Damn the Defiant!

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Set in 1797 at the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars, Damn the Defiant! (also known as H.M.S. Defiant) is an enthralling British naval drama made to capitalize on MGM's epic remake of Mutiny on the Bounty, also released in 1962. It's based on Frank Tilsey's novel Mutiny and stars Alex Guinness as a fair-minded captain locked in psychological conflict with his manipulative, coldly malicious first officer (Dirk Bogarde), and the parallels with the famous true story are clear. However, there were many naval mutinies during this period, and this large-scale saga, which includes some spectacularly staged widescreen naval battles, offers a realistic depiction of life in the British navy at the time--from the press gangs and floggings to the appalling food and living conditions.

Director Lewis Gilbert--who previously helmed Sink the Bismarck! (1960)--strikes a good balance between the personal drama and sweeping maritime adventure. Guinness successfully varies his firm-but-fair officer from The Bridge on the River Kwai, Bogarde is chillingly hateful, and Anthony Quayle gives strong support. --Gary S. Dalkin

Customer Reviews:

Damn the Defiant!.......2007-06-27

This salty, sadly overlooked British entry fires on all cylinders. Lewis Gilbert (who'd go on to direct the original "Alfie" and three Bond entries) displays a sure hand here, with two first-class actors (Guinness and a deliciously hateful Bogarde) crossing verbal swords with gusto, while the always reliable Anthony Quayle organizes the men below. The denouement is worth waiting for, with stunning color footage recreating these beautiful ships in full battle mode. As period war movies go, you'll find this "Defiant" ship-shape indeed.

Moving and interesting.......2007-06-06

The anguishing position of being the captain's son in an English ship during the Napoleonic wars is certainly no mean thing. Especially if your foe happens to be the ship's second in command,an envious and evil minded officer, marvelously played by Dirk Bogarde.
The film is certainly a first rate period classic of its kind. The life aboard an English Warship of the early Nineteenth Century is masterfully portrayed, and the drama lived on board is extremely disquieting to the viewer.
Alec Guiness, (the ship's captain) plays a good quiet and fair gentleman, knowledgeable of his trade and in anguish at not being able to protect his son from his devious second in command, untill he devises a plan..
A very interesting an moving experience.

A very good film.......2007-03-25

"Damn the Defiant!" is the name of a British film made in 1962. It IS a strange name, but you should not let that mislead you: the film is worth seeing. It is a very interesting story about leadership, good men, and bad men.

The story is set during the Napoleonic Wars, that time when the French ruled Europe, and the British ruled the waves. However, the main conflict in the film is not between the French and the English; it is between the Captain and the first mate aboard an English frigate, the Defiant. The Captain is a good sea-officer and commander; not a soft man, but a just and merciful one. His first mate is a talented young officer, who is however not only too hard and unrelenting, but unmerciful and truly cruel to the hands. A conflict naturally arises between them, but as the first mate has powerful friends in the government, the Captain has to be careful about gaining his enmity. Things are made more complex by a fact of which both of them are unaware: in all vessels of the British fleet a bloodless revolt is being planned, as a demand for better conditions of life for the hands aboard the ships. But it is extremely important that there is no officer killed in any of the ships; and the heads of the revolt aboard the Defiant start to have trouble to restrain some men who hate the first mate. These three conflicts provide a highly interesting story.

Of course, an interesting story is not all that matters; but in other respects the film is good too. Firstly, the main character is a good and noble man; and that is something one does not find in all stories. Then, it is not a violent film: it does have some violence, but not in an "unrealistically realistic" degree; it is not one of those films in which we see blood spurting from a man's wound as if out of a garden hose. And last, but very important: the leading roles are played by very good actors.

A few years ago a film was made similar to this one: it was also set during the Napoleonic Wars, aboard an English vessel sent on a mission against the French. The plot was fairly good, though the movie was unnecessarily violent. However, the main point against it is that the leading role was played very poorly. The actor who played the captain was not at all convincing, although the character should have been that of an outstanding commander. In "Damn the Defiant!" we have a good character played by a very good actor, and the result is that the Captain stands out, as an aristocratic and stately man we truly admire. In this other movie, "Master and Commander", we see no nobility and no dignity in the main character; we cannot admire him, and this spoils the whole film. In one case, a good story was spoiled by the choice of the wrong man; and in the other, one character well acted turned an interesting -- but in no way exceptional -- story, into a very good film.

"Rule Britannia Rule the Waves"!.......2006-05-15

"HMS Defiant" (Aka "Damn the Defiant" 1962) is an extraordinary, yet underrated, "wooden ships" film!
As good as "Captain Horatio Hornblower" (1951) or more recent "Master & Commander" (2003)
This film has everything to constitute a very good film: experienced director and crew, great actors and excellent special effects (done without all more recent paraphernalia).

