Very early in this movie I could feel the tension in that plotting room, and realise that the cast and crew had captured all the drama, the surprises, the realities, and sometimes, some emotion too.
Kenneth More as the newly appointed director of the op's room is a stickler for discipline. He expects all the rules of the Navy to be observed and he doesn't hesitate to tell people off if they transgress.
All the acting is superb, I feel like I'm really there too. As the new information comes in and we see the situation develop. We all know the basic story, and the outcome, but this movie goes into the hard work and hard thinking that ensured the final result.
The initial planning of the German Navy was over-ambitious? Surely they knew that unless one has a secure coastline, with well equipped bases all over the place, then a Navy is a bit of a waste of time, and effort? Britain had all that, and had the tradition of centuries, and knew how to use it (mostly - the later demise of Prince of Wales near Singapore showed how narrow the thinking was?). Perhaps silly Hitler just assumed that the world power he was aiming at, just HAD to have a big navy? Raeder and other admirals should have advised him?
Later in the movie, we see the officers of both sides staring across the ocean at their target - a target that has BIG guns pointing straight at them, ones that when the puff of smoke comes, means that very soon, a huge shell will come screaming straight at them and their comrades - that must have been so scary. The British knew that their "Hood" had been sunk, would they soon be next? And the Germans knew they were hopelessly outnumbered and out-gunned.
In some respects, perhaps the whole incident has been over-rated? Was the Bismarck such a terrible threat? I don't recall ever seeing any attempt at a "what-if", ie, if the ships had got to Brest, would they ever have been able to get out again? The British would have lost a lot of aircraft and crews as they attacked, (as they did against the other German ships there) but my guess is that the idea of using battleships to attack the convoys was fatally flawed both from that "bases" point, and also from the "resupply" issues.
Germany did arrange for tankers and other ships to meet Bismarck for fuel, ammunition, food, but, the British, through the Enigma cracking, knew where these ships were, and simple sunk them - later. If Bismarck had not been damaged and sunk, perhaps it might have done some damage, but then, would have to return to Brest... and stay there (Yes, but the other ships did scoot through the Channel later)
I've read somewhere that half of Germany's submarines never even saw a target ship! So, would the surface ships do any better? Maybe, maybe not? We'll never know.
Something else that if different, is the quality of the acting. I've seen other movies from that era and been so disappointed by the Stewart and Niven and others. Is this a difference between Hollywood and Britain? Maybe. Much much later (2001!) Robert Redford, in a DVD bonus feature of "Spy Game", says, (of Catherine McCormack) ..."She has the benefit, as so many English actors have, of... craft, of solid training". So very true.
Kenneth More as the newly appointed director of the op's room is a stickler for discipline. He expects all the rules of the Navy to be observed and he doesn't hesitate to tell people off if they transgress.
All the acting is superb, I feel like I'm really there too. As the new information comes in and we see the situation develop. We all know the basic story, and the outcome, but this movie goes into the hard work and hard thinking that ensured the final result.
The initial planning of the German Navy was over-ambitious? Surely they knew that unless one has a secure coastline, with well equipped bases all over the place, then a Navy is a bit of a waste of time, and effort? Britain had all that, and had the tradition of centuries, and knew how to use it (mostly - the later demise of Prince of Wales near Singapore showed how narrow the thinking was?). Perhaps silly Hitler just assumed that the world power he was aiming at, just HAD to have a big navy? Raeder and other admirals should have advised him?
Later in the movie, we see the officers of both sides staring across the ocean at their target - a target that has BIG guns pointing straight at them, ones that when the puff of smoke comes, means that very soon, a huge shell will come screaming straight at them and their comrades - that must have been so scary. The British knew that their "Hood" had been sunk, would they soon be next? And the Germans knew they were hopelessly outnumbered and out-gunned.
In some respects, perhaps the whole incident has been over-rated? Was the Bismarck such a terrible threat? I don't recall ever seeing any attempt at a "what-if", ie, if the ships had got to Brest, would they ever have been able to get out again? The British would have lost a lot of aircraft and crews as they attacked, (as they did against the other German ships there) but my guess is that the idea of using battleships to attack the convoys was fatally flawed both from that "bases" point, and also from the "resupply" issues.
Germany did arrange for tankers and other ships to meet Bismarck for fuel, ammunition, food, but, the British, through the Enigma cracking, knew where these ships were, and simple sunk them - later. If Bismarck had not been damaged and sunk, perhaps it might have done some damage, but then, would have to return to Brest... and stay there (Yes, but the other ships did scoot through the Channel later)
I've read somewhere that half of Germany's submarines never even saw a target ship! So, would the surface ships do any better? Maybe, maybe not? We'll never know.
Something else that if different, is the quality of the acting. I've seen other movies from that era and been so disappointed by the Stewart and Niven and others. Is this a difference between Hollywood and Britain? Maybe. Much much later (2001!) Robert Redford, in a DVD bonus feature of "Spy Game", says, (of Catherine McCormack) ..."She has the benefit, as so many English actors have, of... craft, of solid training". So very true.