Joe_B_Carter
Lifetime Total
1+
IMDb Member
21 years
Reviews
Sink the Bismarck! (1960)
OK Movie With Good Performances
"Sink the BISMARCK!" is an OK movie with good performances. Because it portrays an actual naval operation, there's no suspense involved. You know that BISMARCK will sink HOOD, and that BISMARCK will be doggedly pursued and eventually sunk.
Accuracy is important for any movie portraying an historical event, and this is where "Sink the BISMARCK!" comes up short. If you're knowledgeable about Operation Rhine, you want to see a movie that sweats the details. BISMARCK is shown shooting down attacking torpedo bombers (none were shot down) and sinking a destroyer during a destroyer flotilla's night attack (none were sunk). In BISMARCK's last battle, two battleships engaged her--RODNEY and KING GEORGE V--but you easily forget about RODNEY, because she isn't shown. Force H from Gibraltar isn't shown or mentioned.
The performances of everyone--stars and supporting cast--are just fine. Kenneth More as Captain Shepard, RN is thoroughly credible. It helps, though, to get actors who look like the people they're playing. Karel Stepanek doesn't look at all like the tall, thin Admiral Lutjens, nor does Michael Hordern look at all like Admiral Tovey.
An OK movie with fine performances.
Accuracy is important for any movie portraying an historical event, and this is where "Sink the BISMARCK!" comes up short. If you're knowledgeable about Operation Rhine, you want to see a movie that sweats the details. BISMARCK is shown shooting down attacking torpedo bombers (none were shot down) and sinking a destroyer during a destroyer flotilla's night attack (none were sunk). In BISMARCK's last battle, two battleships engaged her--RODNEY and KING GEORGE V--but you easily forget about RODNEY, because she isn't shown. Force H from Gibraltar isn't shown or mentioned.
The performances of everyone--stars and supporting cast--are just fine. Kenneth More as Captain Shepard, RN is thoroughly credible. It helps, though, to get actors who look like the people they're playing. Karel Stepanek doesn't look at all like the tall, thin Admiral Lutjens, nor does Michael Hordern look at all like Admiral Tovey.
An OK movie with fine performances.
The Rat Patrol (1966)
I Didn't Especially Care For This Show
I thought "The Rat Patrol" was pretty implausible. I mean, four guys tooling around the desert in a couple of jeeps with two .50-caliber machine guns taking on troop convoys, armored columns, and anything else the Germans cared to offer. And with all the lead thrown their way, the Rat Patrol always came through unscathed. (Extraordinary. Didn't the German Army teach its men to shoot during basic training?!) This show was essentially escapist stuff, and not based on military reality. I watched the show because of the actors' performances, while discounting its implausible premise. (I thought that Christopher George as Sergeant Troy was pretty good.)