Protraph Lack of good storyline.

UnowPriceless hyped garbage

Konterr Brilliant and touching

Bob This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

robertguttman It's no easy task to translate a 400-page novel into a two-hour movie. It is inevitable that there are going to be things glossed over or left out. That being said, however, "The Cruel Sea" is probably one of the greatest movies about WW-II ever produced, as well as possibly the finest best movie ever made about ships and seamen. Essentially the film follows the events surrounding two naval officers through the course of the Battle of the Atlantic. One is an experienced Merchant Marine officer (Jack Hawkins) who has been called up for Navy duty when his reserve commission is activated at the beginning of World War II. The other is a young "90-Day-Wonder" reserve officer (Donald Sinden), who finds himself forced to mature as he copes with sea- duty and combat. Neither is quite the same man at the end of the film that he started out as at the beginning. Although this film made Jack Hawkins a major star, Sinden gives a particularly good performance as we see him subtly growing up over the course of the film. The story itself is one of day-to-day toil, interspersed with episodes of sudden terror, which is probably pretty much how it really was. Above all it is the realism that comes through in this film. Nothing is glamorized and nothing is over-dramatized. In fact, the film makers did such an effective job that it is almost as though one were watching a documentary, rather than a movie based upon a novel. "The heroines are the ships", says Lt. Cmdr. Ericson at the beginning of the film, and that is certainly true here. No CGI special effects were employed, nor was this movie filmed on a back-lot set. The viewers are seeing the real thing. HMS Coreopsis (Compass Rose) was commissioned in 1940 and, while she never did sink a U-boat, she really did escort convoys and rescue large numbers of shipwrecked seamen, exactly as depicted in film. In 1943 she was transferred to the Greek Navy. One of the last original Flower-class Corvettes still in existence at that time, Coreopsis was made available to the filmmakers only because the Greeks returned her to Britain in 1952 for scrapping. Filming "The Cruel Sea" was literally the last thing she ever did before going to the ship-breakers. HMS Portchester Castle (Saltash Castle) was commissioned in 1943, and she really did sink two U- boats. Perusing the reviews written about this film on this site, it is interesting to note that, among those who have actually served in the Navy, or worked at sea as seamen, this film rates at the very top. Under the circumstances, one can't get a higher recommendation that than.

Christopher Nash This utterly unflinching, realistic look at the physical and psychological consequences of war is a harrowing experience even seen some 60 years on. Jack Hawkins is superb as the commander who has to plough through survivors of a U boat attack because he can't afford to let the U boat he still suspects is present escape to cause more death. It must have been shocking and unexpected for 1950s audiences to see the burly Hawkins drunk, in tears and tortured by the horrific consequences of his actions. The scene is haunting and lingers in the mind long after the film is over. There are no simple minded heroics here - the emphasis is on gritty reality and the horror experienced by men in conflict. Many of the characters we come to know and love meet unpleasant ends.Donald Sinden, best known now for his light-hearted performances in such films as Doctor In The House, gives an equally fine portrayal of Hawkins' No 1, initially on a temporary promotion following the departure of the original (Stanley Baker), later rising magnificently to the occasion. In one scene, he has a simple, but effective means of keeping up morale in a lifeboat - "Sing, you lazy b*****ds!" A significant scene towards the end has him comment to Hawkins that the German survivors of their attack on a U boat aren't very different to them, really. That sums it up perfectly.I don't think The Cruel Sea is an anti-war film in the same way that Oh, What A Lovely War! or M*A*S*H are, but it certainly refuses to glamorise the subject, or portray heroes and villains. Without editorialising, it simply tells the truth. Perhaps that's why it says so much so well and remains so powerful even in the 21st century. An adult film in the best sense of the term.

writers_reign Whenever I come to review a film I read first any other reviews unless, as in this case, there are several pages and then I read only the first page. Having just done that very thing it seems that all the reviews were written by people who had an extra knowledge of the subject, i.e. ex-naval personnel and/or those with relatives - fathers, brothers, cousins, possibly even husbands - who had served or are still serving in either the Royal navy or the Mercantile Marine. In other words people who were closer to the subject than someone like me, an impartial and dispassionate observer. I remember seeing this film on television years ago but retaining little memory of it. Seeing it again I found it competently made, well photographed, acted and directed, but was unable to detect any quality that would eclipse Noel Coward's definitive In Which We Serve. With that in mind it was perhaps unfortunate that someone involved - maybe the original novelist, Nicholas Monsarrat, maybe the scriptwriter, Eric Ambler - had seen fit to steal from Coward the situation of two shipmates connected to someone on shore who subsequently dies in an air raid. Coward wrote two chums whose wives shared the same house; here the only difference is that one of the shipmates is about to marry the sister of the other. It's watchable but, I feel, overpraised.

MartinHafer The best thing about this WWII naval picture is that it is so ordinary. What I mean by this is that there is no bigger-than-life Hollywood style hero who is invincible, but a collection of normal men showing great heroism collectively--sort of a tribute to the unsung heroes of the war. It's set aboard a convoy escort ship's captain and crew--through their tense moments, trials, successes and failures. In other words, its a WHOLE portrait of the war as seen through these sailors' eyes--the good, the bad and the mundane.The second best thing is the lovely look and feel--with great acting and direction. Jack Hawkins was, as always, wonderful but all the actors playing the crew did so well--and it's a tribute to the production and direction--this didn't just happen by chance.In many ways, this film plays a lot like the great British film "In Which We Serve"--though unlike "In Which", "The Cruel Sea" was made after the war. Both films together would make a wonderful night of movie viewing. Solid and exceptional.