We Dive At Dawn

We Dive At Dawn is a standard issue, exceptionally well acted British war film about a submarine of the Royal Navy. It is a visual masterpiece of Navy detail. Sir John Mills et al, are well cast and extremely believable in their roles.The filming was done on an actual submarine and depot ship. I know a sailor who was in the depot ship, HMS Maidstone in Holy Loch Scotland, at the time the movie was made. He advised me of a small detail that make the film much more interesting to watch. If you look closely in the control room scenes, there is a sailor in a white turtleneck sweater close to Mills. That sailor is the actual submarine CO keeping a close eye on things to make sure nothing awkward happens.This film is a tale of submarine warfare in the Baltic Sea. It was not an easy area for submarines to operate in because it is relatively shallow and a submarine likes to have a lot of water between it and the enemy on the surface. This is not the case in the Baltic. There were heavy casualties amongst British submarines sent to this area.I had an opportunity to live in the Holy Loch area in the mid-60s when HMS Maidstone was replaced by USS Hunley. As I look at the film, I see some of the same landmarks that were there in 1941-42 as in 1964 - absolutely unchanged.What is a little bit different for this film is that we see a great deal of the life of the sailors of the Royal Navy. It readily shows the team concept that is life in submarines. Remember, there may only be 5-6 officers in addition to the captain. The crew was essentially masters of their own destiny in a very real sense since even junior sailors had tremendous responibility placed on them. And they excelled, uniformly. The ending is typically understated British and yet highly effective. As the submarine of the story returns, another departs on patrol, "like a ruddy train line" as the flag officer watching the boat leave comments to Mills as the latter stands by to give his report.This is an exceptional movie and belongs in any navy history enthusiasts library.

Certainly dated, but excellently done. Really good submarine film with excellent acting. One of the top 20 war films I've seen. A must have for the "war" collector and a should have for drama buffs. Filmed during the war using a real submarine, about half of the film is about the off duty life of the characters and some of their backgrounds allowing you a sense their humanity. The balance of the film is about their mission and how each character deals with the situations as they arise and their interaction with one another. In a submarine, each crew member is an individual and must alter himself to fit within the team when it is demanded of him. Often he must act on his own doing what needs to be done without input from the officers or other crew members, who must do likewise. It is the toughest assignment in any navy. You live in a metal tube unable to see sky or breathe unfiltered air for days or weeks at a time. This is a film that lets you feel the loneliness of being in a group, the fear that you feel no one else has and the thought that you may never see home and loved ones again. If your idea of drama tends toward artificial CG, explosions and gratuitous violence, skip this one. But, if you want to feel what life in combat feels like, watch fine acting and encounter suspense at its best in glorious black and white, then join the Royal Navy in this great film.

One has to admire the movie "We Dive at Dawn," especially considering that at the time it was being made, Britain was still in the midst of fighting the Germans, and victory in World War II was nowhere near an assured thing.The movie itself tells the story of the Royal Navy submarine Sea Tiger, and its pursuit into the Baltic of the German battleship Brandenburg. The movie starts a little slow with an odd little bit of what people today would call "soap opera" as we follow the seamen of the Sea Tiger on shore leave and see a glimpe into their private lives. That leave however is abruptly canceled as one by one the crew are recalled to duty on board the submarine.That's when the picture really picks up with rising tension and suspense. To say anymore would realy spoil much of the fun of the movie, but be assured there is action aplenty and well shaped characterization in this gem of the British cinema.One quibble about the transfer. When I first put in the disc I was somewhat perturbed by the quality of the movie with the occassional blurring and odd editing. However once the action began I found it easy to ignore these shortcomings (probably a result of the movie's age) and instead just enjoyed it's escapism.This review refers to the Region 2 DVD release

