An early and wonderful example of what tv can do when it sets itself to do something good. Stuff like this is now all over the History Channel, but you can't do better than Richard Rodger's music for this. Worth it for the score alone.
7 Reviews
Narration by Alexander Scourbyetter makes it better than the TV series
wjolker21 April 2010
The movie DOES feature Alexander Scourby, not Leonard Graves as in the TV series. I like the movie better, as there's less need for fill and the movie lacks some of the charming corniness of the TV series. Many scenes from the TV series are taken from Hollywood "reenactment" movies, which I only noticed as I got older. The movie is fast-paced with excellent narration and legendary music.
I searched for this listing for years, but only found the TV series named and no credit for Alexander Scourby on the narration.
The movie makes a wonderful overview of World War II, especially for many young folk today who only know about it from "Call of Duty." Concentration camp scenes bring out the real horror without being overly graphic.
I searched for this listing for years, but only found the TV series named and no credit for Alexander Scourby on the narration.
The movie makes a wonderful overview of World War II, especially for many young folk today who only know about it from "Call of Duty." Concentration camp scenes bring out the real horror without being overly graphic.
Excellent for introducing...
Homer90027 January 2007
...people to WWII history. My uncle, a career Navy man and on the USS Enterprise on December 7th, 1941, said that this movie version of the TV show was good in depicting the war, as he saw it from the deck of a ship in the South Pacific. Of course there was no musical accompaniment nor profound moments; combat is hours of boredom coupled with minutes of sheer terror. What you are seeing, with a few minor exceptions, is actual footage from the battles described. It is a well-produced and good look at what our men, and those of our allies and even enemies faced in WWII. It is emotional, it cannot help to be, given the subject matter. A good, solid introduction to WWII history.
Film version of famous TV documentary series
critic-222 February 2007
The feature film version of "Victory at Sea" was made for movie theatres, not television, much as Walt Disney made a feature-length film out of the three "Davy Crockett" episodes that aired on his program. And it is Alexander Scourby who is credited as being the narrator of the feature-length film.
However, it is very hard to tell the difference in the voices of Leonard Graves, narrator of the TV series, and Scourby. In other films, however, and in the many documentaries that he narrated in the '60's and '70's, Scourby's voice sounds distinctly different from the voice heard in the motion picture version of "Victory at Sea". Here it sounds suspiciously like Graves's voice.
Could it be that it was actually the same narrator for both the TV series "Victory at Sea" and the movie version, and that for some reason, two different actors were credited?
However, it is very hard to tell the difference in the voices of Leonard Graves, narrator of the TV series, and Scourby. In other films, however, and in the many documentaries that he narrated in the '60's and '70's, Scourby's voice sounds distinctly different from the voice heard in the motion picture version of "Victory at Sea". Here it sounds suspiciously like Graves's voice.
Could it be that it was actually the same narrator for both the TV series "Victory at Sea" and the movie version, and that for some reason, two different actors were credited?
Narration
aggreen1-114 February 2007
The narrator for the Victory at Sea series was Leonard Graves, not Alexander Scourby. Graves' name is credited at the beginning of each of the 16 episodes.
Also, as noted in Wikipedia, Richard Rodgers, fresh off several hit Broadway musicals, was retained to compose the musical score for the series. Rodgers would contribute twelve "themes"--short piano compositions a minute or two in length. Robert Russell Bennett did the scoring, transforming Rodgers's themes to fit a variety of moods, and composing much more original material than Rodgers. Nonetheless, Bennett received credit only for "arranging" the score and conducting NBC Symphony Orchestra members on the soundtrack recording sessions, and many writers still refer erroneously to "Rodgers's thirteen-hour score."
Also, as noted in Wikipedia, Richard Rodgers, fresh off several hit Broadway musicals, was retained to compose the musical score for the series. Rodgers would contribute twelve "themes"--short piano compositions a minute or two in length. Robert Russell Bennett did the scoring, transforming Rodgers's themes to fit a variety of moods, and composing much more original material than Rodgers. Nonetheless, Bennett received credit only for "arranging" the score and conducting NBC Symphony Orchestra members on the soundtrack recording sessions, and many writers still refer erroneously to "Rodgers's thirteen-hour score."
The cinema version.
dr-daws17 November 2010
Anyone seeing this film today will not feel the impact that it had back in 1954 when it was first released. In those days much of the newsreel content was being shown for the first time. Here in the UK I can remember some film critics saying how they were moved to tears by some of the scenes. The part where the Pardre is giving the last rites to the dying sailor on the deck of an aircraft carrier comes to mind. As stated, much of the film stock has been shown repeatedly in later war documentaries so losing much of it's impact. I've not seen this film for many years but it will always remain in my memory. Rodgers "Beneath The Southern Cross" became "No Other Love" and was a big hit of the time.
Not a Documentary
arodrig622 March 2005
Its not a documentary, its a propaganda piece.
Victory at Sea presents little to no new information or insight into the War. While it does contain a large amount of footage, the footage is badly edited, without label, and without source.
If you want to watch many hours of things exploding, set to music and (somewhat pompous narration), this is a very very good series. If you are looking for information or insight into WWII naval battles, there are a number of more in depth documentaries, or semi- documentaries like 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' or 'Midway.'
Also, I have heard comments from several people on-line that the audio is poorly mixed in some versions, and that the Music drowns out the (already minimalist) narration. I didn't have a problem with this, but beware.
Victory at Sea presents little to no new information or insight into the War. While it does contain a large amount of footage, the footage is badly edited, without label, and without source.
If you want to watch many hours of things exploding, set to music and (somewhat pompous narration), this is a very very good series. If you are looking for information or insight into WWII naval battles, there are a number of more in depth documentaries, or semi- documentaries like 'Tora! Tora! Tora!' or 'Midway.'
Also, I have heard comments from several people on-line that the audio is poorly mixed in some versions, and that the Music drowns out the (already minimalist) narration. I didn't have a problem with this, but beware.
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