The Cruel Sea (1953)
Genre: Drama / War
Duration: 126 minuten
Country:
United Kingdom
Directed by: Charles Frend
Stars: Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden and Denholm Elliott
IMDb score:
7,4 (6.009)
Releasedate: 24 February 1953
The Cruel Sea plot
During World War II, Captain Ericson is appointed commander of a British warship that protects other ships as they travel across the Atlantic. Ericson is traumatized by the experience on his previous ship in which he lost many men. Now he is again faced with a choice between mission and men.
Actors and actresses
Ericson
Lockhart
Morell
Ferraby
Bennett
Watts
Yeoman Wells
Tallow
Baker
Raikes
Reviews & comments
Lovelyboy
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- 3906 messages
- 2920 votes
On the BBC and so seized the opportunity, and especially because the synopsis reminded me of Antony Trew's Two hours to darkness about the convoys through the Barents Sea to Murmansk, a book that I have already read several times. It is possible that Trew once saw the film as there are some notable parallels.
The film doesn't get off the starting blocks really smoothly, something that is to be expected from a film from '53, and after a small introduction the ship takes to the sea for the necessary training and exercise. The Cruel Sea then stands out with a very twofold image. For example, the most interesting character is already said goodbye before departure, and all other characters are fairly interchangeable and actually not interesting at all, except for the captain, but that is only in the last phase.
The picture of maritime warfare in the Second World War, and especially the convoy escorts, is quite beautiful. Days of storms and heavy seas, but the certainty of being safe. The fear of bad luck, lying still and being a target. The monotony of broken nights, alarming countless times, chasing an invisible enemy, and the loss of all those ships and human lives. The arrangement of lookout, signals, technology of the time with asdic, protocols, choices between one life or the other, in short the endless cat and mouse game with the enemy under the waves and the harsh conditions. This together with the editing of old footage makes this part of the film quite good.
The film has the most pain because of the lack of a little extra story and/or elaboration. It makes The Cruel Sea a pretty dry and tough two hours, while the better elements of this film deserved more. That's why the film is nice for once but stays far from Sink The Bismarck and doesn't even come close to Graf Spee; battle at the Rio de la Plata
Translated from Dutch · View original
scorsese
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- 13155 messages
- 11068 votes
Excellent film about the captain and his crew of a warship during the second world war. Not really a story, but more a look at how things went on such a ship. It all comes across quite realistic and the same goes for the characters. The captain in particular comes out well, partly thanks to the acting of Jack Hawkins. A small 4.0 stars.
Translated from Dutch · View original
T.O.
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- 2413 messages
- 2790 votes
Certainly not a bad representative within the subgenre of the naval war film, with many beautiful (action) images of the ships. I found the cast changes a bit confusing and from the sinking of the first ship Compass Rose - ridiculously portrayed with figures and a mini boat haha - it gets less and more tedious. In any case, I did not see much added value for the whole in that last mission at Murmansk.
Translated from Dutch · View originalLatest News
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