I've long been a fan of submarine movies, and can't argue with the usual list of all-time greats, such as the WWII action films Run Silent, Run Deep and The Enemy Below. I've always added the Science Fiction adventure Around the World Under the Sea to the mix. (Saw that one when it first came out in 1966, and it has lost none of its charm over the years.)Now I must include We Dive at Dawn as well. What a great film! Perfectly balanced between personal back stories and undersea action, with a believable plot and realistic combat scenes. I've of course never personally been aboard a submarine being depth charged, but I've nevertheless always found it a bit unrealistic when the crew is able to stop a sprung leak by turning a convenient valve. (?!?!?) Not in this movie! the bulkheads are warped and fissured, and water is pouring in at alarming rates. Also, the sub's torpedo attack was delightfully ambiguous (the crew doesn't learn the results until days later), just the way I imagine it would have been in reality. No stereotypes amongst the crew members - real people all.In short, plenty of action, characters you genuinely care about, no wild innacuracies or implausibilities to laugh at. Also, interesting to see submarine warfare from the British point of view, instead of the usual German U-boat film or American submarines in the Pacific.Does anyone know of a good movie about Japanese submarines?

Starring John Mills as the Captain and Eric Portman as Hobson, this is an entertaining tale of a British submarine crew, their mission to sink a German battleship and their subsequent adventures while returning home with substantial damage. Made in 1943, at the height of the Second World War, it was intended as a patriotic morale booster. As such it suffers a little from a bit of flag waving, and the messages the director was trying to put across. But in general these do not get in the way of the tense thriller.The film starts off with the crew of the Sea Tiger going off on shore leave. This segment is a fascinating document of the times, with what feels like a realistic portrayal of how officers and crew chose to spend those few precious days, and how the war had altered their lives and attitudes. They are unexpectedly called off leave and sent off on a mission of prime importance, to hunt down and destroy the new German battleship the Brandenburg, and it is at this point where the film really picks up.The Sea Tiger misses its quarry on the first attempt, but with a show of British pluck and determination sets off to chase it down. There is a tense and thrilling fight between the Sea Tiger and the Brandenburg, which leave the sub badly damaged. It seems like the crew will have to scuttle the boat and spend the rest of the war as prisoners when one of the crew conceives an audacious plan to sail into a German held harbour and steal the oil they need to get back home.Occasionally the emphasis on the brave and daring British with their stiff upper lips and daring winning against all odds as opposed to the sneaky treacherous Germans grates a bit, but in the main this is an entertaining slice of Second World War drama which still leaves one on a high after the feel good ending.The item being reviewed is the 2010 ITV Silver Collection release. The film is presented in 4:3 aspect, the transfer has a few blurs and jumps but is generally OK. The soundtrack is similarly OK with the occasional defect. But not enough to detract from your enjoyment of the film. There are no extras. A decent budget release of a classic WWII flag waver.

Lots of nautical types in grimey woollen sweaters, trying to sink the Brandenburg and get back home. Eric Portman steals the show as the unhappy hydrophone operator willing to sacrifice himself for the benefit of the crew. The dialogue is contrived and often comical in its stereotypical portrayal of war-time characters, but for me it's part of the film's appeal. The ITV DVD seems to be poorly produced, I found the picture quality to be on the dark side, to the point of annoying - I kept wanting to adjust the brightness, even the day-time shots were dark and gloomy, more so than I remember from the TV. But it is a budget DVD! The realistic hunting the Brandenburg scenes are thoroughly absorbing. I think it's worth buying the DVD for the dialogue and characterisation alone. Stirring stuff, as was its intent!

Film got here very quickly plays very well the basic plot is one of our subs in the second world war and its crew? they go on a mission to sink the Brandenburg battleship . John Mills is the captain and it has a host of actors who were big back in the forties It has a bit of everything comedy love and war action and a chance to see how the people looked back then ! and how much fish n chips where back then to lol money well spent I think very enjoyable black n white movie.

a very good film to watch a full cast of good actors whom I loved to watch as a youth on my visits to the local cinema back in the early to mid 50's.As I said a lot of faces I remembered and some future actors too, seemed to make the sub life real so that one could almost feel the fear and stress they went through while being depth charged.Well worth adding to your collection.

The first 20 minutes or so of this movie are unbelievably awful, but persevere, because once the men get into the submarine, it becomes a tense, exciting adventure - the makers of Das Boot clearly saw this film, with its wonderful gritty British realism. John Mills is utterly believable in his role as captain. Great movie.