Sous 10 drapeaux

"Under Ten Flags" may not be the most exciting war film ever made. It lacks the scope or star power of films like "The Guns of Navarone" or "The Eagle Has Landed". However, it more than makes up for it because unlike most war films, it's historically accurate--at least in all the major details. As a retired history teacher, I really, really appreciate that--as too many films play fast and loose with the facts. In this case, it's interesting enough that it didn't need a lot of embellishment.

The film is about a German ship that harassed British shipping in the Atlantic. It was able to do this so successfully because the ship appeared to be just another merchant ship. And, the title of the film is a comment about how the ship could quickly be changed to look like a boat from many different friendly nations. So, again and again, when British naval ships neared, the German craft changed appearances to make it seem quite innocuous. But, with torpedoes, guns and a crack crew, this was a very lethal ship. The problem for the British is that they needed to find it.

As for the captain of this German ship (played by Van Heflin), he was an interesting fellow. He was, foremost, a professional and not a Nazi party man. This made for many interesting moments in the film, as he tried to fight cleanly--in a manner that minimized deaths--especially to civilians. The contrast of this and some of his blood-thirsty Nazi crew was profound...and real.

Overall, a very interesting film because it was so unusual, thoughtful and well written. Well worth your time--especially if you want to see what WWII was really like.

By the way, being the history buff, I notice little details too--such as the striking blonde who is dressed and coiffed circa 1960--not WWII.

It has been many years since I saw this film but I remember it to be interesting with a differant view of the war through the eyes of the captain of the german raider, Atlantis. He is shown to be compassionate in saving as many lives as he can from the ships that he sinks and is not at all in agreement with Hitler's policies but his country is as war and so he obeys his orders. It is a shame that this film is not available on tape or otherwise as it depicts the other side of German officers not in "lock step" with Hitler.

Sadly, this movie has not been commercially available for many years. It is story about a rarely mentioned weapon of WWII, the German Surface Raider. They were ordinary merchant ships lined with amour plating and medium-sized navel guns. Unlike the famous U-boats which could hide beneath the sea, Surface Raiders relied on disguise to blend in with normal shipping traffic until they could find a lone ship they could surprise and sink.

This is the story of the hunt to find and destroy the best of them, the ship Atlantis. It is a story of bravery and ingenuity on both sides as the British Admiralty is caught up in a vast game of hide-n-seek with a clever adversary.

I choose to write this review largely because I have, over the years read a few rather poor opinions expressed about it. I can't wait for it to reappear somewhere, someday. My only explanation as to why someone who is a fan of naval war films would not thoroughly enjoy this one is the fact that the last three times I saw it over fifteen years ago the reels of the movie were in the wrong order! (I swear). That dampens the suspense considerably and gives it a very muddled, confused look. But even mixed up it beats a lot of movies I've seen.

However incredible they may seem the events narrated in this picture actually occurred and starred by Bernhard Rogge (Van Heflin), captain of the German raider at that time called Atlantis . It deals with the sensational 665-Day chase of the Killer-Ship Atlantis captained by Bernhard Rogge pursued by the British staff commanded by Admiral Russell (Charles Laughton ) ; including an intrigue upon secret agent (Alex Nicol) robbing documents by means of a dangerous mission .

This interesting war movie contains suspense , thrills, sea battles and historical events . It's an European co-production lavishly and mostly produced by the great Italian producer Dino De Laurentiis . Exceptional cast formed by European actors as Italian as Gian Maria Volonte , Eleonora Rossi Drago ,Folco Lulli , Corrado Pani , American as Van Heflin ,Alex Nicol ,Walter Barnes , French as Mylene Demongeot , British as Charles Laughton , Cecil Parker , Ralph Truman , and German as John Ericson ,Peter Carsten , Gerard Herter , Helmut Schmid , Diete Eppler . Very good musical score by the classic Nino Rota , with tunes similarly composed to the subsequent The Godfather . Atmospheric cinematography by Aldo Tonti , though is necessary a fine remastering and contains several stock-shots . The motion picture is well directed by Duilio Coletti .

The picture is based upon events which actually occurred during a series of naval actions in 1940-41 and carried out by Bernhard Rogge (1899-1982) exceptionally played by Van Hefiln . Rogge was one of many German officers who were forced to apply for a German Blood Certificate, that would allow their racial background to be overlooked (he had a Jewish grandparent).He was awarded a Japanese ornate Samurai sword and the Oak Leaves to the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross for his actions as the commander of the Hilfskreuzer (auxiliary cruiser) Atlantis . Rogge became a Vizeadmiral (vice-admiral) by the end of World War II, and eventually became a Konteradmiral (rear-admiral) of the West German Bundesmarine. Rogge also was one of the few German officers of flag rank who was not arrested by the Allies after the war. This was due to the way he had exercised his command of Atlantis.The skipper of the British vessel, City of Baghdad, which the Atlantis sunk in July 1941, stated, "His treatment of prisoners left respect, instead of hatred". Admiral Karl Dönitz, who was prosecuted for war crimes at the Nuremberg Trials, cited his own support of Rogge in an effort to clear himself of the charge of being antisemitic. Rogge was later a German officer for Nato in the territorial Allied Naval Forces .

I don't see this film in as nearly a bad light as some of the other commentator's here. There is good performances from Van Heflin and Laughton is always a joy to watch. There are certainly some obvious Italian extras thrown into this movie but whats bad about that? I for one can give the thumbs up for the female actors. Great bodies on them even though its in black and white! Stock footage is used in abundance for the sinking of the ships but the actual guns firing and being uncovered on the German vessel looks like the real deal to me. So sure, its not a masterpiece but give it a chance and I am sure you will find it a time passer.