Sink the Bismarck!

Starring: Kenneth More, Dana Wynter, Carl Mohner, Laurence Naismith, Geoffrey Keen, Karl Stepanek, Michael Hordern
Directed by: Lewis Gilbert
Rating: Approved
Genre: Action, Drama, War
1960

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: During World War II, the British navy fights gallantly to sink the Bismarck, Germany's most sophisticated, deadly warship.

Review:

Tim: I've always had an interest and appreciation for the sinking of Bismarck (thanks to my dad), so I was eagerly anticipating seeing this movie. It felt like this was an entertaining look at a remarkable real-life story. The film does a good job of setting the stage for the historical encounter while establishing enough compelling characters to give the story a worthwhile human element. As a whole, I enjoyed this movie quite a lot.

The historical aspect of this film is so interesting. At the time, the world had never seen a warship quite like the Bismarck. NAZI Germany had the most deadly ship in the seas and it could have potentially wrecked major havoc in the Atlantic Ocean. It was imperative that the British fleet find and destroy the Bismarck. This all unfolds in a fairly entertaining, intense manner. The Bismarck is hard to find- the ocean is massive and it's helped by some inclement weather, which makes it even harder to track. The film does a great job of showing this search- by sea, by air, and even by land. Simply finding and tracking the Bismarck was a major undertaking. Then, once the ship was located, it had to be sent to the bottom of the sea. The action sequences are quite impressive. It feels like we haven't had nearly enough battles at sea depicted on the screen. The scenes here were entertaining and believable. I love the sequence where a British ship explodes- it really gives you a sense for the deadliness of the Bismarck.

The movie wisely balances the search for Bismarck with the human component. This is best illustrated by two British officers, played by Kenneth More and Dana Wynter. There are many other characters swirling around them, but their relationship is at the heart of the movie. More does a good job in a fairly challenging role. He starts out gruff and unlikable. As the film progresses, though, we peel off layers of his character and understand him better. It was essential to walk that precarious balance- his character needs to turn us off initially, but we need to grow to like him by the end of the film. More did this in a subtle way that felt like an authentic shift in his character to go along with our changes in perception. I liked his character more and more the longer the film went on. That was essential the film and More pulls it off. Wynter likewise gave a good performance. She's strong and successful in a man's world, but hasn't lost her sense of kindness and empathy towards others. I enjoyed her performance and felt it was believable. More and Wynter had some good scenes together, although I didn't quite buy the conclusion of their relationship in the film. That felt a bit forced, although everything before that works well. The supporting cast is strong, especially Karl Stepanek who depicts a NAZI Admiral. I was pleasantly surprised that we got multiple scenes with the leaders of the Bismarck. It gave the story a more rounded feel and helped us better understand the motivations for what the Bismarck would do.

I also have to give the film great credit for the unique approach of spending most of the film on the planners behind-the-scenes. It would have been easy to make the focus the British captains in the field, but that's been done before. I loved how this movie looked at the strategy, intelligence, and reconnaissance aspects of the search for Bismarck. This aspect of war is often overlooked, so it was a pleasant change of pace. It was really interesting, too.

Sink the Bismarck! just feels like a different kind of World War II film. The focus on the navy, putting the operations people in the drivers' seat of the film, and the true life story all contributed to a memorable, entertaining film. I had a great time watching this and really enjoyed the film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Tora! Tora! Tora!