Rating: 
Summary: A Must-Have Video for any Warship Fan
Review: A great movie. About as "salty" as they come. Tremendous scenes of life aboard an English Man-O-War coupled with the history of the period. From the Mutiny at Spithead to a stunning portrail of the status of the Ship's Captain, this movie covers it all. You'll watch it again and again.
Rating: 
Summary: Solid historical yarn with great performances
Review: Alec Guinness and Dirk Bogarde are superb as the good-hearted frigate captain and the malevolent first lieutenant locked in a power struggle where the captain's midshipman son is a helpless pawn, against the backdrop of the Napoleonic war and the Spithead mutiny. Life on board ship is well portrayed and the action scenes are excellent, despite a few lapses. (Are ships really visible hull-up from the quarterdeck the minute they're spotted from the masthead? Was it really Royal Navy practice to board French ships without grappling them first?) Quibbles aside, anyone who enjoys the novels of Forester or O'Brian is bound to like this film.
Rating:
Summary: In the Tradition of O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series
Review: Alex Guinness stars as the newly appointed captain of the Defiant, a ship in distress because of the oh-so-evil first mate played by Dirk Borgarde. At first unwilling to believe the rumors of his first officer's nefarious ways, the captain attempts to give the First Officer the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, it soon becomes apparent that Defiant is NOT a happy ship, and his new first officer is entirely to blame.
Flogging, abuse, and a impending mutiny threaten to destabilize the Defiant. Can the captain appease the mutineers or will he (and his son), pay the ultimate price.
I thoroughly enjoyed Damn the Defiant! This was an entertaining movie with a cast of great characters. My only peeve? By the end of the film I really, really hated the first officer. I really wanted him to SUFFER for what he did to the crew. In my opinion, he got off a bit too easily.
Overall, an excellent film, which will appeal to those who like Horatio Hornblower or Master and Commander.
Rating:
Summary: In the tradition of Hornblower
Review: Damn the Defiant is built around a true incident, the "Spithead Mutiny" of the British Channel Fleet during the war with France in 1797. British sailors rose up in a mostly peaceful rebellion against the abominable conditions in which they were forced to serve. The movie, based on the novel "Mutiny" by Frank Tilsley, tells the story of the frigate Defiant, on a solitary mission deep into the French held Mediterrean Sea. The crew, already involved in the planning for the fleet-wide mutiny, suffer under the lash of the ship's sadistic First Lieutenant (Dirk Bogarde), while the Captain (Alec Guinness) is incapacitated, first by the torture of his son and then by the loss of his arm in a battle with a French frigate. But the good triumph in the end, as is right. It is a surprisingly complex story with well developed characters, but it delivers plenty of action as well. The battle scenes are well done, though the final action with a fire ship is too clearly model work. The DVD provides a fine viewing experience. The video is generally very good. The picture is soft occasionally and the rich colors become over-saturated in a few brief instances, but I did not find any of these flaws too distracting, and it is far better than my old VHS recording. The sound is very full and the dialogue was always clear and never overwhelmed. Obviously, a movie this old is not going to provide the same kind of audio as a contemporary film, but I found no serious fault with it. I highly recommend Damn the Defiant to any fan of naval adventure in the age of sail, as typified by Horatio Hornblower.
Rating:
Summary: In the tradition of Hornblower
Review: Damn the Defiant is built around a true incident, the "Spithead Mutiny" of the British Channel Fleet during the war with France in 1797. British sailors rose up in a mostly peaceful rebellion against the abominable conditions in which they were forced to serve. The movie, based on the novel "Mutiny" by Frank Tilsley, tells the story of the frigate Defiant, on a solitary mission deep into the French held Mediterrean Sea. The crew, already involved in the planning for the fleet-wide mutiny, suffer under the lash of the ship's sadistic First Lieutenant (Dirk Bogarde), while the Captain (Alec Guinness) is incapacitated, first by the torture of his son and then by the loss of his arm in a battle with a French frigate. But the good triumph in the end, as is right. It is a surprisingly complex story with well developed characters, but it delivers plenty of action as well. The battle scenes are well done, though the final action with a fire ship is too clearly model work. The DVD provides a fine viewing experience. The video is generally very good. The picture is soft occasionally and the rich colors become over-saturated in a few brief instances, but I did not find any of these flaws too distracting, and it is far better than my old VHS recording. The sound is very full and the dialogue was always clear and never overwhelmed. Obviously, a movie this old is not going to provide the same kind of audio as a contemporary film, but I found no serious fault with it. I highly recommend Damn the Defiant to any fan of naval adventure in the age of sail, as typified by Horatio Hornblower.
