Rating: 
Summary: Great movie about a legendary ship
Review: This movie is a good telling of the Bismarck's ill-fated cruise in May 1941. There are a few fictional elements added: two Swordfish being shot down (in reality none were lost), a British destroyer being sunk on the last night (only British loss was Hood), and Lutjens being a Nazi (Admrial Raeder actually sacked officers who were Nazis and made sure officers with Jewish blood were protected). The SFX are acceptable for the time the movie was made (1960), but it's easy to tell that the ships are models in a studio tank. With the discovery of the Hood's wreck and James Cameron's dive on the Bismarck wreck this movie comes back into focus. This is one movie that OUGHT to be remade today-and with today's SFX, it would be easy to show the ships-Bismarck, Prinz Eugen, Hood, Prince of Wales, King George V, Rodney, Norfolk, Suffolk, Dorsetshire, Victorious, Ark Royal, Sheffield, and the Tribal-class DDs of the 4th DD Flotilla (under a man whose career deserves a movie of his own-then CAPT Philip Vian).
All that's missing from this movie is Johnny Horton's song.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fine, Flawed Film
Review: The British have made war and historical movies with an unrivaled consistency of quality, and Sink the Bismarck is no exception. The details are meticulous, the casting first-rate (except for a hokey voice-impersonation of Churchill), and the battle sequences marked by accuracy and fine special effects.This otherwise fine film is marred, however, by the false depiction of one of the major characters, Admiral Lutjens, commander of the Bismarck. In the film, he is stereotyped as the typical Nazi - a Hitler sycophant, careerist and wild-eyed fanatic. This was most certainly not the historical Lutjens, who was by no means a Nazi fanatic. Lutjens was a naval hero from World War I, who served out of duty and dedication, not Nazi conviction. (Lutjens protected Jews under his command, and members of his family were in trouble for their anti-Nazi views.) This is at complete odds with his depiction in Sink the Bismarck, which I find inexcusable, given that the above information was certainly available to the production. In fact, an accurate depiction of Lutjens would have, in my opinion, added interest to the plot. Nevertheless, Sink the Bismarck is eminently watchable and a fine addition to any war movie collection, if you bear in mind the above caveat.
Rating: 
Summary: The story and acting carry you
Review: In this era of elaborate SFX, a 1960 B&W movie of the war at sea might be expected to come up poorly. But the superbly crafted story and steady acting carry you along. While history has been modified here and there, the main points are solidly grounded (reality is almost always more compelling than fantasy: compare the struggle for Tarawa with Helm's Deep). Even though all but the brain dead know what the outcome will be, the level of tension achieved during the hunt for Bismark is remarkable. Viewing this film ought to be compulsory for all directors - story and acting are far more important than SFX.
Rating:
Summary: When battlewagons dueled on the seas
Review: SINK THE BISMARCK was produced as a factual account of the epic battle, overlaid with a thin patina of fiction involving a couple of the characters in order to put the events into human perspective. Specifically, Kenneth More stars as Captain Shepard, the new Director of Operations in the Admiralty's War Room, and Dana Wynter as his assistant, Lt. Anne Davis. It's Shepard's enormous bad luck that the German's decide to send the new battleship Bismarck on its first combat sortie (Operation Rheinübung) into the Atlantic during his initial day on the job. And, though Wynter is positively stunning in her "Wren" (WRNS, Women's Royal Naval Service) uniform, the acting, at least in the War Room, shows a distinct British reserve unlikely to elicit more than a tepid "Good show, what" from any viewer. But, after all, the story is principally about the great ships involved, and ships' models don't get considered for Oscars. As far as it goes, the film's narrative is commendably consistent with the facts surrounding the Bismarck's departure from its home waters, its detection between Iceland and Greenland, the catastrophic destruction of HMS Hood, the pursuit by assorted ships of the Royal Navy, the Bismarck's ultimately fatal crippling by air attack, and the last battle when the Home Fleet finally brought its quarry to bay. However, there were several departures from accuracy as perceived in a recent PBS television presentation concerning deep dives to the wrecks of the Hood and the Bismarck, and other sources: 1. In the film, two British Swordfish torpedo bombers were destroyed by anti-aircraft fire during two attacks on the Bismarck. In fact, none of the planes were lost, a fact I find amazing since the obsolete biplanes appeared so slow that they could have been brought down by well thrown rocks. 