The British War DVD Collection

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    The British War Collection is a compilation of 4 movies made in the years after the end of World War II. Each deals with a different theatre of warfare and provides the viewer considerable insight into war time conditions that range from convoy escort duty in The Cruel Sea, through prisoner of war experiences in The Colditz Story, a trek across the North African desert in Ice Cold In Alex, and finally duty with an Air Force bomber crew and the scientist who develop the skipping bomb in The Dam Busters. This box set is a must have for all World War II buffs.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

The Dam Busters (1954)

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General		Extras
Category	War	Theatrical Trailer
Rating
Year Of Production	1954
Running Time	119:48
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Michael Anderson
Studio Distributor	Ass British Pic Corp Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Michael Redgrave Ursula Jeans Richard Todd Stanley Van Beers Patrick Barr Basil Sydney Ernest Clark Derek Farr
Case	?
RPI	Box	Music	leighton lucas

    The Dam Busters is based on a true story, as recounted in Paul Brickhill's book of the same name and as per W.C. Gibson's account in Enemy Coast Ahead. It is without doubt one of the best of the British World War II movies. It's a simple but nonetheless engrossing story, involving very real characters in a struggle against time and the scepticism of colleagues to develop a bomb big enough to knock out a dam. The story has two key elements: firstly that of developing the "dam buster" bomb, and then the actual delivery of the weapon.

    Dr. Barnes Wallis (Michael Redgrave) is an engineer working for the Vickers company. His usual job is designing aircraft but currently he is dedicated to blowing up three major dams in Germany's Ruhr Valley. Since these dams supply water to a number of Germany's steelmaking plants, success in the venture would deal a significant blow to steel production and hence the German war effort. By today's standards, achieving this aim would be merely a matter of dropping a large enough bomb with pinpoint precision on the dam wall. But this is 1942 and laser guided bombs don't exist yet. Nor do explosives powerful enough to do the job unless they are placed in exactly the right spot. So it's up to Wallis to solve the fundamental problem: how to deliver a large enough bomb, within the lifting capacity of aircraft of the time, and with the required precision to the target. Barnes succeeds in solving the problem  by developing a bomb which can be dropped from an aircraft at low altitude and then will skip its way across the surface of the water until it sinks to a depth of 30 feet next to the dam wall before exploding.

    This, however, is only half of the problem solved. The bomb has to be dropped from a height of precisely 60 feet at exactly the right distance from the dam wall and with the aircraft travelling at the correct velocity. Aside from the fact that aircraft instruments of the day weren't accurate enough to allow flying at such a height and there was no mechanism to tell the bombardier the right time to drop the bomb with the required precision, all this had to be done at night under enemy fire. Wing Commander Guy Gibson (Richard Todd), a veteran of many bombing missions is enlisted to form a special squadron and to train them to drop the bombs so that they could be correctly delivered to the target. Gibson and his crew succeed in developing some simple, but not necessarily obvious, solutions which do allow his squadron to succeed.

    The Dam Busters was nominated for the 1956 Academy Award for Best Special Effects.

Video

    Taking into consideration the age of the unrestored source material, this transfer is quite adequate.

    This transfer has been mastered in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and is not 16x9 enhanced. None of our usual sources listed the original aspect ratio of this movie but it is most likely 1.37:1.

    Sharpness is very variable with some shots crisp with detail and others having a smeared appearance. Despite this, for the most part the shadow detail is very good.

    This black and white production exhibits a pleasing grey scale.

    Compression artefacts and film-to-video artefacts were non-existent, the later undoubtedly due to the often soft nature of the image. Film artefacts, though, are another story. There's a more-or-less continuous smattering of small marks and scratches throughout, which for the most part are likely to be only a minor distraction, particularly if you are engrossed in the story. There are also some larger marks such as that at 113:02, and few long vertical scratches such as the one beginning at 42:10. Film grain is evident throughout and is particularly noticeable in the aerial shots.

     No subtitles are provided.

     There is no layer change on this single layered DVD-5 disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The mono audio exhibits a not unexpected dated quality but is otherwise quite reasonable.

    Only a single English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio track has been provided.

    The dialogue was clear and easy to understand at all times. There were no problems evident with the audio sync.

    Other than the main theme, the Dam Busters March by Eric Coates, not a lot of additional music was used. When music is present it is mostly at a very low level, basically unobtrusive, and therefore not really adding any impact to the story.

