Publication:RAN Reading List March 2006/Naval and Military Films
Quite often it is necessary to relax, unwind and to allow one's thoughts to be taken away to some distant and exotic times and locations. Film is a medium that has been used to provoke thought, and to absorb information in the comfort of a cinema, or one's favourite armchair. While the latest blockbusters will obviously be in high demand, the following selection of films and documentaries should provide many hours of interesting viewing. Through film it is possible to put ourselves in the place of others who have lived through extraordinary times, without physically risking the associated dangers.
Films
In Which We Serve (1942)
Starring: Noel Coward, John Mills
Directors: Noel Coward, David Lean
Format: Black and White, DVD and Video
Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Run Time: 114 min
Based on the true story of Lord Mountbatten's destroyer, HMS Kelly, In Which We Serve is one of the most memorable British films made during WWII. Unfolding in flashback as survivors cling to a dingy, the film interweaves the history of HMS Torrin with the onshore lives of its crew. The 1942 film was the inspiration of Noel Coward, who desperately wanted to do something for the war effort, and he produced, wrote the screenplay, composed the stirring score, and starred as Captain Edward Kinross. Coward also officially codirected, though he handed the reigns to David Lean (in his directorial debut). There is fine support from Celia Johnson and John Mills, as well as a star-making debut from an uncredited Richard Attenborough. The use of real navy and army personnel as extras, together with lavish studio production and authentic shipboard location footage, lends the film an unusual sense of realism.
Why We Fight, World War 2 (1942 to 1945)
Starring: Noel Coward, John Mills Director: Frank Capra Format: Colour, Black and White, DVD set Studio: Goodtimes Home Video
Why We Fight was produced by acclaimed Hollywood producer Frank Capra with the encouragement of Army Chief of Staff, General George C. Marshall. It was originally intended for the indoctrination of US soldiers preparing for deployment and thus must be understood to be a work of propaganda; however, it was such effective propaganda that it was widely shown to US civilians and allies. Much of the historical interest of Why We Fight lies in the fact that it made extensive use of Axis footage to tell its story. Capra effectively turned enemy propaganda on its head, using it to depict the evils of the enemy. Of course, the films are not particularly reliable history. The most historically accurate of the films is undoubtedly Divide and Conquer, which is a surprisingly good description of the early German conquests. This is the only one of the films that can be wholeheartedly recommended for the history it depicts as well as the history that it is. In summary, Why We Fight is of interest because of what it reveals about US attitudes and perceptions at the time, as evidenced in some of the most skilfully produced American propaganda of the war.
The Cruel Sea (1953)
Starring:Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden Director: Charles Frend Format: Black and White, NTSC, DVD and Video
Studio: Republic Studios Run Time:121 min
This wartime drama reflects the desperate struggle of one man, his crew and their ship. HMS Compass Rose, a corvette carrying out her duty in protecting the vulnerable convoys from hunting packs of U-boats in the North Atlantic. All the experiences of war at sea are portrayed here, as if etched on the faces of the men. We see the effects on HMS Compass Rose's crew having to live with the arduous conditions at sea and the horrors of war, rescuing poor wretched survivors from the sea, choking and covered in oil while all the time in fear of the unseen threat of a U-boat attack. Today it is as honest a film as it was then. It shows the effects of war on the ordinary sailor who fought in the longest conflict during WWII, the Battle of the Atlantic. Cruel Sea is one of those few films that really show the personal side of war instead of concentrating on the expected pyrotechnics and thrilling action normally associated with the big screen.
Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World (2003)
Starring:Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany Director: Peter Weir Format: Widescreen Colour DVD Studio:Twentieth Century Fox
Master and Commander tells the rousing story of HMS Surprise, an British warship sailing around South America during the Napoleonic era. The ship's captain (played by Russell Crowe) engages in a battle of wits, wills, and firepower with a rival captain during the perilous sea trek. This is a vivid, exciting tale of naval warfare, but it's also a satisfying and moving portrayal of a unique community: the company of a warship. The film is full of stirring action scenes, but it is equally rich in the details of the men's everyday life: their food, shipboard entertainment, naval tradition, etc. It's a sweaty, muscular portrait that really puts you in the midst of this fascinating world. There are some intense scenes of violence and combat surgery. But this material is not gratuitous, and is handled with care by Weir, who never loses sight of his characters' humanity; and the film is also about much more than war; it's also about exploring a distant land and seeing wondrous sights. There are nice moments of humour to balance out the film's serious themes of military discipline, ethics and tactics. Overall, it is a rousing adventure story, told with heart.
