6 Comments
Jul 14, 2020Liked by John Birmingham

He did a good job. If it had been a series like Band of Brothers, he might have done the subject justice. I always thought the Merchant Marine had a special kind of bravery: they were the primary targets, and had no means of fighting back.

It’s said they tried to walk around with bent legs, because a torpedo detonating underneath would break the legs of a man standing upright

Expand full comment

Yeah, I watched it, and enjoyed it. My only niggle was that as Captain of a warship, Tom Hanks' character should have known that staying on deck for 24+ hours at a time and not eating isn't what good captains do. They take their rest when they can, so when they are in battle, they're fed and as refreshed as they can be, when they most need to be.

Has anybody watched "For All Mankind" on Apple+? Really good alternative history starting from the premise that the USSR landed Alexei Leonov on the moon a month before Apollo 11. Instead of Nixon cutting the Apollo program short, he doubles down to play catch up with the Russians.

Expand full comment

I'd like to see someone have a crack at filming Alastair MacLean's HMS Ulysses, the story of one of the British convoys to Murmansk. Like the battle of the Atlantic except ten degrees colder. His other books made jolly good flicks, though HMS Ulysses is considerably bleaker.

Expand full comment

"And throw in a Nobel Prize or two while you’re at it" I don't think that's how Mr Dynamite envisioned his prize working.

Expand full comment

I liked it. I might see if I can find a copy of The Cruel Sea. I loved the book as a kid and remember enjoying the movie. I feel that the Cruel Sea had more depth (see what I did there) and characters, well tropes anyway, we’re better developed. It’s set over a many crossings of the Atlantic.

I’d like to see a Band of Brothers approach to the battle of the Atlantic. The stress, hardship and fatigue of multiple crossings didn’t really come through in Greyhound.

Expand full comment