The urgent british hunt and the german ships efforts to escape are described through vintage film and recollections of both british and german veterans of the battles. Powells vistavision and technicolor epic for the most part used real ships, and had to shy away from depicting some events. Aug 29, 2018 remembering the sinking of the bismarck. I am a lover of film of this era, of kenneth more, of british war films, interested in the history of the war period. The urgent british hunt and the german ships efforts to. When the bismarck was launched, it was the largest. Sink the bismarck will be available on bluray from the 11th march 2019, it can be preordered on amazon. Starring kenneth more and directed by lewis gilbert, sink the bismarck is being released for the first time ever on bluray in the uk as part of the eureka classics range from 11th march 2019.
With john hillerman, willie armstrong, paul beaver, george bell. This film traces the life of the bismarck from its launching courtesy of newsreel footage through its many battles and narrow escapes, concluding with its farfrominevitable sinking in the spring of 1941. The bismarck was the fabled german battleship of world war ii. However, the story is unequivocal in portraying lutjens as a jingoistic fool who continues the mission even after the bismarck has sustained serious damage to its oil tanks. A matter of fact retelling of the sinking of the battleship bismarck during ww2. Prime minister winston churchill makes no appearance in the film except for one scene where his voice emerges from a speaker phone like god from heaven as he orders the staff of the operations division to do what is necessary to sink the bismarck. South, nashville, tn, johnny horton was accompanied in the recording session by. Detailed and fascinating documentary telling the history of the famous german battleship of world war ii. Sink the bismarck theatrical movie trailer 1960 youtube. Sink the bismarck was written and performed by country and rockabilly star johnny horton. Also an example of know when to fold emwith the bismarck falling apart from the cannon impacts, rudder stuck in one direction, no support coming, and the bridge crew completely dead, there was just no reason to stay on the ship any more.
It was specifically inspired by and intended as a novelty song around the 1960 film sink the bismarck. Chronicles the breakout of the bismark during the early days of world war two. Sink the bismarck 1960 movie mistakes, goofs and bloopers. The massive battleship which could easily cruise at 30. As of this writing, sink the bismarck is a redirect to the film, but would serve more efficiently as the dab pages main title header. Seen both from the point of view of the many naval vessels on both sides and from the central headquarters of the british where the.
Movie info the bismarck is a german battle ship that is the scourge of the british navy in world war ii. The bismarck is sighted by a british agent in southern norway, sailing out of the baltic into the north sea east to west. Based on the true story of the hunt for the nazi superbattleship bismark, this film follows the valiant attempts of the british admiraltys chief of operations, captain jonathan shepard kenneth more, and his team as they gather. Sink the bismarck is the urgent order from winston churchill after the sinking of hms hood in this war drama from lewis gilbert. Sing sink the bismarck in the style of johnny horton. In the post wwll era the british put forth numerous but largely forgettable films regarding their involvement in the conflict. Badly wounded and pursued by allied forces, her crew scuttled the battleship, which sank with heavy casualties. Its 1941 and the battle of the north atlantic is in full swing. Seen both from the point of view of the many naval vessels on both sides and from the central headquarters of the british. Look back at one of the most epic nautical chases and battles in naval history, the sinking of the mighty nazi battleship bismarck. The action is convincingly and excitingly staged, and combined with a tightly scripted, well acted and directed movie it is a virtually flawless example of british cinema. To date, it is the only film made that deals directly with the operations, chase.
When the ship sinks the battleship hood, the british plan an all out search for the nazi war. Not only does it show the history of the hunt and sinking of the bismarck in true colours, but it also shows the humanity and heroism of both sides in. The book was adapted for the movie sink the bismarck. The bismarck is a german battle ship that is the scourge of the british navy in world war ii. For dramatic effect the film showed bismarck sinking a british destroyer and shooting down two aircraft, neither of which happened. Rent sink the bismarck 1960 starring kenneth more and dana wynter on dvd and bluray. When making a film like, sink the bismark it benefits the audience when actual facts of the ship or the events are used in the final cut. Movie fans will recognize this book as the basis of the film sink the bismarck. Short summary the world war ii story of the british navys effort to defeat nazi germanys most powerful warship. It begins with the christening and launching of the impressive german vessel, bismark. Theres a featurette about the survivor of the hms hood, the british battleship sunk by a single volley from the bismarck during its first engagement. When the ship sinks the battleship hood, the british plan an all out search for the nazi war vessel.
It concentrates almost entirely on three playing areas. Stingray karaoke country, classic, 1960, english, key eb. Released in 1996, this hc documentary features british and german survivor interviews as well as detailed events leading up to the sinking. It is a british production based on the book of cecil s. As usual, this film was shot in hd video high definition widescreen and bluray with dolby digital audio.
Full synopsis in 1941 captain jonathan shepard takes over as director of operations at naval headquarters in london just as they receive reports that the bismarck, the pride of. Based on a true story, the popularity of the film was greatly enhanced by the title tracked hit record by singer johnny horton, whos battle of new. The lenses used might not have been the best, for some early shots in the war room have a slightly squashed look, as if the anamorphic mechanism wasnt properly set. For me sink the bismarck ticks all those boxes, and more. A remarkable film which by its seamless use of war footage, radio and other reports from the outside world is actually an early post modern masterpiece. Its an old bw film but surprisingly good storyline. He wanted this hugelypowerful battleship to be destroyed, and didnt care how it was done. This is actually not true as that information was provided to the admiralty by the code breakers in bletchley park. Once the film had been processed, the images were studied and an attack plan was hurriedly formulated. Originally released in 1960, sink the bismarck is one of the finest british war films ever made. In their first encounter with the bismarck, the royal navy loses hms hood, the largest ship. Sink the bismarck meticulously documents the greatest sea chase in history, as seen through the eyes of the men who lived it. One of the finest british war films ever made, sink the bismarck.