Sink the Bismarck! (1960)
Starring: Kenneth More, Dana Wynter Director: Lewis Gilbert (II) Format: Black and White, DVD Studio:Fox Home Entertainment Run Time: 97 min
This fine film recreates the events surrounding the search for and eventual destruction of the pride of the German Navy: the Bismarck. Veteran British actor Kenneth More stars as Captain Jonathan Shepard, who gets placed in charge of the hunt for the Bismarck in Britain's Naval Operations centre. Shepard has a personal stake in seeing the Bismarck sunk. Bismarck's squadron commander, Admiral Gunter Lutjens, sank Shepard's vessel earlier in the war. The battle scenes are excellent. The fight between the HMS Hood and Bismarck is the high point of the film. It is exciting to see the ships being straddled by the other's shells, and seeing the Hood blow up is especially shocking. Aside from a number of minor points of error, the historical aspect of the movie is very well done. The acting is excellent and the battle scenes will keep you on the edge of your seat. Watch this great movie and experience the hunt for the most feared ship in the German Navy.
Midway (1976)
Starring:Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda Director: Jack Smight Format: Colour, Widescreen, DVD Studio: Image Entertainment Run Time: 132 min
Six months after the Japanese destroyed the US Pacific fleet at Pearl Harbour, the Americans discovered the Japanese were planning to seize the Naval base at Midway Island - a perfect staging point for invading Hawaii or the mainland. Outnumbered four to one, the Americans won a surprise victory and shattered the backbone of the Japanese Imperial Navy. This 1976 film feels more like a history lesson than a drama, but WWII buffs will appreciate the attention to historical fact (especially the way in which fate and a few bad decisions turned the tide), as well as the generous use of actual battle footage.
Das Boot (1982)
Starring: Jürgen Prochnow Director: Wolfgang Petersen Format: Colour, Widescreen, DVD and Video Studio: Columbia/Tristar Studios Run Time: 209 min
Wolfgang Petersen's harrowing and claustrophobic U-boat thriller, Das Boot puts you inside that submerged vessel and explores the physical and emotional tensions of the situation with a vivid, terrifying realism that few movies can match. As Petersen tightens the screws and the submerged ship blows bolts, the pressure builds to such unbearable levels that you may be tempted to escape for a nice walk on solid land in the great outdoors - only you wouldn't dream of looking away from the screen.
The Enemy Below (1957)
Starring:Robert Mitchum, Curd Jürgens Director: Dick Powell Format: Colour, Widescreen, DVD Studio: Fox Home Entertainment
In The Enemy Below Robert Mitchum and Curt Jürgens are respectively captains of a US destroyer and a German U-boat whose vessels come into conflict in the South Atlantic. Both are good men with a job to do, the script noting Jürgens' distaste for Hitler and the Nazis and engaging our sympathy with the German sailors almost as much as the Americans. Although essentially a Cold War movie, The Enemy Below delivers a liberal message of co-operation wrapped inside some spectacular action scenes and a story which builds to a tense and exciting, moving finale.
The Caine Mutiny (1954)
Starring:Humphrey Bogart, Jöse Ferrer Director: Edward Dmytryk Format: Colour, Widescreen DVD and Video Studio: Columbia/Tristar Studios Run Time: 125 min
Humphrey Bogart is heartbreaking as the tragic Captain Queeg in this 1954 film, based on the novel by Herman Wouk, about a mutiny aboard a navy ship during WWII. Stripped of his authority by two officers under his command during a devastating storm, Queeg becomes a crucial witness at a court martial that reveals as much about the invisible injuries of war as anything. Edward Dmytryk directs the action scenes with a sure hand and nudges his all-male cast toward some of the most well defined characters of 1950s cinema. The courtroom scenes alone have become the basis for a stage play and a television movie, but it is a more satisfying experience to see the entire story in context.