2. The film has a destroyer, the HMS Solent, being sunk by the Bismarck late in the pursuit. In fact, no other ship other than the Hood was sunk by the German battleship during the chase. Moreover, I could find no record of such a named ship in other descriptions of the battle where all ships are accounted for. 3. The German fleet commander Admiral Lütjens (Karel Stepanek) aboard the Bismarck is portrayed as an ardent Nazi, who stands in awe when Hitler sends him birthday congratulations. In fact, according to the Admiral's son in the PBS presentation, Lütjens had so little regard for Hitler that he (Lütjens) refused to give him (Hitler) the Nazi salute, but rather the traditional military salute of the German Navy. SINK THE BISMARCK also gives the false impression that the Bismarck's end was fairly quick. Rather, the last battle lasted for 74 minutes, during which time four heavy British warships pounded their prey with 2,876 shells. Lastly, and most sadly, the film fails to show the roughly 700 German sailors (of the 800 that got off the Bismarck alive) that the Royal Navy left in the water to die. The British ships had to suspend rescue operations prematurely in fear of the German U-boats reported to be in the area. On the other hand, the film does leave the audience with the apparently accurate view that the Bismarck, by then a burning hulk, was sent to the bottom by destroyer-launched surface torpedoes. It's been reported that the ship's commander, Captain Lindemann, had ordered the vessel to be scuttled when its guns were rendered inoperative, and this is what ultimately sent the battleship to the bottom. Video of the hull taken by the submersible sent to the wreck in 2001 supports the contention that the torpedoes inflicted enough damage to do the job with or without Lindemann's help. SINK THE BISMARCK is an above average depiction of that once-upon-a-time in naval warfare when the big ships could, and did, duel it out with heavy guns within sight of each other. The fact that this film is also the only one that I know of which deals those events of May 1941 certainly doesn't hinder my award of 4 stars. It's worth seeing by World War II buffs.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Movie About the Hunt for the Bismarck
Review: This fine film, made in 1960, does a fine job of re-creating the events surrounding the search for and eventual destruction of the pride of the German navy: the Bismarck. Veteran British actor Kenneth More stars as Captain Jonathan Shepard, a new officer who gets placed in charge of the hunt for the Bismarck in Britain's Naval Operations center. Shepard has a personal stake in seeing the Bismarck sunk. Bismarck's commander, Admiral Gunter Lutjens, played by Karel Stepanek, sunk Shepard's vessel earlier in the war. Dana Wynter stars as 2nd officer Anne Davis, an assistant to Capt. Shepard. A fictional implied but never shown romance develops between Shepard and Davis throughout the course of the film. Carl Mohner stars as Bismarck's Captain Lindemann. The battle scenes are excellent. One must remember when viewing this film that the special effects are from the 1960's, but that does nothing to detract from the excitement of the ship-to-ship combat scenes. The fight between the HMS Hood and Bismarck is the high point of the film. It was exciting to see the ships being straddled by the other's shells, and seeing the Hood blow up was especially thrilling. The historical correctness of the film was excellent except for a few minor details. For example, during the attack on the Bismarck by the British Swordfish torpedo planes, the movie shows two being destroyed when in reality none were lost. Also, the movie depicts a British destroyer being sunk by Bismarck. This is also incorrect as the Hood was the only British loss. Finally, the movie depicts Admiral Lutjens as being a staunt supporter of the Nazi party. This is also false. Lutjens was against Naziism, and refused to give the Nazi salute, instead preferring to use the old German navy salute. The movie also depicted a rather close relationship between Lutjens and Lindemann. This was also not the case. In reality, the two German commanders disagreed on many topics, and at one point during the heat of battle, Lindemann said to Lutjens that he refused to sit by while his ship was shot out from underneath him. Aside from these points, the historical aspect of the movie is very well done. I highly recommend this film. The acting is excellent and the battle scenes will keep you on the edge of your seat. Watch this great movie and experience the hunt for the most feared ship in the German navy.
Rating:
Summary: The story and acting carry you
Review: In this era of elaborate SFX, a 1960 B&W movie of the war at sea might be expected to come up poorly. But the superbly crafted story and steady acting carry you along. While history has been modified here and there, the main points are solidly grounded (reality is almost always more compelling than fantasy: compare the struggle for Tarawa with Helm's Deep). Even though all but the brain dead know what the outcome will be, the level of tension achieved during the hunt for Bismark is remarkable. Viewing this film ought to be compulsory for all directors - story and acting are far more important than SFX.
Rating:
Summary: Tense RN B/W epic -classic
Review: This was a very-good effort, pretty-convincing special effects, good script, looks right, feels right, sounds right, but does divert from authentic fact in some regards to sex it up a little. Moores character is fictional, as final credits admit. Script sounds right, and may delight both British and non-British viewers:
Suffolk /Norfolk shadowing cruisers Jack Tarr crewmen:
'Oy,you know, we might as well throw crumpets at the Bismarck for all the good our little guns would do!
