Sink the Bismarck! Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Sink the Bismarck! Blu-ray Movie Review

An entertaining World War II action-adventure drama.

Sink the Bismarck! is an action-adventure drama based on the novel by C.S. Forester. The feature-film adaptation is produced by John Brabourne (Romeo and Juliet, A Passage to India). The WWII drama stars Dana Wynter, Kenneth More, Carl Mohner, Karel Stepanek, Laurence Naismith, and Geoffrey Keen.

The stage is set: World War II is underway and the perilous warship controlled by Nazi Germany is a major threat. Determined to sink the ship no matter the cost, the British Royal Navy will stop at nothing to take it down. Can the Bismarck be defeated before its too late? Action, suspense, and exciting thrills await.

The production has a compelling ensemble cast. The performances are uniformly effective during the film. The stand-out performances are by the two central leads: Kenneth More and Dana Wynter. The actors give the roles their best effort and make the drama more compelling. For an action- adventure production, the performances are secondary to the big-scale drama, but the performers work well in good measure.

The special effects were impressive for the time period. The effects shots of the battleships at sea are compelling and are well integrated in to the production. These scenic elements add a sense of atmosphere to the production. Alongside the solid effort by Arthur Lawson (The Bedford Incident, Peeping Tom) in art direction, Sink the Bismarck! is impressive visually.

Sink or swim.

Those impressive qualities also extend to the black and white cinematography by Christopher Challis (Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Deep). The cinematography showcases the battleship while out at sea – enveloping viewers in a compelling sense of action-packed adventure. The dramatic moments are also well photographed.

The music score composed by Clifton Parker (The 39 Steps, Sailor of the King) adds some layers of suspense to the filmmaking. The drama is heightened by the score. The music helps set the stage for several dramatic sequences.

The screenplay by Edmund H. North (The Day the Earth Stood Still, In a Lonely Place) is a reasonably good effort. The script has strong dialogue and a good pace. The storytelling is engaging throughout. Characterizations take a back- stage in this plot-driven production, and that is a bit of a drawback to consider, but the storytelling is never dull or uneventful.

Directed by Lewis Gilbert (The Spy Who Loved Me, Educating Rita), Sink the Bismarck! is a classic World War II feature that is well worth checking out. There are several compelling sequences with regards to the battleship. The editing by Peter R. Hunt (From Russia with Love, Goldfinger) also manages to imbue the production with an effective pace and rhythm. Gilbert made a successful production on a large scale and fans of classic war dramas will want to check it out.

Sink the Bismarck! Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Eureka Entertainment, Sink the Bismarck! is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1 widescreen. The scan is reasonably impressive and showcases the cinematography well (with a decent degree of clarity and sharpness). The archival footage is a bit less refined and looks grainy and worn by comparison. The presentation does have some occasional thin scratches and specks of dirt but there is no major print damage whatsoever.

Sink the Bismarck! Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release includes a selection of lossless audio options: original mono in uncompressed PCM and uncompressed PCM 2.0 stereo. The audio quality on the release is generally crisp and clear throughout the presentation. Dialogue is easy to understand. Though the audio track isn't in pristine shape and has some wear, the audio is never particularly harsh sounding during the presentation. Though fidelity is a bit lower than modern productions, the Eureka mono audio encoding works well at preserving the film with the original sound design.

Optional English SDH subtitles (for the deaf and hard of hearing).

Sink the Bismarck! Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Interview with Sheldon Hall (HD, 34:06)

Sink the Bismarck! Theatrical Trailer (SD, 3:03)

Sink the Bismarck! Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Sink the Bismarck! is an entertaining World War II action-adventure drama. The film features solid production merits and has solid direction by Lewis Gilbert (The Spy Who Loved Me). The Eureka Entertainment Blu-ray release (in the 'Classics' series) features a decent video-audio presentation and an interview with Sheldon Hall. Recommended.