Rating:
Summary: A chilling study in leadership
Review: Damn the Defiant is the story of a fictional ship but the underlying theme, of a mutiney in the British Fleet is all too true. This is the mutiney of 1797 which paralyzed the British Fleet and if Napoleon had known it, might have changed history.Bogarde and Guinness are outstanding in the large cast of charecters, but the presence of Anthony Quayle is another critical part. There are two conflicts going on that are well told. The conflict between a competent and caring capatin of the ship, Guinness and a sadistic but compent second in command, Bogarde. There is also the story of the lower deck, Quayle et al, vs. the officers. It is a study in the problems of command where Guinness knows of Bogarde's faults but discipline requires that he give him his support. Bogarde also uses the Captain's dedication to duty against him by abusing the son of the captain. He does it within the letter of regulations but actually is showing the captain his limits of power. Guinness can't intervene without weakening the discipline of the ship and Bogarde knows this. The ship's surgeon has served under the Bogarde charecter in the past and in each case, the captain of the ship has never gone back to sea after Bogarde is done with them. Bogarde's bullying toady ultimately strikes the spark that sets off a mutiney. This movie is interesting and useful on several levels; Naval fiction and history and also the study of leadership. Anyone with interests in these areas would be well served to view this movie, several times. An all-star ensemble cast that makes this film extremely believeable. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A chilling study in leadership
Review: Damn the Defiant is the story of a fictional ship but the underlying theme, of a mutiney in the British Fleet is all too true. This is the mutiney of 1797 which paralyzed the British Fleet and if Napoleon had known it, might have changed history. Bogarde and Guinness are outstanding in the large cast of charecters, but the presence of Anthony Quayle is another critical part. There are two conflicts going on that are well told. The conflict between a competent and caring capatin of the ship, Guinness and a sadistic but compent second in command, Bogarde. There is also the story of the lower deck, Quayle et al, vs. the officers. It is a study in the problems of command where Guinness knows of Bogarde's faults but discipline requires that he give him his support. Bogarde also uses the Captain's dedication to duty against him by abusing the son of the captain. He does it within the letter of regulations but actually is showing the captain his limits of power. Guinness can't intervene without weakening the discipline of the ship and Bogarde knows this. The ship's surgeon has served under the Bogarde charecter in the past and in each case, the captain of the ship has never gone back to sea after Bogarde is done with them. Bogarde's bullying toady ultimately strikes the spark that sets off a mutiney. This movie is interesting and useful on several levels; Naval fiction and history and also the study of leadership. Anyone with interests in these areas would be well served to view this movie, several times. An all-star ensemble cast that makes this film extremely believeable. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Thank you Columbia!
Review: Damn the Defiant! -- U.K. title: H.M.S. Defiant -- is a classic story of the British Navy's widespread "mutiny" of 1797. The film centers on board the HMS Defiant and the conflict between its Captain and First Officer and of the British Navy's sailors harsh conditions which give rise to rebellion. Alec Guisness, Dirk Bogarde, and Anthony Quayle are excellent in their roles. Director Lewis Gilbert does an admirable job of moving the story, characters and action along. Any of you who love the Hornblower stories will feel right at home here. Columbia is to be congratulated for giving us a 2.35:1 widescreen anamorphic-enhanced DVD of this great character-driven film. The flip side is p&s but why bother? This film needs to be seen in its original format. Sound is a clear mono. Extras are spartan but interesting. Now if only Warner Brothers would give us the 1951 swashbuckling classic "Captain Hornblower" with a superb Gregory Peck in the title role!
Rating:
Summary: Thank you Columbia!
Review: Damn the Defiant! -- U.K. title: H.M.S. Defiant -- is a classic story of the British Navy's widespread "mutiny" of 1797. The film centers on board the HMS Defiant and the conflict between its Captain and First Officer and of the British Navy's sailors harsh conditions which give rise to rebellion. Alec Guisness, Dirk Bogarde, and Anthony Quayle are excellent in their roles. Director Lewis Gilbert does an admirable job of moving the story, characters and action along. Any of you who love the Hornblower stories will feel right at home here. Columbia is to be congratulated for giving us a 2.35:1 widescreen anamorphic-enhanced DVD of this great character-driven film. The flip side is p&s but why bother? This film needs to be seen in its original format. Sound is a clear mono. Extras are spartan but interesting. Now if only Warner Brothers would give us the 1951 swashbuckling classic "Captain Hornblower" with a superb Gregory Peck in the title role!
Rating:
Summary: Thank you Columbia!
Review: Damn the Defiant! -- U.K. title: H.M.S. Defiant -- is a classic story of the British Navy's widespread "mutiny" of 1797. The film centers on board the HMS Defiant and the conflict between its Captain and First Officer and of the British Navy's sailors harsh conditions which give rise to rebellion. Alec Guisness, Dirk Bogarde, and Anthony Quayle are excellent in their roles. Director Lewis Gilbert does an admirable job of moving the story, characters and action along. Any of you who love the Hornblower stories will feel right at home here. Columbia is to be congratulated for giving us a 2.35:1 widescreen anamorphic-enhanced DVD of this great character-driven film. The flip side is p&s but why bother? This film needs to be seen in its original format. Sound is a clear mono. Extras are spartan but interesting. Now if only Warner Brothers would give us the 1951 swashbuckling classic "Captain Hornblower" with a superb Gregory Peck in the title role!
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