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Above Us the Waves

1955 · 99 min

A sober, quietly gripping wartime procedural that builds tension through cramped, patient submarine work and stiff-upper-lip sacrifice.

Directed by
Ralph Thomas
Genres
War
Starring
John Mills, John Gregson, Donald Sinden
Tagline
Their Orders...Sink the Tirpitz!
Overview
In World War II, the greatest threat to the British navy is the German battleship Tirpitz. While anchored in a Norwegian fjord, it is impossible to attack by conventional means, so a plan is hatched for a special commando unit to attack it, using midget submarines to plant underwater explosives.

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Stream in the UK
  • ITVX Premium
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Ralph Thomas
Genres
War
Starring
John Mills, John Gregson, Donald Sinden
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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • tensestrength 2 of 3
  • earneststrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 1 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
  • loyalty
  • betrayal
  • death
Places
  • sea
  • wilderness
  • military
Era
period
Audience
adult
Form
  • true story
  • ensemble
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex none
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action4
Horror1
Humour2
Realism8
Romance0
Tension6
Darkness5
Complexity4
Emotional weight6

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Where to watch in the UK

Stream
  • ITVX Premium
Free
  • ITVX

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
war
Directed by
Ralph Thomas
Written by
Robin Estridge
Starring
John Mills, John Gregson, Donald Sinden, James Robertson Justice, Michael Medwin, Theodore Bikel, James Kenney, William Russell
Music
Arthur Benjamin
Cinematography
Ernest Steward
Runtime
99 min
Country
United Kingdom
Languages
English, German, Swedish

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