Customer Reviews

Submarine X-1

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Movie is loosely based upon the exploits of the military using the X-1 submarine. Acting is very good and the movie keeps you on the edge of your seat within the first 30 minutes.

Good submarine footage and an excellent score by Ron Goodwin raise this movie to a level of high sea adventure not seen in a while. James Caan as the stoic and lethargic Lieutenant Commander Bolton is adequate. But it his plan to utilize midget subs that saves the day. This is a good British sea adventure.

Now here is a great submarine adventure, reminiscent of THE HUNLEY, an epic film about an experimental underwater submarince experiment that was successful, secret, timely, and wrenching--showing a Canadian Naval Officer (Caan) having to make a wartime decision that will result in the death of a few of his comrades for the greater good--a success against the German Kriegsmarine.

The acting is good and the plot elements are more genuine (life of comrades versus death of enemies) that one would have expected at the time the film was made--1969. And the resolution of the situation is decidedly pro-war, not anti-war, as the progression of anti-Vietnam films reflects (including M*A*S*H* and Catch-22).

In other words--take this film in its intended context--World War II. And, enjoy a sleeper amongst the great submarine films of the era. By all means, see this one out--and over again.

Much recommended!

This is a great submarine story of WWII straight from the files of the British War Office. James Caan is ever so chisel faced and stoic as he must redeem himself in front of the men of his new command. His mission is top secret making the whole affair all the more difficult for success. The underwater photography and score are real highlights. Their ultimate target is a Nazi battleship and the movie becomes more suspenseful as it unfolds. I recommend this minor film.

SUBMARINE X-1 (1969) Directed by William Graham.

Starring James Caan, Nick Tate and Rupert Davies.

Sometime in 1943, a British submarine commander, who lost his vessel in combat with a German battleship, is assigned a secret mission using three miniature subs to sneak into a highly fortified fjord in Norway and sink said battleship that has been attacking the ALlied convoys plying the Murmansk route. His men don't like him, blaming him for the loss of the previous ship. They think he is a great big meanie for training them hard. The Germans know they are coming and, after a lengthy and costly mission, the commander's men learn to respect him and everyone comments ruefully that war is hell.

At this point the audience after a good 90 min nap get up and leave the theater.

The merciless problem of making a new World War 2 film is that there have been so many that 1) a new one HAS to be about something fresh that has not been done before. Not only has this particular story been done once already in 1955 with ABOVE US THE WAVES but the secret mission to blow up something German before an Allied force is destroyed has been done death and far better in the thirty years before this picture. The "Our commander is a meanie but we learn to respect him" has been done beyond death into necrophilia. And, of course, everyone learning that War is Hell is so pervasive that the experienced film fan probably winces in pain at its approach.

2) If one IS going to make a new WW2 film and using the above again, the filmmaker CANNOT cost. He can not just go through the motions. He HAS to be brilliant and make a film filled with verve.......or the film will fail IF ONLY because it will have no valid reason to exist.

Unfortunately this film is all of point 1 and none of point 2. The film is not bad. It just is not especially good. The direction is uninpired and by rote. The special effects are uninpiring. The editing noticibly weak. Except for Davies and Nick Tate soon to be in SPACE 1999, the cast are mostly unknowns and deservedly so. Interchangible and dull, there is not one that makes an impression. The actors playing the Germans are uninformly bad and would not pass muster in a High School production of THE SOUND OF MUSIC.

Someone had the frighteningly bad idea of casting very American James Caan as a British naval officer. Probablly the same beknighted soul who thought Al Pacino would make a fine Irishman in REVOLUTION and Robert DeNiro a good Portugese in THE MISSION. Method Actors ESPECIALLY American Method actors from the late 60s/70s CANNOT do period....PERIOD. And they cannot do anything OTHER than play Americans from where ever that particular actor grew up. Not even trying for an accent, Caan, instead, decides to act as if he has gingivitus keeping his teeth firmly clenched throughout and mumbling. Also like most method actors, they simply cannot do this type of part. John Wayne and Randoph Scott could and did with ease. In their sleep. John Mills or Sean Connery could have. But James Caan not.
Not bad. Not good. Not much of anything really. Not worth the time it would take to watch it.

See ABOVE US THE WAVES instead.

Not a lot of action, but I loved the film for its semi-realistic drama/action and adventure portrayed by the actors at that time.

The Ordering of the product was easy, and fast. The shipping of the product was timely. The movie arrived in good condition. The actual feature on a scale of 1 to 10 was a 7. It was a story I had seen back in the 90's. I liked it so I purchased it. If you like British WWII movies, this is a perfect buy.

VERY SLOW AND NOT VERY WELL DOCUMENTED///IF YOU KNOW THE REAL STORY YOU WILL FIND THE MOVE JUST THAT A MOVE//

This one does not rank as a classic. It just sort of ranks. But the DVD quality is excellent.

Can someone please tell me why an American (and one with a think Bronx accent, no less!) is in charge of a British submarine?????