Rent sink the bismarck 1960 on dvd and bluray netflix. May 1941 saw one of the defining moments in the history of the second world war, when the royal navy were pitted against the might of the german fleet. The bismarck the deadly and impregnable pride of the german fleet has been spotted in the north sea. This movie has been premiered in australian hd theatres in 1960 movies 1960. Oscars best picture winners best picture winners golden globes emmys san diego comiccon new york comiccon sundance film festival toronto intl film festival awards central festival central all events. Shot in black and white and widescreen and starring kenneth more, in fine form, its an interesting and enjoyable drama. Powells vistavision and technicolor epic for the most part used real ships, and had to.
Additionally, its told from the viewpoint of both british and german sailors aboard their own sides vessels. Scenes include naval battles between ships and aeroplanes. It was inspired by the 1960 british war movie sink the bismarck. To date, it is the only film made that deals directly with the operations, chase and sinking of the battleship bismarck by the royal navy during the second world war.
Ic x4496, flown by pilot officer m suckling, discovered prinz eugen first, and then bismarck lurking in two fjords near bergen. I would have liked to have known a bit more of what the crew thought, or did all the builders men make it back, but that probably wasnt in matter of fact. While it was used in trailers for the film, it was never actually in the film. Kenneth more and dana wynter star id depiction of the royal navys hunt for the german battleship bismark in the north atlantic during ww2. Sink the bismarck 1996 history channel documentary peter david documentaries. Sink the bismarck is a classic black and white film starring kenneth moore and dana wynter as serving naval officers during ww2, who are in pursuit of the. It stars kenneth more and dana wynter and was directed by lewis gilbert. The film was made decades before the wrecks of the bismarck and hood were located. But the view through the agents binoculars shows the ship sailing from right to left on the screen which would be sailing west to east from the point of view of an observer on the norwegian coast. This is so plainly written from reports that nearly everyone is referred to by rank or position, with few names used. And eurekas new bluray release definitely does it justice. In the movie the fleet is ordered to proceed under the assumption that the bismark is going to brest, this is shown as a hunch from captain shepard.
The movie even begins with some real footage of the bismarcks launch in hamburg, with hitler himself attending the ceremony. Oct 08, 2012 sink the bismarck 1960 according to l b abbott in his comprehensive book special effects wire, tape and rubber band style the asc press 1984, lord john brabourne came to the studio 20thcentury fox to discuss the possibilities of doing the miniatures here in hollywood. Sink the bismarck 1960 movie clip bismarcks last fight youtube. This film was produced and or financed by twentieth century fox film corporation. At over 52,000 tons, capable of moving 30 knots and armed with the biggest, most advanced guns ever put to sea, the bismarck was the largest and most deadly battleship ever built. The catalina that rediscovers the bismarck was actually flown by u. However when the technician and his assistant remove the print and study it, you can see through the back that this is not the aerial shot just seen, but is a picture of the ship from sea level as viewed from another ship.
Chronicles the breakout of the bismarck during the early days of world war two. Universal is making another famous wwii boat movie about. Sink the bismarck song is a 1960 johnny horton song inspired by the movie sink the bismarck often abbreviated to sink the biz is also the name of a skillbased drinking game, which involves floating a glass in a larger container filled with beer, then pouring more beer into the glass without letting it sink. Its good to see the old classic ww2 films being released on bluray in good quality for future generations and this looks good 99% of the time. Despite the film s exciting logline, the bismarck s commission lasted less than a year, and it claimed just a single ship in its only offensive in the war. Sink the bismark later sink the bismarck, a song written by johnny horton and tilman franks, was recorded by johnny horton for the columbia label, on january 7, 1960, in bradley film and recording studio, 804 16th ave.
That same year, johnny horton released the song sink the bismark. Sink the bismarck is a classic black and white film starring kenneth moore and dana wynter as serving naval officers during ww2, who are in pursuit of the german war ship the bismarck. Sink the bismarck 1996 history channel documentary. Despite the films exciting logline, the bismarcks commission lasted less than a year, and it claimed just a single ship in its only offensive in the war. The movie cuts to the photo lab, where a technician develops the photo. Grady martin guitar, hank garland guitar, tommy tomlinson steel, joseph. May 31, 2018 sink the bismarck 1996 history channel documentary peter david documentaries. Seen both from the point of view of the many naval vessels on both sides and from the central headquarters of the british where the search for the super battleship was. The action occasionally results in people being shot, thrown back by blasts, or struck by falling debris.
The postwar british film industry relied heavily on now the story can be told accounts of engagements that helped turn the second. Sink the bismarck 1996 detailed and fascinating documentary telling the history of the famous german battleship of world war ii. What the stillliving crew of the bismarck do in the end. Rare archive footage retells the story of the seahunt embarked upon by the british navy in the second world war when all their efforts went into finding the german warship the bismarck. Nevertheless, sink the bismarck is eminently watchable and a fine addition to any war movie collection, if you bear in mind the above caveat. In the spring of 1941, nazi germanys greatest battleship the bismarck, scourge of atlantic shipping, is pinned down at her anchorage in norway. During the second world war, gilbert had joined the royal air forces film unit, where he worked on a number of documentaries, and its easy to see the influence this had on sink the bismarck. Universal is making another famous wwii boat movie about the. When i think of hollywoods involvement in the 1960s british film industry i tend to think of united artists bankrolling the james bond films, woodfalls tom jones or a hard days night all, in one way or another, a little more hip or trendy than the average hollywood film, but sink the bismarck.
1124 90 850 813 492 668 769 545 972 866 616 751 1467 1111 1067 207 1235 764 138 830 678 869 835 1142 61 921 814 1257 246 908 1469 563 825