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Amazon.co.uk Review
The Enemy Below and Sink the Bismarck! form a double feature of semi-classic CinemaScope-era WWII naval dramas sailing from the Fox vault onto DVD for the first time.
In The Enemy Below Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens 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 Jurgens' distaste for Hitler and the Nazis and engaging our sympathy with the German sailors almost as much as the Americans. Made at the height of the Cold War of the 1950s, the film delivers a liberal message of cooperation wrapped inside some spectacular action scenes and a story that builds to a tense and exciting, moving finale.
Sink the Bismarck! is a British film dating from three years later and adopts a more documentary style in recounting the race against time to track and destroy what was in 1941 the most powerful battleship then built, the Bismarck. Shot in gleaming black and white so as to make use of genuine WWII archive footage, the film is held together by the introduction of a fictional naval officer in overall command of the operation, played excellently by Kenneth More. To add some human warmth he is given a tentative romantic subplot with a WREN played by the luminous Dana Wynter. Though initially slow to gather steam, Sink the Bismarck! finally delivers an epic, thoroughly horrifying conclusion.
On the DVD: The Enemy Below and Sink the Bismarck! come as a two-disc set with multiple language and subtitle options, including English for Hard of Hearing, but no extras other than the original trailers. These are presented at 16:9 and 2.35:1. Both are rather faded, but are fine examples of an era when watching the previews didn't guarantee a migraine. Both films are anamorphically enhanced in their original 2.35:1 CinemaScope, and, bar a little grain in some shots and the inevitably inferior archive footage, the picture quality is excellent. The Enemy Below boasts sturdy three-channel sound (left, front, right) while Sink the Bismarck! is in very well mixed stereo. --Gary S Dalkin
Special Features
- Sink the Bismarck theatrical trailer
- The Enemy Below theatrical trailer
- Scene access
- Interactive menus
DVD Technical Information:
- Language: English (The Enemy Below English 4.0), French, Italian, German (for The Enemy Below only), Spanish 2.0 Stereo
- Main feature subtitles: Dutch, French, Italian, German, Spanish, English & German for the hearing impaired
- Widescreen version 16:9
- Video Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
- Region Code: 2 PAL
- Sink the Bismarck: black & white, The Enemy Below: colour
- Running time:
Sink the Bismarck: 93 minutes
The Enemy Below: 94 minutes
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Two Classic War Films,
By E. A. Redfearn "eredfearn2" (Middlesbrough) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (VINE VOICE) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Sink the Bismarck / The Enemy Below (Double Pack) [DVD] (DVD)
Two very good war films made within three years of each other. One British, the other American.First things first, Sink The Bismarck is one of those stiff upper lip films exploring the conflict between the Royal Navy and the German Battleship Bismarck which was at that time one of the largest ships ever built. Kenneth More plays Captain Jonathan Shepherd, the director of operations who is given the uneviable task of trapping and the eventual sinking of this great ship. There is a great tragedy along the way with the terrible loss of HMS Hood which was blown up during an engagement with the Bismarck in the Denmarck Strait, only three survivors being picked up. This tragedy made it imeprative that the Bismarck had to be sunk at all costs. It was eventually sunk by numerous British ships off the French Coast. The final scenes showing its destruction are harrowing to watch. Supplemented with actual archive footage, and Ed Murrow playing himself adding a news commentary during certain scenes give the film an almost documentary feel. Alright, some of the ships are plainly models, but that doesnt distract from the film itself. Filmed in widescreen, black and white, with good print and sound. Worth seeing. The Enemy Below made earlier in 1957 has remained one of those classic war films which is still enjoyable today. Some critics have pointed out that it may be too Hollywood, and not really a true reflection of war as it was at that time. But I did find this a very human drama, played out between two opposing captains, engaged in a cat and mouse chase between an American destroyer commanded by Robert Mitchum and a German Submarine commanded by Curt Jurgens. There is much tension in this film, with decent pace, and a finale where for a time, war is forgotten, and the opposing captains reconcile whilst trying to survive amidst the wreckage of their various vessals. The ending is quite moving as both sides come together to bury, remember and pay tribute to their fallen comrades. Filmed in colour, widescreen, with decent sound. A very good buy indeed.
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Enemy Below/Sink The Bismark - Two classic old school war films.,
By
This review is from: Sink the Bismarck / The Enemy Below (Double Pack) [DVD] (DVD)
This two disc set presents two very different yet tense and gripping war films.Sink the Bismark - Kenneth More stars in this very British and fascinating study of one of the more famous momentsof the second world war, the sinking of the Bismark. The Bismark was a monster of a ship, and Admiralty were rightly terrified of what the Bismark could do if it broke loose and set about the convoys that were keeping Britain alive. The film largely follows the documented facts, depicting the Bismark from the German perspective and the hunt for it from the British point of view. It explains clearly and carefully the strategic problems and the choices faced by the navy. But it is no dry documentary, by utilising a range of top British acting talent of the time each role is seemingly filled by a familiar face who imbues each character with life. The story needs a focus, and Kenneth More's character is largely a fictionalised amalgam of a few real people in order to give it one. This allows the film makers to focus on the personal level as well as the big picture. More gives a typically stoic and heroic performance, and the whole film hangs around his portrayal as much as it does around the other main character, the Bismark herself. Filmed in black and white, and with some interesting model work, this is an excellent war film of the kind they just don't make anymore. 5 stars. The Enemy Below - This engrossing and entertaining film is a classic of the submarine chase drama. Unlike Sink the Bismark! It is a very American affair, but there is a common thread in that both take the time to show the fight from the German sid, and portray the Germans as real human beings. Whilst on routine patrol in the Second World War, Robert Mitchum's destroyer happens across a German submarine commanded by Curt Jurgens. What follows is a superior drama as a game of cat and mouse ensues. What makes this a better than average entry in the genre is that we get to see the action both above and below the waves. Both commanders and crews are well developed, making them believable and making us interested in both of them. Mitchum and Jurgens are both believable as the commanders, showing two weary but experienced men in a fight to the end, but each with a great respect for their adversary. It's well directed, well scripted and well acted, making for a very entertaining film. And I have to say I really did not see the finale coming! For the price being asked, this is an essential purchase for those who enjoy all kinds of WW2 film.
4.0 out of 5 stars
sink the bismark /the enemy below,
By
This review is from: Sink the Bismarck / The Enemy Below (Double Pack) [DVD] (DVD)
A couple of good battle at sea films, i really enjoyed both of these. A good edition to anyones ww2 film library
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