Sink the Bismark! (1960)
A smart, steady as she goes WWII film in stately, wide screen black and white. There is little to flaw in it, and equally little to lift it above its quiet perfection. I don't mean it's a perfect movie, but that it manages perfectly to hold its tone, from the war rooms to the sea battles, from the English side to the German, with intelligence and historical accuracy.
The terror the large, high tech battleship caused is legendary among those who lived through it. It was a symbol of German military and engineering prowess. When it knocked out (sank) Britain's largest and best ship early in the war, it looked invincible. And the prime minister made a point of saying, in a key early moment, that they had to do whatever it took to sink it. And so risks were taken and more lives lost and until, eventually, it was sunk.
Not to give away the end, but this is history, and war is serious. As a sign of how the movie remains sombre through it all, there was no cheering and really not even a smile among the British when they saw the Bismarck finally go underwater. Which is admirable, the stiff upper lip thing, but it's also a little unbelievable. Indeed, the German boat leaders are constantly shown to be arrogant and cocky, worried more about letters from Hitler than the fact they are leaking oil. I suppose it might be true to some extent, that the British were all good chaps and determined to win and the Germans were all ruthless and tireless and determined also to win.
Such is war.
But this is maybe the largest tilt the film makes in the wrong direction. It is filmed with great control, and it mixes a little existing footage with the new shooting really seamlessly. The acting is first rate, with no heroes in the Hollywood sense, just a large cast of focused talent.
As for accuracy, it seems that scholars find it quite good in the large picture but riddled with little errors, including the portrayal of the German captain as a cocky Hitler worshiper. There is some question about whether the Germans scuttled the ship themselves or if it was sunk, and there was apparently no Norwegian spy involved. Some of the errors have to do with the use of updated ships for the filming, but most of this is too fast to worry about. There is the hinted at turning away after the sinking, without picking up Germans in the water, and apparently the rescue effort was minimal, so a hundred Germans died in the water. Great detail is found at the Wiki entry for the movie (as well as the entry for the ship). Another page to pursue is at www.kbismarck.com.
The main character, Captain Shepard, and his son on a navy ship, are fictional.
The wreck was discovered in 1989 by the same team that discovered the Titanic, and James Cameron made a documentary on the ship (and its wreckage) in 2002.
A smart, steady as she goes WWII film in stately, wide screen black and white. There is little to flaw in it, and equally little to lift it above its quiet perfection. I don't mean it's a perfect movie, but that it manages perfectly to hold its tone, from the war rooms to the sea battles, from the English side to the German, with intelligence and historical accuracy.
The terror the large, high tech battleship caused is legendary among those who lived through it. It was a symbol of German military and engineering prowess. When it knocked out (sank) Britain's largest and best ship early in the war, it looked invincible. And the prime minister made a point of saying, in a key early moment, that they had to do whatever it took to sink it. And so risks were taken and more lives lost and until, eventually, it was sunk.
Not to give away the end, but this is history, and war is serious. As a sign of how the movie remains sombre through it all, there was no cheering and really not even a smile among the British when they saw the Bismarck finally go underwater. Which is admirable, the stiff upper lip thing, but it's also a little unbelievable. Indeed, the German boat leaders are constantly shown to be arrogant and cocky, worried more about letters from Hitler than the fact they are leaking oil. I suppose it might be true to some extent, that the British were all good chaps and determined to win and the Germans were all ruthless and tireless and determined also to win.
Such is war.
But this is maybe the largest tilt the film makes in the wrong direction. It is filmed with great control, and it mixes a little existing footage with the new shooting really seamlessly. The acting is first rate, with no heroes in the Hollywood sense, just a large cast of focused talent.
As for accuracy, it seems that scholars find it quite good in the large picture but riddled with little errors, including the portrayal of the German captain as a cocky Hitler worshiper. There is some question about whether the Germans scuttled the ship themselves or if it was sunk, and there was apparently no Norwegian spy involved. Some of the errors have to do with the use of updated ships for the filming, but most of this is too fast to worry about. There is the hinted at turning away after the sinking, without picking up Germans in the water, and apparently the rescue effort was minimal, so a hundred Germans died in the water. Great detail is found at the Wiki entry for the movie (as well as the entry for the ship). Another page to pursue is at www.kbismarck.com.
The main character, Captain Shepard, and his son on a navy ship, are fictional.
The wreck was discovered in 1989 by the same team that discovered the Titanic, and James Cameron made a documentary on the ship (and its wreckage) in 2002.