The Sinking of the Laconia
- TV Mini Series
- 2010–
IMDb RATING
7.0/10
1.2K
YOUR RATING
Dramatisation of the true story of the sinking of the liner Laconia by a German U-boat in 1942 through the eyes of six survivors.Dramatisation of the true story of the sinking of the liner Laconia by a German U-boat in 1942 through the eyes of six survivors.Dramatisation of the true story of the sinking of the liner Laconia by a German U-boat in 1942 through the eyes of six survivors.
- Nominated for 1 BAFTA Award
- 4 nominations total
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Did you know
- GoofsIn Part 1 at the 13:15, scene in the Dry Dock, The Bow of a ship can be seen in the background, this ship has a bulbous bow. BUT bulbous bow were not incorporated in ship construction until 1963.
- Alternate versionsThe German version dubs all the actors to German, creating confusing moments in the story. In some scenes the original dialogues have to be changed to make it appear that the characters have not listened well to the German soldiers instead of understanding their language. In addition, in the opening and end credits, they give priority to German actors and 10 actors who play the British crew are uncredited.
- ConnectionsFeatured in When TV Goes to War (2011)
Featured review
Well made but with some strange flaws
This film is a throwback to the halcyon days a decade ago when brexit was still unheard of. As of late 2021, with anti-European and especially anti-German sentiment running strong in the UK and with a government in Westminster whose default response to domestic policy problems is stoking cross-channel tensions, something like this would no longer be produced, and if it were it would not be broadcast, at least not in Britain. The picture is on the whole nicely made and well-acted. Franka Potente is excellent, as usual, as is Lindsay Duncan who plays a snooty aristocrat - a type of role that suits her perfectly (watch her in the HBO miniseries 'Rome'). Ken Duken as U-boat commander Hartenstein and Andrew Buchan as third lieutenant of the Laconia are very good, too. Still, I have a number of reservations about the picture.
1. It is too long. I don't need non-stop explosions and action, but this film could easily have been condensed to a good one-and-a-half hours without detracting from the story in any way.
2. The way the character of Dönitz has been drawn. Dönitz was an 150% Nazi. He may have condoned Hartenstein's actions, but he did so not for humanitarian reasons but because they provided valuable propaganda material. And he certainly did not have any moral reservations about the murderous order he is giving towards the end of the film (not so save any further victims of U-boat attacks); on the contrary, that order was entirely in keeping with his ideological approach to warfare. The film is whitewashing him.
3. A strange thing I noticed is that the subtitles used for the German characters often do not match what they are actually saying. In most cases they offer relatively free translations, which is of course fine, but at least occasionally they deviate quite widely. I wonder why - but I am not interested strongly enough to re-watch the picture in order to try to find a pattern. Still, strange it is.
1. It is too long. I don't need non-stop explosions and action, but this film could easily have been condensed to a good one-and-a-half hours without detracting from the story in any way.
2. The way the character of Dönitz has been drawn. Dönitz was an 150% Nazi. He may have condoned Hartenstein's actions, but he did so not for humanitarian reasons but because they provided valuable propaganda material. And he certainly did not have any moral reservations about the murderous order he is giving towards the end of the film (not so save any further victims of U-boat attacks); on the contrary, that order was entirely in keeping with his ideological approach to warfare. The film is whitewashing him.
3. A strange thing I noticed is that the subtitles used for the German characters often do not match what they are actually saying. In most cases they offer relatively free translations, which is of course fine, but at least occasionally they deviate quite widely. I wonder why - but I am not interested strongly enough to re-watch the picture in order to try to find a pattern. Still, strange it is.
helpful•25
- Philipp_Flersheim
- Dec 10, 2021
- How many seasons does The Sinking of the Laconia have?Powered by Alexa
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- Sänkningen av Laconia
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By what name was The Sinking of the Laconia (2010) officially released in Canada in English?
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