Crewman 2 'I wish someone would throw a bleedin' crumpet at me! The destroyer 'Solent' destroyed by a salvo from the Bismarck after the Captain beautifully-Britishly declares
' NOW WE'RE FOR IT!'
as a searchlight clicks onto the sneaky brave little British -ship trying to angle for a night-torpedo attack, never existed. Vians tribal destroyer-flotilla 2 and a Polish-destroyer 'Paiun' did attempt a night attack in heavy seas the night before Bismarcks destruction, but despite considerable gunfire exchanged with the rudder-crippled Nazi collossus, neither Bismarck nor its small tormentors suffered much damage, let alone sudden shattering obliteration like this imaginary 'Solent'. And as the final-scene suggests, despite all the invincible unsinkable ballyhoo, Bismarck was silenced relatively quickly by two British heavy ships. Then saturated by torpedos from destroyers and cruisers once silenced, this was thought to have been the reason it was finished-off, but strong evidence now suggests the surviving German crews scuttled the blazing listing hulk, rather than risk its capture as a trophy- not a practical possiblity for the British force assailing it, as it now turns out.They were low on fuel, apprehensive of U-boats, just coming into range of the Luftwaffe, and were inclined to 'bounce' as soon as Bismarck was done for, not take 45 000 tons of admittedly good German scrap-metal under tow. For the war-bird buffs, the 2 'Swordfish' attacks are actually rather fabulous, look absolutely great from all camera-angles, including plumetting torpedoes. Once again the film sexes up the truth, showing 1 or 2 Swordfish blown to pieces by flak in each attack, miraculously, no 'Stringbags' were shot down in either attack, one suffered a near-miss flak-burst and the crew wounded by splinters but survived.( Its thought the normally excellent German gunners missed and missed because they couldnt judge the speed of the 100 mph WW1-performance biplanes.) But this is a good one, and I can recommend without reservation, it stands-up and impresses easily today.Certainly its worth 5 or 10 'U571s' or 'Pearl Harbors'.... If you want to read the factual story of Bismarck , its hunting and sinking, out of the several books Ive read, I would glowingly endorse 'Pursuit', by Ludovic Kennedy, for this is a great unput-downable sea-story in its own right, 'Pursuit' would be available on Amazon,probably cheap 2nd hand H/C, and you wouldnt regret its purchase, trust me.
Rating:
Summary: Britain's brave battle vs. Bismarck
Review: A excellent movie about Britain's brave battle against Hitler's pride: The Bismarck...the virtually unsinkable battleship of the Third Reich. Great visuals. Includes actual footage of Bismarck's launch.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent "British" Film
Review: Considering the era when this picture was made, the special effects are actually quite good. The story line follows a
specific pattern at a medium pace that is easy to follow.
The only annoying part of the film is each time the ships big guns blast away, there is someone yelling the word "Fire" into
a phone. But, in spite of that minor error I would still say the actual suspense and "edge of your seat" feeling is captured very well. This movie is a "keeper."
Rating:
Summary: Not bad a bit dated
Review: In 1941 the Bismark tried to sail down the Denmark Strait and into the Atlantic to hunt British merchant ships. The British were able to track the movements of the Bismark and its escort the Prince Eugen as a cruiser on routine patrol spotted it. The British sent out the battleship Prince of Wales and the Battle Cruiser Hood to intercept it. This was done and the outcome should have been that the Bismark was either sunk or crippled. A lucky shot however penertrated the deck of the Hood blowing it up. To everyones surprise the Bismark was into the Atlantic. The sinking of the Hood created in the minds of the British that the Bismark was some sort of super battleship. In fact it was about the same size as British ships and its armament was similiar. Its main advantage was its slightly higher speed. Within a few days of the sinking of the Hood the British were able to concentrate their naval might and to sink the Bismark without suffering any serious losses. The battle was one in which the British were always going to win but it occured at a point in the war when the Germans occupied Europe and seemed invincible. They were of course about to end all this by their unsuccesful attack on the Soviet Union. The film captures the feeling of nervousness and desperation of those years. It also captures the immense pride that the British felt at their meticulous and logical tracking down of the enemy battle ship. The film uses models to create the battle scences and they are very effective. Some filming is done in a British battleship. The creation of the war room is realistic and a little ahead of its time in trying to show the mechanics of the operation. The portrait of the Germans is from cliche land but the film is an effective war film and accurately captures the mood of the time.
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