    The surround channels and subwoofer are all silent.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Unfortunately, the extras are limited to just a theatrical trailer.

Menu

    The menu, displayed in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and without 16x9 enhancement, consists of a black and white image with colour text for the menu options. Neither animation nor audio is provided.

Trailer

    A standard trailer is provided which runs for 2:44. It features the same basic video and audio parameters as the movie with an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and Dolby Digital 2.0 mono sound.

    As far as I can determine, The Dam Busters has been released in R2, as in R4, as part of The British War Collection. The content and features of the R2 disc are identical to those of the R4. This title has not been released in R1.

    I found The Dam Busters to be an engrossing film. Its appeal lies in watching real characters solve difficult problems under great pressure and then succeeding in their goal.

    The video quality shows its age but is acceptable.

    The audio quality exhibits a dated quality but is otherwise quite adequate.

    The extras are limited to a trailer.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

The Cruel Sea (1953)

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General		Extras
Category	War	Theatrical Trailer
Rating	?
Year Of Production	1953
Running Time	121:12
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Charles Frend
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	Jack Hawkins Donald Sinden John Stratton Denholm Elliot Virginia McKenna
Case	?
RPI	Box	Music	Alan Rawsthorne

    The Cruel Sea  is based on the novel of the same name by Nicholas Monsarrat. It concerns the ships Compass Rose and Saltash Castle both at different times under the command of Captain Ericson (Jack Hawkins), who together with first officer Lt. Lockhart (Donald Sinden) and their crew carry out convoy escort duty in the Atlantic ocean during a period of World War II in which these large supply convoys are at the mercy of German U-boats who hunt the slow moving vessels with great determination. Except for the captain, who has been seconded from the merchant navy, the rest of the crew and officers are raw recruits who have only had minimal training. The narration provided at a couple of points during the film perfectly captures the mood engendered by the story being told here.

    "This is the story of the Battle Of The Atlantic. A story of two ships and a handful of men. The men are the heroes, the heroines are the ships. The only villain is the sea, the cruel sea, that man has made more cruel."

    "We sailed on 11 convoys that year and all the time the enemy grew stronger. It was like a stain spreading over the sea, poisoning it mile by mile. For us the Battle Of The Atlantic was becoming a private war. If you were in it you knew all about it, how to keep watch on filthy nights and how to go without sleep, how to bury the dead and how to die without wasting anyone's time."

    Without overdramatisation, this movie has perfectly captured what it must have been like to participate in a war as a crew member of a convoy escort. The officers and crew experience in equal parts boredom, terror and elation while carrying out their assigned duties.

    Jack Hawkins' performance is particularly moving during one sequence in which he must run down the survivors of a torpedoed ship in order to depth charge the enemy submarine submerged below them. Afterwards, he is filled with a remorse that is both palpable and convincing.

    The Cruel Sea was nominated for the 1954 Academy Award for Best Writing, Screenplay. Recommended for all World War II buffs.

Video

    The picture is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and it is not 16x9 enhanced. This is very close to, but not quite, the original aspect ratio of 1.37:1.

    Sharpness  varies from reasonably sharp to slightly soft. The shadow detail is always quite adequate. Minor edge enhancement has been applied to the image.

    This black and white production exhibits a satisfactory grey scale.

    The source material used for this transfer is in reasonably good condition so for the most part film artefacts are mostly small and therefore not too intrusive. It should be noted, though, that there are larger marks such as that at 15:32 and that some scenes exhibit much more damage than average. Some archival footage that has been used, for example between 13:25 and 13:33, is in particularly bad condition with very significant film artefacts present. Film grain is evident at all times. There's a couple of instances of minor aliasing. No compression artefacts were noted.

     No subtitles have been provided on this disc.

     There is no layer change on this single layered DVD-5 disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The single English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio track has an expected dated quality. Minor hiss is present but is not intrusive at normal listening levels.

    The dialogue was generally clear and understandable although the occasional word was a bit hard to make out. No problems were noted concerning the audio sync.

    The musical score was both strident and dramatic and as such was an eminently suitable match for the story being told here.

    Both the surround channels and subwoofer were silent.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Unfortunately, the extras are limited to just a theatrical trailer.

Menu

    The menu, displayed in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 without 16x9 enhancement, consists of a black and white image with colour text for the menu options. Neither animation nor audio are provided.

Theatrical Trailer

    A typical trailer of the period, this runs for 3:39 in black and white with an aspect ratio the same as the movie at 1.33:1. The audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 mono.

