Expedition: Bismarck

Two of the slightly more than 100 survivors of the 1941 sinking of the German battleship Bismarck accompanied James Cameron on a mission to determine the exact circumstances of the mighty warship's demise.

In the early stages of World War II Britain's Royal Navy feared not only U-Boats (which, in fact, were in short supply) but surface commerce raiders, both disguised and conventional. In the First World War Germany's surface sea raiders posed a serious challenge to ocean-borne commerce and their rampages required significant diversion of British naval assets.

Before television, Americans and Britons followed the war through newsreels at a time when very many attended movies at least weekly. Newspapers and magazines provided military and naval commentary, often accompanied by photos and maps.

At the beginning of the war the German pocket battleship Graf Spee captured world attention as it raided the Atlantic before being hunted down and grievously damaged by British ships. The subsequent spectacular scuttling of the Graf Spee on the River Plate was filmed and later watched by millions.

The Bismarck and its accompanying vessels posed an enormous potential threat to Britain's sea lines. One of the most powerful warships ever built, its mere existence was a daily factor in British naval plans. When it sallied forth in the spring of 1941 the Royal Navy successfully intercepted the vessel but in the first exchange of broadsides, HMS Hood was hit and it went down with all but three of its crew.

James Cameron's documentary, supplemented with reenactments, barely conveys the shock felt in England when news that HMS Hood had been lost was received. HMS Prince of Wales, with the Hood, was damaged (HMS Prince of Wales would be lost in December of the same year to Japanese forces while under the command of an admiral who doubted that aircraft could sink battleships).

A task force of Royal Navy vessels cornered the Bismarck which steamed in endless circles because a fortuitous torpedo hit from a British plane jammed the ship's rudder.

Pummeled by the massed firepower of many ships, Bismarck went down. A continuing mystery, and controversy still alive, was whether the fatally stricken battle wagon went to its grave proximately through battle damage or whether the crew hastened the end by setting off scuttle charges and opening sea cocks. National pride - British and German - is still sufficiently alive for this issue to command attention.

Whatever the answer the destruction of Bismarck was a relief for a stressed and weary England. A popular movie of the encounter was made years ago.

Cameron basically adopts the approach, and most critically, the advanced technology that Robert Ballard has used so successfully in exploring the Titanic, the Lusitania and other famous maritime wrecks. It's interesting to watch him at work, both on the surface and in the deep diving craft housed on the Russian marine archeological vessel that has made many discoveries possible.

Cameron briefly explores the history of Nazism and the two elderly German survivors explain that as little boys they grew up under the mantle of Nazi control and couldn't help but hate the British. They become emotional when talking about their lost shipmates and in one moving scene they throw a wreath into the ocean while expressing respect for their dead comrades and hope that there will be no more wars.

The Discovery Channel premiered this film tonight and, of course, it was chopped up with commercials. It will make a greater impact when seen as an uninterrupted feature length documentary.

The sea holds many mysteries and in the past decade research submersibles have uncovered some and answered a tantalizing few long- time questions. Cameron's passion for this project comes through here (as does more than a hint that he isn't as patient and at least as superficially easygoing as Ballard appears to be).

This is a fascinating film that all interested in World War II and the sea will enjoy.

9/10 (for this genre).

In a nutshell: director James Cameron and his crew (among them his engineer brother Mike, German WWII veterans, DP Vince Pace and a bunch of equally brilliant scientists and historians) join a Russian research ship in order to film the wreckage of battleship Bismarck, a ginormous Nazi cruiser sunk by the British (or was she?) in May 1941 off the coast of France, or as the commentary by Lance Henriksen dubs her: "the Death Star of her time".

This is a docu-fiction type of documentary. Phenomenal archive footage and stunning present-day images are blended (sometimes not flawlessly) with CGI schematics as well as stiff period dramatization. As much as I love Jim Cameron's movies (I truly think he's one of the most important filmmakers working today, even his lesser efforts in the fiction domain being better than 95% of their rivals IMHO) I wasn't introduced yet to his documentary work. Now that I've seen "Expedition: Bismarck" I honestly can recommend it to anyone interested in history, underwater filming, or just documentaries altogether. That being said, some of Cameron's flaws or shortcomings as an artist were more visible here than in his previous work, and it prevented me to completely dive into it.

