A similar never-say-die spirit pervades both The Colditz Story (1955)--an authentic retelling of PR Reid's narrative--and Ice Cold in Alex (1958). Coincidentally or not, both films star the always indomitable John Mills. In Colditz, Mills heads a distinguished ensemble of British thespians as they attempt to escape from the infamous fortress, while in Alex he and his marvellously tight-knit cast journey painstakingly towards what is probably the most famous glass of lager in the world.

On the DVDs: The British War Collection comes in a neat fold-out package with postcard-style cards for each movie. All four discs are presented in their original aspect ratios (Cruel Sea and Dam Busters, 1.33:1; Alex and Colditz, 1.66:1). The black and white prints are in pretty good condition, and are accompanied by reasonably clean mono soundtracks. Other than the original theatrical trailers there are no extras. --Mark Walker

For the avid War Film genre fan this is a must, these films are the sort that can be watched time and time again, which is an accolade to the Producers abilities.


Three Classics, One Clinker, (& One Horrid transfer)   August 11, 2002
 54 out of 71 found this review helpful

The British War Collection 1958, four genre classics in attractive packaging & accompanied by period advertising for each film reprinted on stout card stock, is a good value, except that the best of the four films in the set, 'The Cruel Sea', suffers either from poor DVD transfer or from the transfer's having come from an inferior celluloid print.

The collection's other disappointments are minor: lack of cast/crew & production background special features (although each disc includes a period trailer); & the packaging's disc retaining spindles aren't the bifurcated press-release type, but the more delicate, likely to fail, friction-fit CD jewel box type.

'The Colditz Story' is a genre classic that manages to hold its own despite the spate of surpassing POW films that followed it (crowned by John Sturges's epic 'The Great Escape').
Perhaps the only faults of 'The Colditz Story' are its dense editing which, preumably, attempted to convey the claustrophobia of incarceration, the often enough bewildering welter of Allied
languages that lace the dialogue, & the failure to impart a sense of the oppressive monotony of POW confinement (which 'The Great Escape' manages to convey convicingly). Of course, as in
many war films, the age of its players militates against an accurate apprehension of its real-life characters' actual youth in the periods such films depict.

'Ice Cold in Alex' is representative of films following the initial postwar period in attempting to examine its characters psyches & to humanize the enemy. Aside from a flickering, annoying lower righthand letterbox margin the DVD transfer is excellent. But the plot is improbable. It strains credulity to imagine a German spy (Anthony Quayle) insinuating himself into a forlorn, retreating ambulance instead of attaching himself to, & reporting on, the fighting bulk of the Eighth Army. The ambulance is commanded by a rattled, boozy RASC captain (John Mills), crewed by his cardboard cutout redoubtable sergeant-major (Harry Andrews), & staffed by a pair of tidily coiffed nurses: not the sort of threat for which a Nazi agent would risk his life (if not his job!). Realism intrudes only when the sergeant-major puzzles over Quayle's character's odd brewing up method. Throughout the ambulance's arduous 600-mile journey Sylvia Syms manages to remain fresh & alluring despite having to deplete her lipstick to inscribe her nursing colleague's grave marker (oh, the sacrifices one makes in wartime!). I wanted to like this film, but at every turning it succeeded only at raising my eyebrows - but, curiously, not the immaculately tweezed ones of Ms. Syms. I couldn't help feeling that 'Ice Cold in Alex' is a weak shandy pretending at being a lager.

Still a solid screen tale 'The Dam Busters' has, however, aged. Its focus on Barnes Wallis's inventions remains its prime virtue. Michael Redgrave's portrayal of Barnes Wallis as an eccentric boffin is a bit over the top but it supports the film's attempt to show the effort necessary to convince the Air Ministry to devote scarce crews & resources to the raids. The 'bathtub' special effects of the bursting dams haven't dated well, yet the actual bomb test footage woven neatly into the script lends inimitable dramatic impact. The film's docu-drama style has, perhaps, contributed to the longevity of its appeal, however much that appeal may have waned as social attitudes evolved & special effects advances eclipsed those in the film. The depiction of the raids as an unqualified success, much as 'Reach for the Sky' miscommunicates the Big Wing tactic as a decisive innovation, is typical of war films of the postwar period that celebrated uncritically Allied ingenuity, resolve, & derring-do. Second millennium special effects would make this story superb stuff for a fresh widescreen cinematic, or television series', color effort at depicting the raids & their technological imaginativeness. A fresh film of the raids could & should also delve deeper into the personalities & motivations of the crew who flew the ops, & perhaps help to convince certain people & institutions to at last award, albeit belatedly, all of Bomber Command's aircrew the campaign medal their courage & sacrifice earned & deserve.

'The Cruel Sea', whose grim script has scarcely aged & continues to resist becoming cliche, remains a superior film. The DVD contains footage absent from U.S.-telecast & cablecast prints, filling-in lacunae that detracted from storyline comprehension & the film's artistic integrity. The latter profiting perhaps more than the former from the presence of the
missing bits. But this collection's transfer suffers from poor image & sound, though these don't owe to my having to play the disc on a multi-region DVD machine since the other three films in
the set are fine transfers, each of which yields splendid clarity of image & sound. (n.b., The player is a JVC unit whose sellers added post-manufacture components & programming to
endow it with multi-region capability, which I find useful because many Region 2 DVD titles aren't offered in the States.)

The images in the collection's 'The Cruel Sea' are uniformly dense & dark, & even in the lighter tones there's a dismaying absence of detail. The images verge on polarization reminiscent of 1960's pop graphics (e.g., Led Zeppelin's first LP sleeve). The image's flaws are matched by the muddy, narrowly-ranged soundtrack - a serious failing since 'The Cruel Sea's' terse script, dramatic sound effects (ships' bells & whistles & sirens, Asdic pings, thrumming engines, howling wind, lapping & sloshing & rushing seawater, clattering anchor chains, gunfire, torpedo detonations, & unnerving telltale repair hammer blows), & its restrained, ominous musical score remain exemplary among war films.

Artistically & in faithfulness to the experience of the Battle of the Atlantic & to the spirit of Nicholas Monsarrat's novel - the monotony, grimness, & stark terror of war depicted without preachiness or propaganda, 'The Cruel Sea' is the finest of The British War Collection 1958's films; indeed it's arguably one of the finest films of its genre. Hence its lamentably poor DVD transfer disappoints deeply.


British War DVD Collection   July 11, 2002
 28 out of 32 found this review helpful

As a Senior Citizen, TOG or OAP... call me what you like :-(
This must be the definative collection of World War 2 films. It is a "must have" for any collector of films of the period. The only film missing, that would have made it complete, was "Reach for the Sky".
A must buy and good value even if it was full price!