I love this movie so much

good back-story, and good acting

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

John Mills heads the cast in Above The Waves, the true story about a team of courageous volunteers from the British Navy who in three midget submarines sink the German battleship Tirpitz in a Norwegian fjord where it is anchored and seemingly impregnable. The only thing that Above The Waves lacks is a snappy theme song along the lines of Sink The Bismarck and Guns Of Navarone.When Hitler invaded Norway it was to capture that long Atlantic coastline with its deep water fjords, the better to house his Atlantic fleet and harass and sink allied lend lease shipping to Russia to Murmansk and Archangel. With its sister ship the Bismarck sunk, the battleship Tirpitz was the crown jewel of the fleet and in that fjord where it was docked near nigh impregnable like those guns on the isle of Navarone.Admiral James Robertson Justice in a similar role to that which he played in The Guns Of Navarone commissions John Mills to put a team together to man three midget submarines. These little ships which only carry a crew of four were something like underwater PT boats. Service in a submarine is close quarters in any event, service in these vessels could induce claustrophobia if you had that tendency.These incredibly courageous men in three of these vessels sailed into the fjord and put explosives right at the keel of the Tirpitz an act that requires a set of brass ones. The biggest set had to belong to Donald Sinden who had a harrowing scene kicking away a mine which had gotten caught in a tow line. This is as it happened, the Tirpitz capsized in the fjord and was out of action for about a year. Later it was sunk in the open sea during battle.Big kudos go to John Mills and the cast who brought this film to the screen. And this review is dedicated to those courageous volunteers from the Royal Navy who did this job in real life.

John Mills leads a typical cast of the day in this rather inadequately-funded tub-thumper. We're off to sink the Tirpitz, holed-up in a Norwegian Fjord.It's the mid 1950's and budgets were no longer underwritten by wartime propaganda funds. Even so, private equity was available and much more memorable works were being produced at the time. I'm thinking here of 'The Cruel Sea' and the incomparable 'Dambusters'.It's not a bad movie. It just seems a bit flimsy and hurried from time to time. There are plenty of dramatic moments, with lots of underwater tension. We are given a fairly accurate idea of what it was like to be stuck inside these tiny devices for hours on end. There's some nice, if economical, underwater takes.John Gregson and Donald Sinden are in fine supporting form, as they was in 'River Plate' and 'The Cruel Sea'. James Robertson Justice features as a querulous admiral. The rest are all decent B-movie extras.Considering the astonishing nature of the mission, which was largely successful - even if the German battleship wasn't actually sunk - I think a greater effort could have been made, especially in terms of funding. The heroes deserved at least that. But then I'm reminded of 'The Gift Horse' - an equally low-funded movie of the even more harrowing (and costly) raid on the docks of St Nazaire by HMS Campbeltown. We don't respect our heroes like we should.It's well worth a watch if you haven't seen it. I have it in my collection courtesy of a Daily Mail freebie. It's decent entertainment - just on a bit of a shoestring.My summary is a line from the movie. The captured crew of the mini-subs are on the deck of the Tirpitz after the mines have gone off. The battleship captain comes to inspect his prisoners after they've all but wrecked his ship. It's an hilarious throwaway comment.

Made during the austere 1950s (for us in the UK) with the usual British humour to lighten the grim events. Wonderful to see James Robertson-Justice not as a grumpy surgeon but as a grumpy admiral who manages to smile when he realises his ship has been 'attacked' by the heroes of the tale (to prove their merit). I wonder how accurate that part is? The incredible bravery of the men in the midget subs is well rendered, and one can forgive the film makers of the time - so soon after the war - for the German stereotypes on the Tirpitz, yet their Captain salutes the "brave men" who have arrived to attack his boat.A wonderful British war movie!

One or two spoilers : Another reasonably true to life British film depicting the daring, skillful and often claustrophobic conditions that the British mini-sub crews endured to attack the large German battleship Tirpitz ( sister ship to the great Bismark ) which was hidden deep in Norwegian fjords. With the Tirpitz lurking in Norway, the British were forced to keep a substantial force of ships in readiness in case she broke out to attack convoys. If she could be disabled or destroyed, this would free up the badly needed British warships for other duties. A daring plan was devised to pilot miniature submarines into the fjord where Tirpitz lay and deposit large underwater mines beneath her,timed to go off after the sub crews hopefully escaped. Well shot in B&W and starring competent actors John Mills and John Gregson the background of training and the eventual attack is very absorbing. Well worth a look.