First we'll take a look to film's crew, director Lewis Gilbert, cinematography director Christopher Callis, special effects supervisor Howard Lydecker and music score composer Clifton Parker. All of them had teamed before to produce "Sink the Bismarck" (1960) a "war at sea" movie.
Londoner Lewis Gilbert has delivered, before and after, this movie some other great films as "Alfie" (1966), "Educating Rita" (1983) and "Shirley Valentine" (1989).

Actor's performances are just outstanding. Alec Guinness characterization of Capt. Crawford is in line with his best dramatic feats as his Col. Nicholson in "The Bridge on the River Kwai" (1957) or the Cardinal in "The Prisoner" (1955).
Dirk Bogarde as wicked and sadistic 1st Lt. Scott-Padget instills his character with a subtle dose of evilness that will make you to desire fervently to see him punished.
Anthony Quayle as sailor's rebel leader delivers a forceful piece.
The rest of the cast offers a good supporting level.

The story is situated during the Napoleonic War aboard an English war ship. Capt. Crawford is an aging unassuming veteran that will clash with ruthless and cruel 1st Lt. Scott Padget in a will contest of how to lead a vessel and his crew.
At the same time "Defiant"'s crew is enrolled in the historical fleet mutiny against violence and abuse.
The first part of the film shows different personal conflicts among the characters and will end with three spectacular sea battles full of action and realism.

Wooden ship lovers should not miss this movie!
Reviewed by Max Yofre.

British Naval Warfare, With Cruelty, Mutiny And Patriotism In 1797.......2006-04-01

Anyone who likes iron men fighting in wooden ships against the French, with the roar of cannon and splinters flying everywhere, will enjoy the last half of Damn the Defiant!. Whether you enjoy the first half depends on how well you appreciate the almost psychopathic cruelty and condescension of First Lieutenant Scott-Padget (Dirk Bogarde).

It's 1797, Napoleon threatens Britain, and only the Royal Navy ensures Britain's freedom. Captain Crawford (Alec Guinness) takes command of H.M.S. Defiant, a single-gun-deck frigate. Also joining the ship is Scott-Padget, an officer with friends in high places, a talent for seamanship, and a taste for flogging. While Crawford is determined to keep an open mind about his first lieutenant, it becomes quickly apparent that Scott-Padget is an arrogant sadist who is fully capable of undermining Crawford's authority if that's what it takes to get his way. He doesn't hesitate to brutalize the captain's 12-year-old son, brought on board as a midshipman, in subtle ways that keep Crawford from intervening. Added to this seething mix is the crew itself, brutalized not just by Scott-Padget but by the terrible living conditions sailors of the Royal Navy had to endure. One crewman, Vizard (Anthony Quayle), is the leader in putting together what he thinks will be a non-violent petition for redress. Every officer, however, will consider it a mutiny.

The first half of the movie is two stories. There is the struggle between Crawford and Scott-Padget, with Scott-Padget eventually getting the upper-hand. And there is the story of the men on a wooden ship of war and what their lives are like as they're beaten and trained to be seamen, subsist on a diet of rotten meat and weevily hardtack, and can receive 50 lashes at the whim of a first lieutenant.

The second half, however, is a rouser of the old school. A vital message must be delivered to the fleet, Captain Crawford finally is able to assert himself and the French break out of a blockade determined to attack an unaware British squadron in the fog. Ship-to-ship battles are fought where the victor will be determined by which ship can get alongside the other and throw iron faster at near point-blank range. And the seamen of Defiant must decide if their loyalty to Britain will override their knowledge that, if they are accused of being mutineers, each man will most likely be hanged.

The movie's strong points, for me, are the production values, the recreation of how brutal ship-to-ship fighting was, the look at the lives of men at sea in a fighting ship, and the appeal to patriotism over self interest, which was handled effectively because it was treated matter-of-factly. The weak points, for me, centered on the two leads. Guinness as Captain Crawford seemed too sluggish in coming to grips with his first lieutenant. He needed in my view more fire. Guinness was an actor who excelled in ambiguous and thoughtful roles, but he had it in him to play men with iron and passion; just look at him as Major Jock Sinclair in Tunes of Glory. Dirk Bogarde, however, plays Scott-Padget without an ounce of any quality than condescending sadism. Scott-Padget may be a talented sea officer and a brave man, but every time he's on screen you know exactly how he will behave. For those who like the smaller roles, keep an eye out for Tom Bell, who plays a resentful, violent seaman. Nearly thirty years later he was DS Bill Otley...a man Jane Tennison quickly learned not to trust in Prime Suspect 1 but who surprised her in Prime Suspect 3.

The DVD picture looks just fine, with anamorphic wide-screen on one side and full screen on the other. There are three or four extras which aren't significant.

Average customer rating:

Damn the Defiant!
Moving and interesting
A very good film
"Rule Britannia Rule the Waves"!
British Naval Warfare, With Cruelty, Mutiny And Patriotism In 1797

Damn the Defiant! [Region 2]
Starring: Alec Guinness , Dirk Bogarde , Maurice Denham , Nigel Stock , and Richard Carpenter
Director: Lewis Gilbert (II)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00005U0JV