Sink the Bismarck! (1960)

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. This film does just that. It begins with the Christening and launching of the impressive German vessel, Bismark. The massive battleship which could easily cruise at 30 knots became the pride of Germany and quickly proved her military prowess when encountering the H.M.S. Hood. The Hood was the pride of the British Royal Navy with her Captain and select crew of 1,500 men were well seasoned and experienced. Yet on that fateful day of May 24th, 1941 the two ships came within 15 miles of each other. After several exchanged salvos, the Bismark with her compliment of 8 fifteen inch guns completely destroyed the British ship leaving only three survivors. This disastrous event is but one of the exceptional battle scenes, superbly recreated by Howard Lydecker and his special effects crew. To add to the creative storyline are the actors which give this movie a superior realism. Kenneth More as Captain Shepard, who along with his naval staff wage war against the Bismark from their underground command post in war-torn London, where Edward R. Murrow gives the world a blow by blow account of the desperate time. Dana Wynter plays Anne Davis, his able assistant. Carl Möhner is Captain Lindemann, the proud Captain of the Bismark with Karel Stepanek playing his immediate superior, Admiral Lutjens. Laurence Naismith plays the First Sea Lord. This a great film and should honor the Allies who gave so much when the world needed them. ****

Fmovies: This is a little known war time epic movie that should rank with the likes of "Patton". The story is about the grudge match that's spawned from sinking of battleship Hood by the German battleship Bismark. A full blown search for the German battleship by the British navy takes place to hunt down and sink the Bismark. Acting is first class, and although the special effects have something to be desired by today's standard, movie none the less conveys the tension and excitement of what probably was the greatest and the final naval conflict between battleships. In recent years Bob Ballard and the Oceanographic Institute rediscovered the sunken remains of the battleship Bismark which confirmed the ferocity of the fire power that was exchanged in this naval warfare. This movie gets mentioned by movie producers of today when they sight their seminal influence it had on some of their plot lines, which attests to its production value. The sub plot which unfolds between Kenneth Moore and Dana Wynter is also written superbly. A good war time semi documentary that's worth seeing.

A distinguished wide-screen film that honors those who served in a great British naval episode while showing generally how naval warfare was carried out in the early days of WWII.

Effectively portraying the sheer power of one of the most monstrous weapons ever devised by the dark side of the human mind- the battleship Bismarck. Battleships had a hideous, graceful sort of massive beauty during their brief heyday at the peak of war technology but went the way of the dinosaur after WWII. Their vulnerabilities are demonstrated in this film, as are certain unfortunate (but not necessarily erroneous) tactical moves by the German Admiral and the Captain of the Bismarck.

In case you don't know the story I won't spoil it but an event occurs around the middle of this film that has a sudden awesome shock value that can still cause your jaw to drop. It is perfectly set forth despite the low-tech film techniques available in 1960- the producers do a great job.

A deadly serious film about deadly serious heavy subject matter, "Sink the Bismarck" has qualities that hold up and it is worth your viewing time.

Sink the Bismarck! fmovies. Kenneth More plays the severe cold and uncompromising Captain Jonathan Shepard who has lost his wife in an air raid, and whose son is a naval pilot in the warfare against the Bismarck...

'Bismarck' is a super German battleship of World War II that had a short, but spectacular career...

Captain Shepard guides the distinguished campaign from the Admiralty War headquarters in London: The search, the course, the deploy and the destruction of the Bismarck under an archetype that said: 'Getting emotional about things is a peacetime luxury.'

The Bismarck's admiral (Karel Stepanek) is a Nazi officer characterized by emotional instability, presumptuous and overenthusiastic...

Sighted and bombarded by British battleships, the Bismarck is incapacitated and sunk by torpedoes on the morning of May 27, 1941.

Dana Wynter is the likable attractive lady naval officer, fitting in mood and attitude...

In the climax of the film and after the naval epic, Michael Hordern, the Commander-in-Chief of the Home Fleet, turns to his men and says: 'Let's go home, gentlemen!'