Cameron's brand of tech-heavy obsession transpires logically more here than in any other film. There is a strong emphasis on engineering aspects and basic underwater physics. As much as it's portrayed efficiently with much pedagogic concern, it might be a bit hard to follow for the younger - or less tutored - audience. The first 30 minutes skip quite bizarrely through the historical facts, the Bismarck being portrayed in such a hammy manner than its sinking in comparison seems like a mere footnote. As much as this choice pays off later on, I still found the intro quite unbalanced and suffering from a poor dramatization that looks like a cheap A&E biography.

Another annoying aspect was the historical theories submitted by the film. Much like another Cameron-produced documentary (you know, that obnoxious movie about the tomb of Jesus?) some established historical theories are being challenged here by the filmmakers. And even if I don't believe in any bias on their end, the way they present their "discoveries" is way too rushed or opaque to be credible. Sometimes James Cameron and his mates sound like smug, arrogant tomb raiders jumping to conclusions while said conclusions are neither really explained nor sustaining their arguments. Nothing in this movie shows a lack of good faith from the filmmakers, but the way they mistake themselves for History detectives is totally out of place.

That being said, these flaws are quite forgettable compared to the astounding undersea filming. This is truly the most breathtaking marine film since Louis Malle and Jacques Yves Cousteau's groundbreaking 50's film "Le monde du silence". And more importantly, the usual criticism toward Cameron's work (a so-called coldness and lack of emotion) is here negated by the very moving story of two 80 year-old men who survived the sinking. The genuine emotion from those two German WWII vets not only humanizes the story, but shows how young spirits could've been brainwashed by the Nazi propaganda. Yesterday's enemies being today's friends gives this movie a well-earned upbeat ending that never feels staged or stolen.

James Cameron goes deeper to explore another ill-fated vessels which sailed during the beginnings of World War Two. Having survivors from the battle, and death of what the narrator voiced over on the program, "The Death Star" helped bring another story, similar to that of James Cameron's TITANIC, a human element. In addition to see inside of the wreck and see that leather still survives for sixty years at the depth of almost sixteen thousand feet below sea-level shadows a darkness over this terrible war. A program that is a must own for Cameron Buffs, and World War Two historians. Watch to see the end of this weapon of war, and theories of its demise, ex torpedo strikes, to even the crew detonating the engine room. Come and explore the Bismarck

for the most pat,this documentary is pretty decent viewing.it's mainly about the German juggernaut war ship Bismark and it's sinking.it gives a bit of a brief history of the ship.the some battle scenes are shown,many computer animated.the ship is shown as it sinks int the water under a barrage of British fire from most of the British fleet.meanwhile James Cameron and his crew prepare to explore the wreckage of the ship on the sea floor,using two submersibles.the footage of the ship 61 years almost to the day that it was sunk is pretty impressive.you get a real idea of how massive and well built the ship was.Cameron's crew were also able to enter the ship through many different holes,some caused by enemy artillery.you get an idea of what the inside of the was like.along with Cameron and company are two survivors of the sinking.there are a few things I didn't like here.one is that they never really had the two survivors relate much of their story,which would have been nice.another thing is i felt it took too long to get to the point where they were exploring the wreckage.also instead of letting the viewing just enjoy what they are seeing,sometimes Cameron and crew throw in some "ooh" and "ahh" comments.the documentary focuses a bit too much on the scientists and the technicians,which is not really interesting.there are a few scenes i thought they could have left out,which had very little to do with anything.other than that,though,it wasn't too bad.the computer animation was outstanding.i should qualify this by saying that this version is a two disc set,which contains special features.one of the feature is called Behind the Scenes,which has a featurette entitled Survivors.i haven't watched any of the features,but this one presumably focuses on the two survivors who are with the expedition.how in depth,i don't know.either way,though that footage should have been included in the actual feature.for me Expedition Bismark is a 6/10

As I watched this broadcast, I was surprised to see certain representations of damage and their explanations. I was also quite surprised that there was not adequate 'expert' witness present during the commentary. I am not a naval expert, but I do study these things, and consider wreck sites with a physics perspective. If I could come to an understanding of certain basic items, I expect that the on-site experts could as well. That the commentary shows otherwise leaves me questioning just who was where with what knowledge.

