Too much of everything

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

In the opening months of WWII, the formidable 'pocket battleship' Admiral Graf Spee is raiding commercial shipping in the south Atlantic. The film depicts events before, during, and after an engagement with three Royal Navy cruisers, leading to the eventual sinking of the Graf Spee.The term 'pocket battleship' was coined by the Royal Navy to describe the three 'Deutschland' class cruisers of the Reichsmarine, constructed between 1933 and 1936. These ships were nominally designed within the 10000t limit of the Versailles treaty; however in reality they were all in excess of this. The Graf Spee was the third and heaviest of its class, and is estimated to have been over 16000t at full load.Using innovative design and manufacturing methods, these ships were built to save weight where possible, in order that heavier armament and better armour plating could be carried. The net result was that these 'panzerschiffe' had the displacement of a cruiser, yet carried more armour and had guns that were the match for most battleships with double the displacement.Thus the Graf Spee, with its 11" primary armament, outgunned the Royal Navy squadron significantly; the biggest guns, on the 'Exeter', were similar in quantity but only 8", and had a maximum range some five miles less. The 6" gun secondary armament on the Graf Spee was similarly a match both in quantity and quality for the other two Royal Navy ships.The tactics used were to an extent dictated by the range discrepancy; the Royal Navy had decided to close to their gun's range "as soon as the beast was sighted", in two groups, and thus force a highly dangerous, but hopefully decisive action.Fought at a time when the 'Phoney War' was underway elsewhere, this was the first major naval battle of WWII; and (asides from the use of spotter planes) was fought without the benefit of radar and other modern developments. Arguably it could be regarded as 'the last sea battle of the first World War' both in equipment and tactics.The events of the battle were originally not considered to be a good narrative basis for a film. However the account of Cpt Dove, who was a prisoner on the Graf Spee at the time of the battle, together with the game of diplomatic bluff played out in Montevideo, added enough breadth and interest for Powell and Pressburger to craft their fine film.The film has an excellent cast, some wonderful cinematography of real (and in some cases THE real) ships in the battle, and I found it quite captivating. Presumably restored in recent times, it both looks and sounds fantastic.The events depicted differ little from what actually happened, and give a sympathetic portrayal of Cpt Langsdorff of the Graf Spee, whose conduct was admired on all sides. Later in WWII there was far less scope for gentlemanly behaviour at sea; the tactics of 'total war' lead to enormous losses on all sides.Doubtless if this film was remade by Hollywood today, it would have all kinds of spurious (and highly fictional) sub-plots, perhaps even a different narrative altogether, and instead of real ships and occasional models, it would be chock-full of CGI instead. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer the former to the latter; if enough CGI is used, you might as well be watching a cartoon....So in my mind this film stands on its merits, not just as a period piece, but in absolute terms. Films of this type and this calibre are simply no longer made, so this is 'must see stuff' for any film enthusiast.

I really really like this film. Peter Finch is outstanding as Captain Langsdorf of the German Battleship Admiral Graf Spee. I love the swashbuckling entrance that he makes with Captain Dove (He is the captain of a merchant ship that was sunk by the Admiral Graf Spee). There are so many stand out actors in this film, Christopher Lee, Anthony Quale and John Gregson. The Directors Emeric Pressburger and Michael Powell both work together really well, the cinematography is just amazing, their choice of shots outstanding. Every single character in this film is just outstanding. I think the shots of real ships, that took place during the real battles just makes it for me. I feel like I am on the boat watching action real time! Well worth watching, not to be missed.

While this film is well acted and historically fairly accurate, it contains one glaring oversight. While introducing Capt. Langsdorf as an efficient and likable officer, we know nothing of his actions during the battle. The film portrays all the actions aboard the three British cruisers but never shows what was occurring on the bridge of the Graf Spee. We know Langsdorf was under orders to avoid engaging enemy warships. What was his reaction when he sighted the three British cruisers? What caused his decision to engage them? What orders did he give during the battle? We know what the British captains did but nothing about what Langsdorf did? We know the extent of the British damage but nothing of the extent of the Graf Spee damage. From the time the British cruisers sight the Graf Spee, we follow the actions on the bridge of Ajax, Achilles and Exeter but nothing of what is going on aboard the Graf Spee other than the reactions of the British prisoners aboard? How effective would a film of the battle of Waterloo have been if it only showed Wellington's actions and ignored Napoleons? A film that far better addresses this problem was "The Enemy Below" starring Robert Mitchum as the American destroyer captain and Curt Jurgens as the German U-boat commander. Throughout the engagement, we know what each is doing and both adversaries are presented in a positive light. It should be added that the heavily damaged Exeter was a star crossed ship, later sunk by the Japanese in the Java Sea.

After reading the many enthusiastic comments about this rather obscure Michael Powell film, and as an enthusiast of WWII films, I was eager to see this rarely screened film. What a disappointment! Yes, there is some real acting talent at work here. Yes, there are some relatively brief excellent sea shots...some appear to be stock. Yes, it looks like Powell made a sincere attempt at historical accuracy.But ach, what a dull two hours. Most of the scenes are very stagy; groups of British naval officers mouthing stiff, silly dialog while standing mostly motionless in the frame. Bloodless sea battles; the dead and injured barely even get their tropical whites dirty, let alone soiled with blood! (There's one scene showing a direct hit on a ships bridge and most of the officers didn't even lose their caps!).The story lines also just never become engaging. The captured crew on the German ship have an entirely different, and rather distracting, story from the film's central point.If you approach this film as if you're watching a play embellished with film you'll not be as disappointed as I was. Silly me; I was expecting something like "Sink the Bismark" but this film completely failed to engage me and I suspect I'm not an atypical viewer. Usually there's a reason why a film has become forgotten and obscure. In the case of this one it was a gesture of humanity.