 of 5 from 78 ratings
1h 54min
Rent The Battle of the River Plate Online DVD & Blu-ray Rental
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  • Available formats
Synopsis:
November 1939: crack pocket battleship, Admiral Graf Spee patrols the South Atlantic. Captained by Hans Langsdorff (Peter Finch) - one of Germany's most brilliant naval officers - Graf Spee, with her superior speed, appears and disappears, sinking ship after ship and threatening to cut off crucial Allied supplies. But the net is tightening round the German killer as the last ship sunk by her managed to radio her position before she went down. Three British cruisers, posing as a naval task force, are charged with setting the trap...
Actors:
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Directors:
,
Producers:
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Voiced By:
Robert Rietty
Narrated By:
David Farrar
Writers:
Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger
Studio:
Carlton Video
Genres:
Action & Adventure, Classics, Drama
Collections:
Drama Films & TV, inema Paradiso's 2023 Centenary Club: Part 2, The Instant Expert's Guide to Powell and Pressburger, WWII Films: Beaches, Oceans and Camps
BBFC:
Release Date:
17/03/2003
Run Time:
114 minutes
Languages:
English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono
Subtitles:
English Hard of Hearing
DVD Regions:
Region 2
Formats:
Pal
Aspect Ratio:
Full Screen 1.33:1 / 4:3
Colour:
Colour
Bonus:
  • Cast Biographies

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Reviews (1) of The Battle of the River Plate

Rousing - The Battle of the River Plate review by sb

Spoiler Alert
06/02/2023

FILM & REVIEW Aka Battle of the River Plate - Micheal Powells stirring retelling of the titular battle. Before war was even declared in 1939 Hitler ordered the Graf Spee out to the South Seas so she could harry British Merchant shipping and threaten Britains food supply. From there she sailed to the South Atlantic where she was discovered by 3 British criusers and the first naval battle of the war took place. One of the British cruisers was badly damaged and had to withdraw and the Spee was herself damaged and made it into Montevideo harbour. This was Uruguayan territory who were neutral but under a naval convention the Captain has 72 hours to make good his repair and then the ship would be seized……leaving him little choice. Based mainly on the book by Marchant Naval Captain Dove (played by Bernard Lee) whose ship was sunk and he was captured by Captain Langsdorff and treated with all the normal curtesies and Peter Finch plays him as an decent old fashioned type. All the other German officers give the Nazi salute but not once do we see Finch give one. He is opposed by Commodore Harwood (Quale) who gives it his best stiff upper lip but again a decent chap. The battle scenes (partly on location and partly at Pinewood ) are very good and the way the British fool the Germans into believing they had far more ships that they actually do is very clever. At time the script tends to overdo the whole steady on chaps bit but it’s one of the more balanced WWII films of the period. And look out for a very brief appearance by Christopher Lee - 4/5

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