A few points as examples: The tower, with the admiral's bridge, foretop director station, etc.. JC suggests in the film that the tower landed on the bottom upright, and was pushed over as the hull moved against it after impact. His graphics even show this. I can not accept that explanation. Considering that the entire tower broke away as the ship sank, most likely during the righting of the hull after leaving the surface, and that the tower at that time was extremely TOP-heavy, it's quite apparent that it plummeted to the bottom much like an arrow. The very heavy armored foretop station (a thick box of armor plate dominating the upper levels of the tower) would have lead the way down (tower upside down), with the relatively long body section acting as the arrow's shaft. It would have plunged into the bottom sediment top-first. The hull did not knock it over from an upright position.

When JC's crew came across a hull section of the bilge broken away, they puzzled over just what it could be. It was obvious to myself and others that red antifouling paint, and a sharp near-90-degree bend in such a below waterline structure could only be the turn of the bilge. The uniform shape of the plating on either side of the turn, extending in both directions marks this wreckage even further as being the bilge turn near the center of the ship. No other shape could fit that area. To their credit, later in the documentary, they described this. What stood out to me was that no expedition member readily recognized this at the time of discovery.

The views of the stern underside show a rudder jammed into a propeller. JC stated that the torpedo hit must have jammed the rudder over to this point. This can't be. The propeller, in that shot, was truly fouled. However, the survivor's testimony states that efforts were made at steering the ship with engines only. There was no mention of a jammed shaft. Ballard's initial study, matched with eyewitness records show that Bismarck sank by the stern. This is because the ship's sea intakes and engine room water passages were blown open. The rear of the ship settled first from the flooding. As the ship dove to the bottom, it likely went down stern first as well, since the flooding in this area was more complete. Bismarck's stern quite well could have hit bottom first, jamming the rudders hard over. The rudder could not have been pushed so hard as to bend the rudder shaft so far that it hit the propeller from a mere torpedo hit. The weight of the ship, through an angular impact would certainly be able to accomplish this, however.

JC also states that the hull bent as it hit the bottom, like a shoe as the owner moves through a step. He says that this is what caused the bottom sides to blow out, assisted by hydraulic blowout. I can't see how this would be. His graphic representation is quite extreme. In order for the ship to bend as he shows, the very structure of the bottom would have to fail. You simply can not expect a warship to bend like that an not, a) compress the upper decks accordion style, and b) stretch the lower decks and double bottom to the point where they split. Bismarck sits intact (largely) and inline. No indications of hull warpage have been reported. Lastly, in order for this ship to bend like the banana move in the computer recreation, a large number of the huge armor plates on either side would have to be dislocated and /or removed. There is no way to bend 12' armor plate of that type against its plane! Warping it through the surface for hull fitting is one thing. Bending it along the thin edge several meters thick is impossible! You can watch and see that there are NO loose armor plates (only lower hull plates BELOW the armor line), and not even an open seem between the plates. The plates themselves could not be expected to work back into position and not leave evidence of having moved. Also, the inner torpedo bulkheads, which were so obligingly exposed, would have to bend as well (along with every other vertical longitudinal structure amidships). They did not. And if they had, they would never return to form since they were designed to flex and bend under stress in order to contain the torpedo blast, the following waterhammer jet, and still keep the citadel dry. The hydraulic blowout theory seems best, especially when you consider that German welding of the period was not the best. Reference the clean break in the tower base, the stern separation and the clean breaks at every point where lower hull sections are missing. Each break is at a weld joint.

Of all the points raised and issues taken during this film, I was most pleased with the study of the inner torpedo defense. It has been my contention that the torpedos were NOT the cause of her sinking. The large hole in the deck, next to the catapult, seems to me to be a torpedo hit, as the ship was rolling onto her side. The torps arrived too late.

The saving grace of this film is the quality of the video. One can draw his own conclusions from the clear images presented therein.