Said to be one of the greatest films to come out of WW2. We agree. Obviously CDI not available back then but includes real footage at times and plays well as disc quality to screen. A 'proper film'.
Loved this film! It gave a palpable, visceral insight into the horror of war on the ocean. From the life-altering decisions of the captain to the horrifying experiences of the men in the water after their ship sank; and from the technology available at the beginning of the war to the advances made by the end - it was a great watch all the way through. Highly recommended!
Often claimed to be one of the most accurate of war films this is one of the best British films ever made. Based on a celebrated novel it's a story of Royal Navy escorts during the Battle of The Atlantic and the Arctic convoys in the Second World War. It has a documentary realism and seamlessly weaves actual war footage into the film making it very tense. It's a story built around two naval officers, Captain Ericson (Jack Hawkins) and Lieutenant Lockhart (Donald Sinden) and their tours of duty on two ships that attempt to protect merchant convoys from U-Boat attacks. The film captures the monotony, fear, camaraderie and terror of the war at sea as the two enemies stalk one another and all the while the sea presents the most frightening danger. Controversially it shows the awful and difficult decisions that men have to make when faced with war. Hawkins and Sinden give first class performances and this film cemented Hawkins as a major British star. There's a host of British character actors in support too. This is a significant war film, certainly one of the few that didn't go in for the false heroics of Hollywood films in this genre but sought to capture the realities of war. It shows that a war film can be intense and gripping without the need for gratuitousness. A remarkable film that deserves a modern audience and it is most certainly a film I highly recommend if you've never seen it.