WWII-60th Anniversary Box Set (1954)

"[Caine] ...salty, exciting and revealing.  Bosley Crowther, The New York Times
"[Das Boot] ...the most convincing war movie ever made...  Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times
"[Anzio] All-star cast, large-scale action...  Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide
"[Das Boot] Wolfgang Petersen's direction is an exercise in pure craftsmanship.  Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
"[Anzio] Fine cast... big battle scenes are effectively rendered.  VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever

Editor's Note DAS BOOT: In the midst of World War II, as the tide turns against the Axis, a German U-boat crew is sent out to patrol the Atlantic and attack Allied ships bringing supplies to England. The submarine also carries a press correspondent, there to report from the front lines of naval warfare. Meanwhile, the crew's captain (Jürgen Prochnow) is becoming disillusioned with the Nazi regime and with war in general. What starts out as a routine mission is soon enlivened beyond the crew's expectations when their boat's surprise attack on a convoy is thwarted by a fast-moving destroyer. Battered by depth charges, the crew must pull together to survive the attacks of their unseen enemy. ANZIO: This film from director Edward Dmytryk (THE CAINE MUTINY) follows the Allied landing in Italy at the beaches of Anzio--one of the bloodiest battles of the war, thanks to an overly cautious general (Arthur Kennedy) whose delays gave the Germans time to erect the Caesar Line of defense around Rome. Robert Mitchum stars as Dick Ennis, an unarmed seen-it-all war correspondent who finds himself in the thick of the fray. Peter Falk is scrappy Corporal Rabinoff, a former shoe salesman who's grown addicted to the thrill of combat. Together they get stuck behind enemy lines and must fight their way back to warn the troops. THE CAINE MUTINY: In director Edward Dmytryk's classic seafaring drama, privileged mama's boy Ensign Keith (Robert Francis) gets assigned to the Caine, a rusty old minesweeper with a haggard, undisciplined crew, during the latter days of WWII. Soon the paranoid, strawberry-loving Captain Queeg (Humphrey Bogart) takes charge and tries to clean up the ship, arousing the hatred and suspicion of the other officers, especially a flippant lieutenant (Fred MacMurray). Eventually, the men stage a mutiny, and a dramatic trial follows, featuring a sharply intelligent military lawyer (José Ferrer). DEADMEN'S SECRETS: THE SECRETS OF SEAWOLVES: This documentary uses archive footage to trace the Germans' use of submarines during World War II. The seawolves were a formidable technology, and with them, the Nazis came close to cutting of Great Britain's access to food and supplies and starving them into submission. The sea battles were a crucial element of the war, and this documentary shows how the Allies eventually managed to stave off the technologically superior Germans and put an end to the fighting.

	Arthur Kennedy
	Fred MacMurray
	Herbert Gronemeyer
	Hubertus Bengsch
	Humphrey Bogart
	Jose Ferrer
	Jurgen Prochnow
	Klaus Wennemann
	Peter Falk
	Reni Santoni
	Robert Mitchum
	Van Johnson
	Edward Dmytryk - [Anzio, Caine] Director
	Wolfgang Petersen - [Das Boot] Director

Leonard Maltin's Movie & Video Guide 9 of 10
[Das Boot] Realistic, meticulously mounted nail-biter chronicling a German U-boat on a mission during WW2, with Prochnow solid as its commander. Manages to embrace an anti-war message, as well.

James Berardinelli's ReelViews 10 of 10
[Das Boot] [This] version of Das Boot is significantly different from the first cut. More than sixty minutes of footage from the original German TV mini-series has been seamlessly woven back into the movie's tapestry. Jarring transitions have been smoothed out and character development has been greatly enhanced. The result is a more complete viewing experience. Das Boot, universally recognized as the best submarine movie of all time and one of the most heart-pounding thrillers ever filmed, is even better this time around than it was in its initial release... This film takes all of the drama and suspense inherent in a submarine-based story and delivers it in a near-perfect package, establishing Das Boot as not just a terrific adrenaline rush, but one of the best movies ever made.

Find-A-Video 10 of 10
[Caine] In his last great role, Humphrey Bogart stars as the neurotic Captain Queeg in this sensational screen version of Herman Wouk's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel... Fred MacMurray, Van Johnson and Jose Ferrer offer excellent support.

VideoHound's Golden Movie Retriever 10 of 10
[Caine] A group of naval officers revolt against a captain they consider mentally unfit. Bogart is masterful as Captain Queeg, obsessed with cleanliness while onboard and later a study in mental meltdown during the court-martial of a crew member who participated in the mutiny...