"Sink the Bismarck" (1960) tells the story of the British attempts to destroy the pride of the German fleet, the Bismarck, which enjoyed an enviable career at first, but its success was short-lived. The stars are Kenneth More, Dana Wynter, Karel Stepanek, and Laurence Naismith.
I'm no WW II expert as others on this board are, so I won't go into historical facts as presented by this film, except to say that the story was manipulated to present the good guy-bad guy scenario often seen in war films. With films like "Das Boot," we are allowed to see the Germans as human beings, with young men fighting just as our young men did, to defend their country. Here, we have a dedicated Nazi, Admiral Lutjens (Stepanek) as the commander of the Bismarck who wants victory at all costs and seemingly has little concern for his men. At one point, an officer makes a suggestion, which the commander waves off with "I don't care about the sea," and the reply is, "I was thinking of the men." In another scene, he refers to his men as "good Nazis" or some-such phrase. In truth, Admiral Lutjens wasn't a Nazi at all, he was a military man who protected Jews under his command and whose family held anti-Nazi feelings. Secondly, very few soldiers were Nazis. When the British soldiers are told their dangerous orders, the camera gives us close-ups of some of their faces - young men, facing death; we aren't shown anything like this on the Bismarck.
This sounds like negative criticism; it really isn't. This is the way war films were presented, and I don't expect a war-torn country to have sympathy for the Germans; it's just that today there is a different sensibility, not about the Nazis and officers, certainly, but about the normal German people.
This is a very exciting film with some wonderful acting, particularly by Kenneth More, an officer who tries to stay detached from his emotions and demands formality and discipline from his staff. In truth, he is very different from the image he projects. More shows us a fully fleshed-out character. Lovely Dana Wynter plays his efficient WREN assistant. Her working relationship with More grows throughout the film very convincingly. Stepanek is excellent as Admiral Lutjens, who believes in the complete superiority of his ship. The More character correctly uses the man's pride against him.
The effects are incredible, and there looks to be some newsreel footage - grainy footage, anyway - interspersed. Edward R. Murrow broadcasts are included to give the film an air of authenticity. I probably would have preferred the Germans to speak German with subtitles for more reality; a congratulatory note from Hitler written in English is kind of ridiculous.
Despite this, "Sink the Bismarck" is well worth seeing, as is just about anything with the marvelous Kenneth More. It's a very stirring movie.
I'm no WW II expert as others on this board are, so I won't go into historical facts as presented by this film, except to say that the story was manipulated to present the good guy-bad guy scenario often seen in war films. With films like "Das Boot," we are allowed to see the Germans as human beings, with young men fighting just as our young men did, to defend their country. Here, we have a dedicated Nazi, Admiral Lutjens (Stepanek) as the commander of the Bismarck who wants victory at all costs and seemingly has little concern for his men. At one point, an officer makes a suggestion, which the commander waves off with "I don't care about the sea," and the reply is, "I was thinking of the men." In another scene, he refers to his men as "good Nazis" or some-such phrase. In truth, Admiral Lutjens wasn't a Nazi at all, he was a military man who protected Jews under his command and whose family held anti-Nazi feelings. Secondly, very few soldiers were Nazis. When the British soldiers are told their dangerous orders, the camera gives us close-ups of some of their faces - young men, facing death; we aren't shown anything like this on the Bismarck.
This sounds like negative criticism; it really isn't. This is the way war films were presented, and I don't expect a war-torn country to have sympathy for the Germans; it's just that today there is a different sensibility, not about the Nazis and officers, certainly, but about the normal German people.
This is a very exciting film with some wonderful acting, particularly by Kenneth More, an officer who tries to stay detached from his emotions and demands formality and discipline from his staff. In truth, he is very different from the image he projects. More shows us a fully fleshed-out character. Lovely Dana Wynter plays his efficient WREN assistant. Her working relationship with More grows throughout the film very convincingly. Stepanek is excellent as Admiral Lutjens, who believes in the complete superiority of his ship. The More character correctly uses the man's pride against him.
The effects are incredible, and there looks to be some newsreel footage - grainy footage, anyway - interspersed. Edward R. Murrow broadcasts are included to give the film an air of authenticity. I probably would have preferred the Germans to speak German with subtitles for more reality; a congratulatory note from Hitler written in English is kind of ridiculous.
Despite this, "Sink the Bismarck" is well worth seeing, as is just about anything with the marvelous Kenneth More. It's a very stirring movie.