Sunday, 15 January 2012

The best British films of the 1950s: #1 The Cruel Sea

The Cruel Sea (Charles Frend, 1953)

The Cruel Sea is a 1953 British film from Ealing Studios starring Jack Hawkins and (in his first film) Donald Sinden, with Denholm Elliott, Stanley Baker,Liam Redmond, Virginia McKenna and Moira Lister. It was directed by Charles Frend and produced by Leslie Norman (father of TV movie critic, Barry Norman).
It was based on the best selling novel The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat. It is a strikingly accurate portrayal of the war between the Royal Navy and Germany's U-boats from the viewpoint of the British naval officers and seamen who served in escort vessels during World War II, although the screenplay by Eric Ambler omitted some of Monsarrat's grimmest images. [courtesy Wikipedia]

Sunday, 8 January 2012

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

The best Christmas films of the last 30 years



Bad Santa, Scrooged, Home Alone, National Lampoon's Vacation, Miracle on 34th Street, Trading Places, The Santa Clause, Gremlins, Die Hard, Elf, Santa Claus The Movie, The Holiday, Love Actually...what is your favourite Christmas film?