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British War DVD Collection [1958]
 
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British War DVD Collection [1958]

DVD ~ John Mills
4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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3 new from £67.99 12 used from £12.40 1 collectible from £27.00
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Product details

  • Actors: John Mills, Stanley Baker, Denholm Elliott, Moira Lister, Sylvia Syms
  • Directors: J. Lee Thompson, Michael Anderson, Guy Hamilton, Charles Frend
  • Format: Black & White, PAL
  • Language English
  • Region: Region 2 (This DVD may not be viewable outside Europe. Read more about DVD formats.)
  • Number of discs: 4
  • Classification: PG
  • Studio: Warner Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: 27 May 2002
  • Run Time: 466 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0000649KH
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 29,467 in DVD (See Bestsellers in DVD)

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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
The four films presented in The British War Collection unapologetically embody the dogged spirit and pluck of an embattled nation during its greatest crisis; that they also represent the zenith of post-war British cinema is a testament to both their quality and veracity. First in chronological order is The Cruel Sea (1953), a rivetingly faithful adaptation of Nicholas Monsarrat's gripping novel (itself semi-autobiographical) in which Jack Hawkins is the epitome of determined professionalism in the face of ever-present disaster. Moving from sea to air, The Dam Busters (1954) uses the same documentary-style approach to storytelling, though combined here with the more overt patriotic appeal of Eric Coates' famous march theme.

A similar never-say-die spirit pervades both The Colditz Story (1955)--an authentic retelling of PR Reid's narrative--and Ice Cold in Alex (1958). Coincidentally or not, both films star the always indomitable John Mills. In Colditz, Mills heads a distinguished ensemble of British thespians as they attempt to escape from the infamous fortress, while in Alex he and his marvellously tight-knit cast journey painstakingly towards what is probably the most famous glass of lager in the world.

On the DVDs: The British War Collection comes in a neat fold-out package with postcard-style cards for each movie. All four discs are presented in their original aspect ratios (Cruel Sea and Dam Busters, 1.33:1; Alex and Colditz, 1.66:1). The black and white prints are in pretty good condition, and are accompanied by reasonably clean mono soundtracks. Other than the original theatrical trailers there are no extras. --Mark Walker

DVD Description
DVD Special Features:

Theatrical trailers
Aspect ratios: 1.33:1 (1.66:1 Ice Cold in Alex)

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Customer Reviews

4 Reviews
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 (3)
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Average Customer Review
4.8 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars British War DVD Collection, 26 April 2003
I have been waiting for ages for The Cruel Sea to be issued in DVD format, and voila when it does,it comes with three other excellent British War Classics in a collectors edition. How superb. Lets hope that Studio Canal continue with other greats from the British War Collection such as Albert RN, The wooden Horse, Carve her name with Pride, the list just goes on and on.

For the avid War Film genre fan this is a must, these films are the sort that can be watched time and time again, which is an accolade to the Producers abilities.

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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars The films get 5 stars ... The packaging gets a big fat zero., 1 Dec 2003
By J. Bryce (Toronto, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Four of the greatest ever British WWII films and what a joy to see them in such a clear and high quality format. As must be expected in films that are now more or less 50 years old there are a few small flaws in places on the original prints that were used for this collection. It must be hard to find mint quality at this late date but who cares? Mine looked and sounded just great even after being converted to North American format. The PAL originals must be better still. It's a dramatic improvement over the VHS taped versions. All four of these favourite films are based on true incidents. The Dam Busters and The Colditz Story are faithful renderings of real-life incidents. The Cruel Sea is from the novel based on Nicholas Monsarrat's naval experiences and Ice Cold In Alex is based on an actual incident involving an ambulance that escaped Tobruk across the North African desert. These are films that I can regularly take from the shelf and watch over and over again.
Oh but that irritating fold-out packaging - much too clever by half for its own good. Can't they just give us four discs neatly boxed, each in its own standard individual plastic case? Movies of this vintage appeal to middle-aged adults who don't need silly gimmicks to draw us to films like this. In fact we don't even discover this stupid fold-out video case until after we've bought it. However, they do give us some nice postcard sized scene indexes each printed on the reverse side with a reproduction of the movie posters of the four films.
Don't be put off by the packaging. This collection is a bargain.
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28 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars British War DVD Collection, 11 Jul 2002
By T. Byatt "terry5680" (Lincolnshire, England) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
As a Senior Citizen, TOG or OAP... call me what you like :-(
This must be the definative collection of World War 2 films. It is a "must have" for any collector of films of the period. The only film missing, that would have made it complete, was "Reach for the Sky".
A must buy and good value even if it was full price!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars Three Classics, One Clinker, (& One Horrid transfer)
The British War Collection 1958, four genre classics in attractive packaging & accompanied by period advertising for each film reprinted on stout card stock, is a good value,... Read more
Published on 11 Aug 2002 by Jordynne Olivia Lobo

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