    It appears that The Cruel Sea has been released in Region 2, as in Region 4, as part of the 4 disc The British War Collection. The content and features of the R2 disc are identical to those of the R4. This title has not been released in Region 1.

    The Cruel Sea captures the essence of the Battle Of The Atlantic in which men and their vessels are pitted against both the prowling German U-boats and the power of the sea.

    The video definitely shows the age of the source materials but is as good as you could expect without significant restoration.

    The audio quality exhibits a dated quality but is otherwise completely adequate.

    The extras are minimal.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

The Colditz Story (1955)

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General		Extras
Category	War	None
Rating	?
Year Of Production	1955
Running Time	93:26
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	Guy Hamilton
Studio Distributor	Universal Pictures Home Video	Starring	John Mills Eric Portman Federick Valk Denis Shaw
Case	?
RPI	Box	Music	Francis Chagrin

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.66:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.66:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    The Colditz Story is generally considered to be one of the better World War II movies, however in my opinion it never builds in the viewer the necessary tension and apprehension that you would expect to have been felt by an inmate of a prison during war time. The main reason for this is that the consequences for an unsuccessful escape or escape attempt were usually a period in a rather comfortable, less than solitary, solitary confinement rather than something more severe. The result is that the story as it is told in this movie mostly comes across as bit of game of cat and mouse between the Germans and the inmates rather than a serious struggle for freedom in which the price for failure was death.

    Colditz Castle is a special prison specifically for captured enemy soldiers who have made repeated attempts at escape from other prisoner of war camps and houses groups of British, Polish, Dutch and French. Its reputation for being escape-proof does nothing to dissuade the many inmates from making further escape attempts. In fact, so prevalent are the escape attempts, each independently organised by members of the different national groups, that they often interfere with one another, which not only wrecks the attempts but also brings them to the notice of the German guards. In an attempt to overcome this problem, Colonel Richmond (Eric Portman), the ranking British officer, organises an escape committee with representation from each national group to coordinate all escape attempts. The British escape officer is Captain Pat Reid (John Mills) who also itches to escape but accepts this role for the benefit of all the inmates. The camp Kommandant  (Frederick Valk) promises Colonel Richmond that in this prison the sole reward for an attempted escape is death. The prisoners are not dissuaded from their attempts by this threat, but initially at least are unsuccessful, with the camp's security officer Priem, (Denis Shaw) being very good at foiling the inmates' best efforts.

Video

    This transfer definitely highlights the age and condition of the source material.

    The transfer has been mastered in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1, and it is 16x9 enhanced. None of the usual sources we check listed the original aspect ratio but I suspect that 1.66:1 is the correct  ratio.

    Sharpness varies a lot from scene to scene with some shots being reasonably sharp and detailed while others exhibit varying degrees of softness. The shadow detail, however, was always quite adequate. Minor edge enhancement can be seen from time to time.

    This black and white film exhibits an acceptable grey scale.

    There's an almost continuous display of small and medium sized marks and scratches, including long vertical scratches, throughout the movie. Depending on your sensitivity you may find these reasonably distracting.  At 26:07 the image loses focus for about 1 second due what appears to be damage to the source element. Pairs of reel change marks appear at 17:30 & 17:37 as well as at 68:17 & 68:24. There should normally be a set of these every 20 minutes or so but I didn't manage to spot any others. Film grain is evident throughout. Minor aliasing is seen on a couple of occasions but no compression artefacts were noted.

     No subtitles have been provided.

     There is no layer change on this single layered DVD-5 disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The mono audio has an expected dated quality. Some minor hiss and the occasional crackle is also present in the soundtrack.

    A single English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio track has been provided.

    The dialogue was clear and easy to understand at all times. There were no problems evident with the audio sync.

    The main theme music, played initially over the opening scenes, is both dramatic and foreboding which is certainly an appropriate match to the visuals as the camera pans slowly over the grim parapets of Colditz Castle. While there is not a lot of music in the movie, when it is present it generally continues in this dramatic manner.

    The surround channels and subwoofer were both silent.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    Absolutely no extras are provided.

Menu

        The menu, displayed in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 with 16x9 enhancement, consists of a black and white image with colour text for the menu options. Neither animation nor audio are provided.

    It appears that The Colditz Story has been released in Region 2, as in Region 4, as part of the 4 disc The British War Collection. The content and features of the R2 disc are identical to those of the R4. This title has not been released in Region 1.