Battle of Britain (1969)
Starring:Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Director: Guy Hamilton Format: Colour, Widescreen, DVD and Video Studio: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Run Time:132
It was certainly no small effort technically to make this highly memorable war film. Battle of Britain depicts the British and German perspectives during the 1940 air campaign over Britain. This film does not follow one or several particular characters throughout, though they do re-occur. This is an effective way to show that people from all social backgrounds were united in a common cause - to prevent the Luftwaffe from destroying the RAF in a prelude to an invasion of Britain - and, to the film-makers' credit, also included scenes away from the air battle, such as firemen battling against the flames, a bomb disposal squad in London, and, memorably, Maggie's total shock at seeing the dead bodies of her fellow airwomen draped in tarpaulins after the air raid on Duxford. The film also showed that these characters were human and had things on their mind other than trying to defeat the Germans -such as a marriage and Sergeant-Pilot Andy's (a very young Ian McShane) shock at seeing his family killed in an air raid. Overall, Battle of Britain is an excellent film about ordinary people battling against an enemy in extraordinary circumstances, and they manage to have the (British) lion's share of the film, with high-ranking RAF officers like Park (Trevor Howard) and Dowding (Laurence Olivier) having little, yet significant, screen time.
Immortal Battalion (1945)
Starring: David Niven, Peter Ustinov Director: Carol Reed Format: Black and White, DVD and Video
Immortal Battalion is an intriguing WWII pseudo-documentary following newly recruited soldiers as they are moulded from an ordinary group of carping civilians into a hardened battalion of fighting men.
The Longest Day (1962)
Starring: Richard Burton Directors: A. Marton & D. Zanuck Format: Colour, Widescreen, DVD Rated: G Studio: Twentieth Century Fox Run Time: 178 min
The Longest Day is Hollywood's definitive D-Day movie. Producer Darryl F. Zanuck's epic 1962 account attempts the daunting task of covering that fateful day from all perspectives. From the German High Command and front-line officers to the French Resistance and all the key Allied participants, the screenplay by Cornelius Ryan, based on his own authoritative book, is as factually accurate as possible. The endless parade of stars (John Wayne, Henry Fonda, Robert Mitchum, Sean Connery, and Richard Burton, to name a few) does not prevent the film falling a little flat for much of its three-hour running time. But the set-piece battles are still spectacular, and if the landings on Omaha Beach lack the graphic combat-pornography of Saving Private Ryan, they nonetheless show the sheer scale and audacity of the invasion.
Documentaries
Genre: Documentary Studio: Magna Pacific
The British have a special relationship with their Navy. As a protector and symbol of strength the Navy's influence on the development of Britain can be traced back over many years. This eight part series explores the history of Britain's Royal Navy and the real impact behind some of its most significant achievements.
- Vol. 1
- Strategy and technology used during World War One - The disarmament of The British Navy after WWI.
- Vol. 2
- New battle methods used by the Royal Navy in WWII - The Siege of Malta.
- Vol. 3
- The disarmament of the British Navy after WWII - The influence of nuclear power upon the navy.
- Vol. 4
- The introduction of new ships in modern battle - The relevance of the Royal Navy in a post Cold War.
Victory at Sea (1958)
Narrator: Leonard Graves Director: M. Clay Adams Studio: Avenue One, RBC Music: Richard Rogers
An American cold war classic; a historical award winning documentary of WWII. Full of original images in black and white and colour as well as early reconstructions. Examines political, social, land and air influences upon the US led victory at sea.
World War One in Colour
Genre:Documentary, War Studio: Shock
It was the first war to see the development of the fighter plane, the introduction of poison gas, the inventions of the tank and the flame thrower and the wide use of machine guns and heavy artillery, which caused such mass destruction. Using rare archive footage from sources around the World, this six part series has been painstakingly colourised using computer-aided technology to bring WWI to colour, as experienced by those who fought and endured it. Some have criticised the colourisation process but this documentary does succeed in making the events of WWI appear much more real and relevant to the current generation. Narrated by Kenneth Branagh, this landmark series brings a unique perspective to the events of 1914-18.
Colour of War: The ANZACS (2004)
Narrator: Russell Crowe Genre: Australian, Documentary, War Studio: Village Roadshow Film Australia
This powerful and moving three-part series featuring only colour footage, paints a vividly detailed picture of the Australian and New Zealand troops from the build up to WWII to the end of the Vietnam conflict. Rare newsreels, home movies and compelling first-hand accounts capture the thoughts and feelings of people caught up in history and the moods of the two countries as they prepared for international conflict. Much of the material was shot unofficially by civilians and servicemen, providing an eyewitness account of life in troubled times.
