The Cruel Sea

[circle kay]

Hi to all, have just been watching the print of 'The Cruel Sea' from the Studio Canal British War DVD Collection 4 DVD box set. I think that the cut of the film on this DVD and the one shown for the last 10 years or so on British TV have scenes missing. I'm sure that from my childhood I remember scenes after the Compass Rose sinks of Ericson visiting Morell's widow and Lockhart visiting Ferraby in hospital. Both 'scenes' are eluded to when Ericson and Lockhart meet in the hotel bar. The DVD runs for 121 mins. I can't find my copy of 'Forever Ealing' (suspect the wife has sent it to Oxfam!) so can't check up, can any one of you help me out?

CK

[Steve Crook]

Originally posted by circle kay@Mar 7 2005, 10:14 PM

Hi to all, have just been watching the print of 'The Cruel Sea' from the Studio Canal British War DVD Collection 4 DVD box set. I think that the cut of the film on this DVD and the one shown for the last 10 years or so on British TV have scenes missing. I'm sure that from my childhood I remember scenes after the Compass Rose sinks of Ericson visiting Morell's widow and Lockhart visiting Ferraby in hospital. Both 'scenes' are eluded to when Ericson and Lockhart meet in the hotel bar. The DVD runs for 121 mins. I can't find my copy of 'Forever Ealing' (suspect the wife has sent it to Oxfam!) so can't check up, can any one of you help me out?

CK

The IMDb lists 121 mins as the time of the US release. But it also lists a UK re-relase at 126 mins. So there could well be scenes which aren't on the DVD



Steve

[dylan]

Charles Barr's Ealing Studios gives a running time of 126 minutes.

[DAVID RAYNER]

I suspect that the Studio Canal DVD has been transferred from the American print of the film...as most of them are...and that would account for the missing five minutes of film. Few people would notice the difference in this case, unless they had seen the full length version, because the British and American titles are the same.

[Wetherby Pond]

The UK release print of the film is 11,352 feet long, which translates to just over 126 minutes based on the standard theatrical projection speed of 90 feet per second (24 frames per second).



However, the optimum speed for the European PAL video system is slightly faster - 93.75 feet per second (or 25 frames per second), a speed that's apparently related to the standard AC mains frequency of 50 Hertz. In practice, unless you have perfect pitch and a very good memory, you're not going to notice any difference - but it does mean that British and European video transfers of cinema films generally "lose" one minute in every 25. Or, in this case, five minutes in 125, as you do indeed end up with a running time of just over 121 minutes if you recalculate the figures at the higher speed.



So it sounds as though the DVD is essentially identical to the theatrical print, which I'm afraid doesn't answer the original question - but I hope it clears up some of the confusion about running time discrepancies generally.



Incidentally, I absolutely would not treat IMDB running times as gospel - all too often, they're input by people who are ignorant of PAL speedup issues, with the result that they're all too frequently useless as far as serious research goes (you may detect the acrid smell of scorched fingers here!).

[retnik]

Can anyone please tell me the name of the real doctor who was aboard the ship depicted in the film & played by Andrew Cruickshank ...... Thanks

[Steve Crook]

(retnik @ Oct 24 2005, 10:23 PM)

Can anyone please tell me the name of the real doctor who was aboard the ship depicted in the film & played by Andrew Cruickshank ...... Thanks

The story was fictional, there was no real HMS Compass Rose.

Or do you mean the doctor on HMS Kelly, Mountbatten's ship, that the story was loosely based on?



Steve

[dylan]

(Steve Crook @ Oct 25 2005, 12:21 AM)

The story was fictional, there was no real HMS Compass Rose.

Or do you mean the doctor on HMS Kelly, Mountbatten's ship, that the story was loosely based on?



Steve

The Cruel Sea was based on Monsarrat's wartime experiences with corvettes. In Which We Serve was based on Mountbatten and HMS Kelly.

[Steve Crook]

(dylan @ Oct 25 2005, 10:40 AM)

The Cruel Sea was based on Monsarrat's wartime experiences with corvettes. In Which We Serve was based on Mountbatten and HMS Kelly.

Oops! You're quite right of course.

But either way, it was fictional



Steve

[plasticjock]

(retnik @ Oct 24 2005, 11:23 PM)

Can anyone please tell me the name of the real doctor who was aboard the ship depicted in the film & played by Andrew Cruickshank ...... Thanks

If it's of any assistance, Nicholas Monteserrat mirrored some of his own wartime experiences aboard HMS Campanula (K18) and used them in the narrative story of The Cruel Sea.

HMS Campanula, unlike the HMS Compass Rose (K32), survived the war being scrapped in 1947. Possibly the doctor was based upon the doctor-surgeon serving on HMS Campanula.

[U.V.RAY]

The Cruel Sea (1953). Direceted by Charles Frend. Starring Denholm Elliot, Jack Hawkins and Donald Sinden.



Depicting life aboard the HMS Compass Rose during the second world war, this film was innovatively filmed in a gritty, documentary style that presented a fly on the wall account of the crew's brave struggle in doing their part in the battle for the Atlantic. In stark contrast to the horrors of war the real adversary is the sea - The Cruel Sea.



Fantastic Film, in my opinion.



Anyone else a fan of seafaring films?



Billy Bud, starring Terrance Stamp, was another one. Haven't seen this one for years though.

[hochepooch]

i think the cruel sea is one of the best with jack hawkins brilliant film

[NappieB]

i think the cruel sea is one of the best with jack hawkins brilliant film

Yes, I agree. It's so understated that it leaves one with the impression of real life... from the start of the film to the closing credits.

[CALF28]

i think the cruel sea is one of the best with jack hawkins brilliant film

One of the 'Great' films with a wonderful cast and that fantastic slightly grainy phtography. And the always good Stanley Baker. good Oh. Snorkers!!

[Lerica]

One of the 'Great' films with a wonderful cast and that fantastic slightly grainy phtography. And the always good Stanley Baker. good Oh. Snorkers!!

I love the Cruel Sea, but its a pity the 'Bennet' character wasn't more involved. Great performance by Jack Hawkins though.

[Asgardian]

The Cruel Sea is one of my favourite of all films, the tension between Ericson & Lockhart builds so convincingly during the final search for a U-Boat. Plus the Ferraby character was all too human.



We Dive at Dawn was another WW2 navy film that stands out, Mills and Portman together is a winning combination.