John GregsonThe Battle of the River Plate

This is the 1975 well-done restoration of the 1946 original version, “Pursuit Of The Graf Spee”, which is also available (Region 2). It is available in Blu-Ray (2006) for Region 1.This is an account of British Naval action in the South Atlantic, December 1939, early in the war with Germany. Germany had sent their Battleship “Graf Spee” to the South Atlantic months earlier, in preparation for the war (Sept. 1), to act as a shipping raider on the route to India. The Graf Spee had been stopping British freighters for some time, taking the crews prisoner, and sinking the ships. It had also commandeered a British cruise ship (with passengers) for carrying prisoners of war. A disguised freighter (Altmark) re-supplied the Graf Spee with fuel and food. Because the encounters were sudden, the victims were mostly unable to send distress radio signals. Consequently it was three months before Britain became aware of the situation. Britain’s response was to send three Navy ships to investigate, a Heavy Cruiser (Exeter) and two Cruiser-class ships (Ajax & Achilles), none of them a match for the Graf Spee.In mid-December the British fleet encountered the Graf Spee, at a distance of several miles, near the coast of South America. The British commander chose to use the element of surprise and ordered an immediate attack. All four ships were heavily damaged in the action. As a result of heavier fire at close range, the Graf Spee eventually suffered a disabling hit (fuel line), broke off the action and escaped toward the neutral port of Montevideo. (Consult a map at this point.) The two lesser damaged British cruisers followed suit, but the heavily damaged Exeter sailed south to the British Falkland Islands for repair. The above is the essence of the first hour of the two-hour film.The second hour covers the next three days and features British machinations to delay the Graf Spee’s departure, pending arrival of more British ships. Under international law, war ships can enter neutral ports for only a limited time, and can not refit, subject to being impounded. The British, facing the same restrictions, took the opportunity to visit the Graf Spee and meet the captain. The captain of the Graf Spee chose to release his crew, and the prisoners taken aboard, and scuttle the Graf Spee outside the harbor. Also told is how the American reporter, Mike Fowler, commandeered the only telephone circuit to the USA to broadcast the event, live, for the American radio network.This latter is the event that concerns me because I remember, as a child of 7 years, hearing that broadcast, Montevideo being in a time zone 1-hour earlier for the East coast.(Note: The Altmark was captured by the British Navy in February 1940, near Norway, and the prisoners repatriated. News Reel from that era, along with Winston Churchill’s speech are available on the internet by searching “Graf Spee Sinking”, but I have not found the Mike Fowler broadcast. The American public, remembering their involvement in WW-I, took no sides in the matter. )

This film is truly one of the best WWII naval films ever made, in my opinion. Fine acting, great actions shots, solid directing and editing, and a clear, straight forward story all combine to make superb film.Others here have provided the synopsis of this film, so I will forgo the pleasure. While certain parts of the film did not actually occur, for example, the meeting of the British Captains, they were obviously added to tell the story in a clear, efficient, and unambiguous way. One part this is 100% accurate is the see-sawing the British did with their position on the Graf Spee leaving harbor. And unlike many naval engagements, this battle actually did take place in good weather, with fairly calm seas, as depicted in the film.Unlike many war movies, like Saving Private Ryan, this movie could not be made today anywhere near as well as it was in 1956. The reason-the real stars of the film, the ships, simply don't exist anymore. There are only two WWII light cruisers left in the world, the HMS Belfast in London, and the USS Little Rock in Buffalo, and only one heavy cruiser, the USS Salem (which played the Graf Spee in the film), in Massachusetts, and none of them are sea worthy. The HMS Achilles, which fought in the battle, and the HMS Cumberland who arrived soon after the battle to be a backup, even plays themselves! No other naval film that I know of can make that claim. Models and even the best CG simply cannot provide the realism that the real thing provides, thus this movie could not be made today.Scenes shot in places like gun turrets, inside gun directors, on the bridge (British naval vessels still had open air bridges at this time), shots of medium/large caliber naval guns going off, etc. can never be filmed again, as they simply don't exist and never will again. Thus, any student of naval history or WWII history needs to see this film.The other unique thing about this film and time is that radar was not quite available on ships yet. A year later, when the Bismarck sailed, some of the British cruisers had radar.The only thing that should have been done in the film to improve it was to show a chart of the mouth of the river Plate. Several rivers flow into the estuary, which is quite large. Montevideo is a port city on the Northern coast near the mouth of the estuary, in Uruguay, while Buenos Aires in Argentina (a country friendly to Germany) is almost 100 miles inland, near where the rivers join. Knowing this makes seeing the British problem of catching the Graf Spee if she tried to escape upriver or out into the ocean much clearer.One of my favorite WWII naval films, one I was thrilled to be able to buy and watch again. Highly, highly recommended.

NOTHING TO DISLIKE ABOUT THIS FILM ! STARS THAT WE ALL LOVED TO SEE ON THE SCREEN !

Great service I was sent an email regarding arrival at post office and all was good with DVD thank you

I was a young boy when I first watched this movie that came out some 45 years ago. It made a lasting impression on me and I was thrilled to finally find its copy on DVD. I was even more delighted to see that the movie is just as excellent as I remembered.The battle of the River Plate was the first major engagement between the Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine in 1939. Just before the outbreak of war, the pocket battle ship Graf Spee had been sent to the South Atlantic to sink British merchant vessels. It was engaged by a British task force consisting of cruisers HMS Achilles, HMS Ajax, and HMS Exeter. Although outgunned by the powerful guns of the German, the British ships engaged the battle and hit the German battleship who ran and sought refuge in neutral Uruguay. Under international law, the German ship could stay no longer than the time necessary to make her seaworthy. While everyone expected the Graf Spee to come out of the River Plate with all her guns firing at the British, the battle never took place. Graf Spee was scuttled at the limit of international waters, and admiral Langsdorff committed suicide. This was a prelude to the war at sea where the Royal Navy was never to be challenged directly by the powerful German battleships and was always to engage German war ships regardless of the odds.Made at a time when memories of WWII were still very much vivid, the movie presents a balanced portrait of the main characters in the drama. Admiral Langsdorff is not pictured as a Nazi thug but as a sailor who fought decently according to the law of the sea. (Incidentally, one can note that he never gives a Hitler salute throughout the movie). The production of this relatively old movie is just magnificent. There are beautiful images of the sea and of real ships, not models. For the occasion, the Royal Navy loaned some of its ships, including Achilles to the producers of the movie. For all those who are still fascinated by the battles at sea before the time of satellite surveillance and GPS, or those who simply like a good action movie, this is a movie not to be missed.

I love how they used actual warships not like modern movies which is just CGI. Nothing will ever beat these classics

Apart from the use of American warship for filming ( only to be expected at the time of filming ) good drama and Dialogue.