A late-night impulse watch that paid off way better than I could’ve imagined. A very well written wartime drama telling the story of Cary Grant’s submarine crew embarking on a secret mission against Japan during World War II, and even though there are some off-putting insensitivities in the way the enemy is depicted at points I’m shocked to say the tone of this avoids falling into propaganda territory. The story benefits most from the condensed world we’re given here, the only reference we get to higher-ups above Cassidy is when Cary Grant says he’s destined to fight the rest of the war behind the desk after this patrol(not exactly a gleaming opinion of his bosses), that allows this to be exclusively about our characters which then allows for a more meaningful emotional attachment to said characters. And you really couldn’t have blamed them if they did make this a hoorah go America movie as it’s about WWII and was written and produced during WWII, there’s actually more of an anti-war tone going on though with the depiction of not just death but most importantly loss, and despite the insensitivities it takes more of a positive view of the Japanese even if some of our characters didn’t share that sentiment. The technical accomplishments are where this film really gets great to me even with how much I enjoyed the script and performances, the editing is so crisp, the score from Franz Waxman is great, and the special effects are jaw-dropping for a film from this time. It feels like the spiritual brother, or father really, of another film I really like called U-571, and even though modern technology allowed that one to look a lot better in a number of ways I’m more impressed by what was achieved here. The shot placement is fantastic and like I said it’s hard to believe special effects like this existed in the 40’s, the underwater shots and explosion scenes were even more amazing to watch in a movie I wasn’t expecting that much from in the visual department. I think with having seen this, U-571, and The Hunt for Red October I’m officially ready to complete the submarine cinemaverse and catch Das Boot whenever I get the chance, this one is quite the recommendable flick with a lead from one of the greats, a fun and intriguing storyline with well-built tension and well-written emotional beats, and a solid conclusion to bring it all home.

A late-night impulse watch that paid off way better than I could’ve imagined. A very well written wartime drama telling the story of Cary Grant’s submarine crew embarking on a secret mission against Japan during World War II, and even though there are some off-putting insensitivities in the way the enemy is depicted at points I’m shocked to say the tone of this avoids falling into propaganda territory. The story benefits most from the condensed world we’re given here, the only reference we get to higher-ups above Cassidy is when Cary Grant says he’s destined to fight the rest of the war behind the desk after this patrol(not exactly a gleaming opinion of his bosses), that allows this to be exclusively about our characters which then allows for a more meaningful emotional attachment to said characters. And you really couldn’t have blamed them if they did make this a hoorah go America movie as it’s about WWII and was written and produced during WWII, there’s actually more of an anti-war tone going on though with the depiction of not just death but most importantly loss, and despite the insensitivities it takes more of a positive view of the Japanese even if some of our characters didn’t share that sentiment. The technical accomplishments are where this film really gets great to me even with how much I enjoyed the script and performances, the editing is so crisp, the score from Franz Waxman is great, and the special effects are jaw-dropping for a film from this time. It feels like the spiritual brother, or father really, of another film I really like called U-571, and even though modern technology allowed that one to look a lot better in a number of ways I’m more impressed by what was achieved here. The shot placement is fantastic and like I said it’s hard to believe special effects like this existed in the 40’s, the underwater shots and explosion scenes were even more amazing to watch in a movie I wasn’t expecting that much from in the visual department. I think with having seen this, U-571, and The Hunt for Red October I’m officially ready to complete the submarine cinemaverse and catch Das Boot whenever I get the chance, this one is quite the recommendable flick with a lead from one of the greats, a fun and intriguing storyline with well-built tension and well-written emotional beats, and a solid conclusion to bring it all home.

better if they were all twinks

better if they were all twinks

i had to sit through nearly 2 hours of propaganda for 9 minutes of cary grant wet with his shirt undone. NEVER trust tiktok editors 😒😒

i had to sit through nearly 2 hours of propaganda for 9 minutes of cary grant wet with his shirt undone. NEVER trust tiktok editors 😒😒

Honestly pretty exciting little war movie here. I’m not sure how common war movies were being made at the time during the war but I feel like we rarely hear about them that much and this was pretty good. I like Cary grant’s character and a lot of the guys on the sub. I think it was well made for the time and was pretty impressive. I did doze off in the middle for a little bit and some other parts were a little boring or drawn out. But I could see myself rewatching.

Honestly pretty exciting little war movie here. I’m not sure how common war movies were being made at the time during the war but I feel like we rarely hear about them that much and this was pretty good. I like Cary grant’s character and a lot of the guys on the sub. I think it was well made for the time and was pretty impressive. I did doze off in the middle for a little bit and some other parts were a little boring or drawn out. But I could see myself rewatching.