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Poster for The Cruel Sea

The Cruel Sea

1953 · 126 min

A grim, immersive voyage through the Battle of the Atlantic, balancing tense naval action with the quiet toll of loss and duty.

Directed by
Charles Frend
Genres
Drama, History, War
Starring
Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott
Overview
At the start of World War II, Cmdr. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Traumatic events afloat and ashore create a warm bond between the skipper and his first officer.

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Stream in the UK
  • Studiocanal Presents Amazon Channel
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Charles Frend
Genres
Drama, History, War
Starring
Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • bleakstrength 3 of 3
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • melancholicstrength 2 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • war
  • survival
  • grief
  • loyalty
  • death
Places
  • sea
  • military
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action5
Horror3
Humour2
Realism8
Romance1
Tension7
Darkness7
Complexity5
Emotional weight8

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • Studiocanal Presents Amazon Channel
Rent
  • Amazon Video
  • BFI Player
  • YouTube
Buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama, history, war
Directed by
Charles Frend
Written by
Eric Ambler
Starring
Jack Hawkins, Donald Sinden, Denholm Elliott, John Stratton, Stanley Baker, Liam Redmond, Meredith Edwards, Bruce Seton
Cinematography
Gordon Dines
Runtime
126 min
Country
United Kingdom
Languages
English

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