    The Colditz Story, while considered to be one of the better British World War II movies, never builds in the viewer the necessary tension that makes you fear for the lives of the inmates. This is because the attempts to escape come across more as a game rather than a serious life and death struggle.

    The video definitely shows the age and the less than pristine condition of the source materials.

    The audio quality exhibits a dated quality but is adequate for getting the story across.

    Extras? I didn't find any extras!

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

Ice Cold in Alex (1958)

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Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (192Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.66:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.66:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

    This is the only title in the The British War Collection with which I was unfamiliar. As it turns out, this is because I had actually never seen this movie before. I admit I was rather intrigued by the title, Ice Cold In Alex and wondered exactly what World War II reference this was. As it turns out there is no connection between the war and the title; it turns out to be a reference made by John Mills' character to a bar in Alexandria where you could get an ice cold beer!

    Thankfully the story is a little bit more involved than seeking out a cold drink. Captain Anson (John Mills) and MSM Tom Pugh (Harry Andrews) become separated from their ambulance convoy when they are ordered to evacuate their base. The retreating allied forces blow the bridge that forms part of the direct route they need to take, which results in them taking a 600 mile long journey via a more roundabout route. Sounds pretty simple you reckon? Well, it might have been except now they have to cross a mine field, cross a desert full of German Panzer troops, deal with quicksand, breakdowns, and a lack of water and rations, all in an ambulance that wants to overheat every couple of miles. As if this isn't enough to deal with they have to rescue a couple of nurses, including Sister Diana Murdoch (Sylvia Syms), who at least provides a love interest for Captain Anson, and pick up Captain van der Poel (Anthony Quayle) a South African officer who has become separated from his unit. Is van der Poel who he purports to be, or is his strange behaviour an indication that something more sinister is going on? Just to complicate things even further Captain Anson has rather an excessive fondness for alcoholic beverages much stronger than beer which results in additional difficulties.

    This is an interesting character study of a group of disparate personalities thrown together in difficult circumstances. All the individuals have complex characters and it's interesting to watch them as they react to each other and to the various difficulties that their desert trek throws at them.

    Definitely worth a view and especially recommended for all World War II buffs.

Video

    The transfer has been mastered in its correct aspect ratio of 1.66:1, and it is 16x9 enhanced.

    The sharpness  is variable and ranges from reasonably sharp to slightly soft. An annoying level of edge enhancement is present. Shadow detail is mostly quite good.

    A satisfactory grey scale is exhibited by this transfer.

    The source material used for this transfer is in reasonably good condition, so for film artefacts are mostly small and therefore not too intrusive. It should be noted though that there are larger marks such as that at 15:32 and that some scenes exhibit much more damage than average. Some archival footage that has been used, for example between 13:25 and 13:33, which is in particularly bad condition with very significant film artefacts present. Film grain is evident at all times. There are a couple of instances of minor aliasing.

    No compression artefacts were noted. Minor film grain is visible.

    No subtitles have been provided on this disc.

    There is no layer change as this is a single layer DVD-5 disc.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    A single Dolby Digital 2.0 mono English audio track has been provided on this disc and it has a dated quality. Minor hiss is present but is not intrusive at normal listening levels.

    I noted no problems with the audio sync and the dialogue was clear and understandable throughout.

    Leighton Lucas' musical score was both suitably dramatic, as well as more subdued, as dictated by the on screen action.

    Both the surround channels and subwoofer were silent.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    The extras consist of a single theatrical trailer.

Menu

    The menu, displayed in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 without 16x9 enhancement, consists of a black and white image with colour text for the menu options. Neither animation or audio is provided.

Theatrical Trailer

    A typical narrated trailer of the period, that runs for 2:48, is presented in black and white with an aspect ratio of 1.66:1. The audio is Dolby Digital 2.0 mono.

    It appears that  Ice Cold In Alex has been released in region 2, as in region 4, as part of the 4 disc The British War Collection. The content and features of the R2 disc are identical to those of the R4. This title has not been released in region 1.

    Ice Cold In Alex is a story of an epic journey across 600 miles of pitiless North African desert, by a band of people thrown together by circumstances, as they retreat from advancing German troops.

    The video is in quite good condition for its age with minimal film artefacts present.

    The audio quality exhibits a dated quality but is otherwise completely adequate.

    The theatrical trailer is the only extra.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall