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In 1976 BBC camera crews were invited on board Britain's best-loved warship, the aircraft carrier Ark Royal, to record what was intended to be her last voyage. As the Ark Royal sailed for America, the cameras captured a unique record of daily life on board for the officers and ratings, as well as the workings of an operational aircraft carrier with a full compliment of fighter and bomber aircraft and helicopters. Sailor remains by far the best series ever made about the Royal Navy as well as providing a historic record of the passing of one of Britain's greatest fighting ships... This title also includes the BBC follow-up programme Sailor: 8 Years On - revealing the sad fate of the now decrepit Ark Royal in dock and going in search of its crew members to discover how their lives have changed... DVD BONUS FEATURE MED PATROL This rarely-seen spectacular colour COI film made in the early 1970s captures the Ark Royal on Mediterranean duties, flying Phantoms and Buccaneers.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
37 of 37 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
It's almost 30 years since I watched the original series and I'd half expected to be disappointed when I received this item as a Christmas gift. However, the programme was as interesting as I'd remembered and the quality of the filming was much better than expected. I missed the 1984 'return' programme so it was particularly interesting to be able to see the 'where they are now' (or more correctly 'then') 8 years after the series was shot.
The only slight 'downer' was the absence of some of the original music. When broadcast on TV the theme tune was the original Rod Stewart track with the vocals and the famous bombing exercise filmed in the Caribbean had Pink Floyd's 'Welcome To The Machine' (or was it 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', also from the album 'Wish You Were Here'?) The DVD version has each episode opening and closing with an instrumental version of 'Sailing' played by a military band and the background music for the jets coming up from the hangar deck, taking off and dropping their load on the Caribbean island is indescribable - Whatever it is it it isn't Dave Gilmour, Roger Waters and co, and it doesn't go with the footage.
The box does warn that parts of the original footage have had to be edited and presumably the BBC had contractual reasons for changing the music. The absence of the original stuff shouldn't put people off buying this item, but those who want to replicate the original might like to buy the CD version of what's missing!
The only slight 'downer' was the absence of some of the original music. When broadcast on TV the theme tune was the original Rod Stewart track with the vocals and the famous bombing exercise filmed in the Caribbean had Pink Floyd's 'Welcome To The Machine' (or was it 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond', also from the album 'Wish You Were Here'?) The DVD version has each episode opening and closing with an instrumental version of 'Sailing' played by a military band and the background music for the jets coming up from the hangar deck, taking off and dropping their load on the Caribbean island is indescribable - Whatever it is it it isn't Dave Gilmour, Roger Waters and co, and it doesn't go with the footage.
The box does warn that parts of the original footage have had to be edited and presumably the BBC had contractual reasons for changing the music. The absence of the original stuff shouldn't put people off buying this item, but those who want to replicate the original might like to buy the CD version of what's missing!
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
While it was a great joy to see the Ark and all the characters again ( I served on her from 1977 , the year after the series was made) I was very sad to see , and hear, that the BBC had made so many cuts and changes.This version was cut and spliced together in 1999 and non too sympathetically either, although it was interesting to see the 'where are they now' bit, which I missed completely when it first came out in 1984. In the original series there was a great deal more 'atmospheric' stuff which gave you a real sense of the presence and power of the machinery of the Ark Royal whereas this cut version tends to concentrate on the humans almost exclusively. The removal of the Pink Floyd tracks is a disaster and , even as an ex Royal Marine Bandsman , I have to say that the recording by Ark Royal's RMB is no replacement for Rod Stewart's original.Its still well worth a look but I wish somebody would bring out the whole un-tarnished original. It was much better than this.
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
Sailor documents the lives, loves and losses of the ships company of (the previous) HMS Ark Royal, a 40,000 ton British aircraft carrier. What is truly fascinating about this documentary is the way it was shot.
Long, observational pieces following key moments in the ships deployment uninterrupted by unnecessary commentary telling the viewer what is happening. It is inconceivable that this sort of film making could be presented to a modern audience without the interruption of music, constant camera angle changes or frequent talking heads pieces to give the production pace and keep the viewer interested.
The absence of the above only adds to the appeal of this program. Far from lacking the pace of a modern documentary it takes on a pace of its own, allowing the viewer to get a 'stripped back' view of what life must be like for those on board a big ship on a long deployment.
There are also some genuinely intriguing real life characters such as the Fleet Master at Arms and the Captain himself. Both have come from very different social backgrounds yet both display the unavoidable institutionalisation that has resulted from a life at sea and a life of naval discipline.
However, the excellent production aside, Sailor is a valuable historical account of the operational life of Britain's last conventional aircraft carrier. Well worth a look.
Long, observational pieces following key moments in the ships deployment uninterrupted by unnecessary commentary telling the viewer what is happening. It is inconceivable that this sort of film making could be presented to a modern audience without the interruption of music, constant camera angle changes or frequent talking heads pieces to give the production pace and keep the viewer interested.
The absence of the above only adds to the appeal of this program. Far from lacking the pace of a modern documentary it takes on a pace of its own, allowing the viewer to get a 'stripped back' view of what life must be like for those on board a big ship on a long deployment.
There are also some genuinely intriguing real life characters such as the Fleet Master at Arms and the Captain himself. Both have come from very different social backgrounds yet both display the unavoidable institutionalisation that has resulted from a life at sea and a life of naval discipline.
However, the excellent production aside, Sailor is a valuable historical account of the operational life of Britain's last conventional aircraft carrier. Well worth a look.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Was it that long ago?!
Was it that long ago?! It say's something about this series that it made such an impression on me that I was staggered to find out when it was first released. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Mr. Geoffrey C. Brown
Great Series
I watched the original series in 1976 and the memories of this amazing series came flooding back. However what on earth were they thinking when they removed the original music. Read more
Published 2 months ago by J. T.
Sailor
An excellent production by the BBC in an era before documentaries and real life television became fashionable, and a tribute to all who sailed and worked HMS Ark Royal.
Published 4 months ago by Kym
Enjoyable return to this series
It is so good to be watching this series again. I missed some of it originally, so it is great to see the whole and to watch it in order. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Tricia
A good naval story, now just beyond the horizon.
A good documentary series which takes us back to 1976 and a classic Atlantic voyage. Lots of sailors getting told off and docked pay. Read more
Published 6 months ago by MR JAMES A C ATKINS
BRILLIANT
The single best documentary about the Royal Navy ever produced. Absolutely outstanding and the first episode in Diamond Lil's is hilarious.
Published 7 months ago by Zulus,thousandsofem
Royal Navy as it was
I left the RN in 1973 and was living abroad when the BBC showed this series. As an ex matelot, it brought back a lot of happy memories of my time in the "Andrew" although I never... Read more
Published 11 months ago by jacktar
the original ark
I bought this dvd to have a look at the Navy of the 70`s after joining up in the 80`s the dvd quality was good and the real feeling of the crew showed through well. great buy
Published 12 months ago by steve f
What a let down!
Although the contents of this series are just as entertaining as ever, a lot of the atmosphere is destroyed even before each episode opens. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Bungy
Sailor , DVD
This is a great series. I saw it the first time round, in the mid 70's. I had left the Navy just a few years earlier so I could relate to everything in the series. Read more
Published 13 months ago by jbat66
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