The Cruel Sea review (Blu-ray) ★★★★★

Merchant seaman Captain Ericson (Hawkins) is recalled to serve in the Navy in 1940 at the beginning of the war in the Atlantic. Ericson is given command of the newly fitted corvette the HMS Compass Rose which is to escort convoy ships. Ericson is a professional seaman, but his crew are mostly newly commissioned officers and men straight off Civy Street, often with no seafaring experience and only a few months training. Initially they encounter little resistance, but as the war progresses German U-Boats begin to inflict heavy damages on the convoys.

The characters are deftly sketched upon introduction, each man revealing their former lives as a journalist, barrister, or in one case (Baker’s officious First Lieutenant) trying to hide their pre-war job as a second-hand car salesmen. The film cuts straight to the chase, taking the crew out onto the sea for a brief period of sonar training, then plunging them into the cruelty of the Second World War. The extreme stress of fighting a battle against an enemy they cannot see is brought powerfully to life.

The Cruel Sea is meticulously detailed. Class distinctions between officers and crew are explored. Procedural details of running a warship are shown from engine room to bridge. Made in 1953 so soon after the end of the war, the level of first hand knowledge available to the filmmakers makes for an almost documentary level of realism.
Although the technical limitations of the day are obvious in the period model work seen in some battle scenes, and occasional studio shots of men on gimbles having water thrown at them, a remarkable amount of the film has clearly been made on the ocean. The censorship limitations of the day mean that director Frend and writer Ambler come up with ingenious dramatic solutions to showing war in its full horror and tragedy. Long stretches of action set at sea are punctuated by refits and shore leave. During one return to port the crew find it has been devastated by German bombing. A scene where a crewman returns home to find his street has been reduced to rubble has a powerful sting.

The battle scenes are extremely tense, especially as you will care about these characters. A standout sequence shows Ericson is chasing what he thinks is a U-Boat (the technology is to imprecise to ever be sure) only to discover it is underneath a group of sailors in the water. The captain must make a decision, stop the chase and risk ships, or sail through the men to drop depth charges sacrificing their lives. Hawkins performance in this scene and its aftermath is a truly fantastic piece of acting.

This film is one of the greatest of British war films. It doesn’t demonise the enemy or try to portray its characters as glorious heroes, it allows for moral complexity. It is neither pro nor anti-war but a stunningly convincing depiction of life on a naval warship in combat. Presented in full frame, the Blu Ray picture quality is excellent although there is significant damage to the actual wartime footage that is extensively used throughout. It’s not as essential a purchase on Blu Ray as the restored Cross of Iron (also from Optimum Classics) but this is an excellent presentation.