This exciting sea battle would have been better on a standard screen than in CinemaScope, as its ships were clearly 'models' using newsreels footage... Nevertheless, the film is an entertaining hunt, with good acting.

Beside the search and eventual sinking of the Bismarck, I would like to mention, that the personal drama of the British sailors increase the intensity of the picture's realism...

and could just watch and enjoy the movie without analyzing it. That's what movies were originally for - entertainment and enjoyment. I don't know if the special effects were great for the time or not, but they looked enough like the real thing for me. Great naval battle scenes and the acting was perfect for the times portrayed of the 1940's and the real way that military people are mostly low key in planning discussions and carrying out their duties. All very believable scenes with the flavor of the way it really was even in portions that were added to entertain (when history takes a back seat to entertainment). Kenneth More showed his versatility in excelling in such a serious part and Dana Wynter very professional. I don't know why she didn't become a larger name here in the States with such pure beauty, grace and honest acting ability. By coincidence I just saw her in another movie In Love And War where she played a totally different type of part and nailed it great. Anyway, if you haven't seen Sink The Bismarck, then by all means give it a gander. It is time well spent for not only those who enjoy naval movies, but good drama films as well.

The German battleship Bismark was one of the finest warships ever built. She carried 8 15-inch guns and a powerful secondary battery and could make 30 knots. It wasn't one of the biggest or most powerful battleships ever built. The Japanese had the Yamato and Mushashi towards the end of the war, juggernauts with 18-inch cannons. There's a limit to gigantism of course, and in the case of battleships it had to do with whether they could fit physically through the Panama Canal, a concern the Japanese had long put behind them. So the Bismark wasn't the sort of sacred monster that sheer size would make her. But she LOOKED absolutely great. Sleek, well balanced, with her superstructure done the way an architect might have done it, not an engineer. She looked built for speed, and endurance too. For an example of the opposite trend, take a look at Rodney or Nelson. More powerfully armed, with 9 16-inch guns carried in three turrets, all set forward of the superstructure. Man, that is one ugly design. And, more than that, Bismarck's crew were highly trained and she was equipped with one of the world's best optical fire-control systems. It wasn't just luck that sank the Hood and damaged any smaller ships that go too close; it was good shooting. (Her shooting didn't fall off until that final bombardment.) Winston Churchill called her "a masterpiece of naval construction," although not in this movie. She kept large elements of the fleet pinned down at home simply by sitting in her protected port and being available.

I must have seen this movie a dozen times and each time I begin by wondering if I'll be able to sit through it again. (I've got some of the exchanges memorized.) I generally make it, though. It's too good in its own dated way to pass up.

The model work is not bad at all for its time. The reviewer who said this film called for black and white was correct. It looks cold and frightening on the North Atlantic. Almost everything would have been, or at least seemed, gray even if it had been shot in color. The peformances are up to professional standards. More is a different character here from his usual jocular one -- frosty, demanding, and no nonsense. Until finally, overcome with emotion, he breaks down in an understated scene. Dana Wynter, his assistant, spots him and discreetly leaves him alone. She's too beautiful to criticize as an actress. She radiates purity and anima and gently draws More out of his shell. Naismith is a familiar face, as are many of the others. And there is a running gag in this underground bunker where More is plotting the Bismarck's demise. Nobody knows what time it is or, if they know it's 9 o'clock, they don't know if its morning or evening. Even the Germans aboard the Bismarck are lent some humanity by the script writers. The cadets look like earnest fresh-faced kids. The Captain is a practical man, worried about his ship and his crew. Only Karel Stepanek, as Lutjens, belongs in another, much earlier movie, say one made in 1943. He is well out of the frame established in the rest of the film. Stricken with awe when he gets a birthday greeting from You-Know-Who. Some of the dialogue is made up, out of necessity. Who knows what went on on the Bismarck's bridge, especially during that last catastrophic shelling? Back in the bunker, Dana Wynter looks down at the wooden models on her chart where a dozen British warships surround the single Bismarck and pound her to pieces. "I don&