Sink the Bismarck! Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by Lewis Gilbert
UK 1960

Sink the Bismarck is a faithful retelling of the British Navy’s attempts to debilitate the German mega-battleship Bismarck. Based on C.S. Forester’s book and directed by Lewis Gilbert (of James Bond film fame) the real-life naval battle is detailed and fascinating as it delves deep into the successes and failures of one small triumph of the war. We are treated to exposure of massive amounts of information leaving character development to take a backseat. This helps produce an almost documentary-like representation through Edmund H. North’s ( In a Lonely Place and The Day the Earth Stood Still )confident screenplay. Both Kenneth More and the beautiful Dana Wynter are really given no opportunities to shine as the story takes full command of our senses. Most enjoyable is the films lack of judgment - sure the Axis are the bad guys whose fatal flaw is excessive pride in their war machine - but it has glimmers of extolling an anti-war sentiment that I found quite refreshing. Young men of both nationalities are shown dying horrible deaths.

This is very much worth seeing - a very complete and thorough war development film that I strongly recommend.

NOTE: That is Edward R. Murrow playing Edward R. Murrow!

Posters

Theatrical Release: February 11th, 1960

Reviews More Reviews DVD Reviews

Comparison:

20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC vs. WVG Medien - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray

1) 20th Century Fox - Region 1 - NTSC - LEFT

2) WVG Medien - Region 'B' - Blu-ray MIDDLE

3) Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray RIGHT

Box Covers

Also available in The Heroes of War Collection - Naval Battles which also includes The Enemy Below, The Frogmen and Morituri,

Distribution

20th Century Fox Home Video - Region 1 - NTSC

WVG Medien
Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Eureka
Region 'B' - Blu-ray

Runtime

1:37:27

1:37:39.228

1:37:36.433

Video

2.35:1 Aspect Ratio
Average Bitrate: 8.0 mb/s
NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s

1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 22,309,613,654 bytes

Feature: 19,202,656,128 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 22.96 Mbps

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 35,671,305,279 bytes

Feature: 25,074,186,240 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 27.99 Mbps

NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.

Bitrate:

Bitrate: WVG Blu-ray

Bitrate: Eureka Blu-ray

Audio

English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), English (Dolby Digital 1.0), DUBs: French (Dolby Digital 1.0), Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0)

DTS-HD Master Audio German 892 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 892 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)
DTS-HD Master Audio English 863 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 863 kbps / 16-bit (DTS Core: 2.0 / 48 kHz / 768 kbps / 16-bit)

LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit
LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit

Subtitles

English, Spanish, None

German, None

English (SDH), None

Features

Release Information:
Studio: 20th Century Fox Home Video

Aspect Ratio:
Original Aspect Ratio 2.35:1

Edition Details:

• MovieTone News
• Theatrical trailers

DVD Release Date: May 20th, 2003
Keep Case
Chapters: 32

Release Information:
Studio: WVG Medien

1080P Single-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 22,309,613,654 bytes

Feature: 19,202,656,128 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 22.96 Mbps

Edition Details:

• Original Trailer (2:56)
• Image Gallery

• Text Bios of cast / crew

• German trailers

Blu-ray Release Date: August 25th, 2017
Black Blu-ray Case
Chapters: 12

Release Information:
Studio: Eureka

1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray

Disc Size: 35,671,305,279 bytes

Feature: 25,074,186,240 bytes

Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video

Total Video Bitrate: 27.99 Mbps

Edition Details:

• Brand New and Exclusive interview with film historian Sheldon Hall (34:06)
• Original Theatrical Trailer (3:03)

Blu-ray Release Date: March 11th, 2019
Transparent Blu-ray Case
Chapters: 12

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Eureka - Region 'B' - Blu-ray March 19': The Eureka Sink the Bismark BD is on a dual-layered disc with a higher bitrate than the German WVG Blu-ray and this seems to show in a slightly lighter, more textured, image - however the differences are dependant on how discerning your system is. The UK has a marginal superiority in-motion - a notch ahead, but for many it will be negligible. Yes, there is a bit of 'Cinemascope Mumps' in both 2.35:1 AR transfers.

The audio is more definitively leaning to Eureka with 24-bit linear PCM tracks in either mono or 2.0 channel. Both sounds solid with depth in the plane and ship engine as well as shooting/bomb/torpedo sounds. Naval battle effect sounds are strong as is the score was by Clifton Parker (Scream of Fear, Tourneur's Curse of the Demon - US version, The Teckman Mystery etc.) which propagates suspense. There are optional English (SDH) subtitles.

Eureka add a brand new interview with film historian Sheldon Hall running shy of 35-minutes about the film, its history, production and much more. It is excellent. There is also an original theatrical trailer.

One of the better (best?) war films - certainly involving naval battles - would make an excellent double feature with Powell and Pressburger's The Battle of the River Plate. The overall presentation quality and extras are in advance of the German Blu-ray and those keen should pick up this cracker of a film.

***

ADDITION: WVG Medien - Region 'B' - Blu-ray October 17': Medien's new Blu-ray transfer ratchets up the detail, contrast layering and depth. It's single-layered with a reasonable bitrate. It's not overwhelming against the competent SD but the image quality is certainly improved in the higher resolution.

Audio is offered in a DTS-HD Master 2.0 channel (16-bit) in both the original English or a German DUB. The lossless is no powerhouse but advances on the DVD. The film, originally, had a 4-Track Stereo mix that may be lost. There are optional German subtitles (see sample below) on the Region 'B'-locked Blu-ray.

Nothing substantial in the way of extras - trailer, gallery, text (in German) bios etc.

***

ON THE DVD (2003): Another competent DVD from Fox. Excellent detail, contrast, grey scale and the widescreen scope gives an authentic theatrical feel. Audio comes in a few flavors including a stereo mix, original mono and some DUBs. optional subtitles are in bright yellow and the extras are sparse with some trailers and a very good MovieTone news real.

I'm not much of a war buff but I was riveted to this film from start to finish. It is really too reasonable priced considering the value - a definite asset to your collection.