Above Us the Waves (1956)

Great Britain released, PAL/Region 2 DVD: it WILL NOT play on standard US DVD player. You need multi-region PAL/NTSC DVD player to view it in USA/Canada. Languages: English MonoSynopsis: Judging by the number of times it has shown up on TV, Above Us the Waves may be American viewers' favorite British war film. Most of the film is set in a British midget submarine, commandeered by John Mills. The sub's mission (together with its "fellow" vessels) is to sink the German battleship Tirpitz. This will be accomplished by the midget sub fleet sneaking into Norwegian waters, floating beneath the Tirpitz, then planting explosives. Only Mills' sub manages to complete the mission. Based on a true-life 1943 incident, Above Us the Waves takes a revisionist approach by showing the German officers and seamen to be human beings rather than faceless minions of Hitler. Extras: Interactive MenuScene Access Product Description

Tense war themed movie

This movie is based on true events which took place in the UK and Norway during the Second World War.The German battleship Tirpitz was wreaking havoc on British shippimg in the North Sea.It was anchored in a remote and inaccessible Norwegian fjord and was impervious to attacks from the air or from the sea using conventional surface vessels or ordinary submarines.The British Admiralty devised a plan to destroy the ship by using manned ,midget submarines to inflitrate the anchorage and destroy the ship

The movie takes us through the various stages of the expedition starting with its conception and the training for the mission ,followed by its execution and ending with the aftermath .In this respect it bears more kinship to a caper movie than to a blood and guts war movie .We are not given slam bang action here but sit back and watch to see if the plan works ,rather as we do in a caper movie like ,say Topkapi ,although the stakes are a great deal higher in this type of exercise .The movie works by the slow escalation of suspense and tension

World War Two movies were a key part of British cinema in the 1950's and this movie deploys many of the era's most stalwart performers all giving commendable performances .John Mills ,Donald Sinden ,John Gregson impress as mariners on the mission and James Robinson Justice does a neat turn as the Admiral in overall charge .

The monochrome photography of Ernest Seward adds much to the movie as does the suspenseful direction by Ralph Thomas

This celebration of planning and heroism is a well worth watching if suspense is your bag but not if you insist on lots of gunfire in your war movies October 30, 2007

Great movie, but note that it only works in REGION 2 DVD players

Great movie - was finally able to watch it on our computer. Please note that it is in region 2 DVD format which will not play on U.S. DVD players. May 23, 2006

More reviews at Amazon.com ...