Rent Sea of Sand (1958)

Great British war Film - Sea of Sand review by GI

This is a great British war film made during period when a spate of Second World War dramas were released and proved very popular. There's always an element of flag waving but this particular film is more gritty than some others. This tells the story of a Long Range Desert Group operation in 1942 North Africa led by Captain Cotton (Michael Craig) who is the obvious lead although Richard Attenborough gets top billing. The story follows the small group of soldiers as they head deep behind enemy lines to blow up a fuel dump and then are pursued across the desert as they try to get back to enemy lines. The film was nominated for the Best British film BAFTA and it eschews any side plots or romance or any of the other cinematic narrative tropes that are usually built into a story. This is a realistic war story that effectively shows the battle against the desert was more a challenge than the war against the Germans. It's a film of comradeship and heroism that remains a solid addition to the British war film genre. John Gregson costarred as the new officer who has to adapt to the operational culture of this special operations group.

Desert War. - Sea of Sand review by Steve

This acknowledges the work of the Long Range Desert Group, a squadron of volunteers from other regiments who carried out commando raids in North Africa in WWII. It's a familiar story of an ensemble of soldiers who are detailed to blow up a German fuel dump in the desert, but this is the best of its type.

Once the men have negotiated the minefield and set their detonators, they discover a large number of tanks gathered in preparation for El Alamein and must get this intelligence back to camp, while chased all the way by the Nazis. This is tautly directed by Guy Green who creates great suspense with excellent battle scenes, and impressive explosions.

And if they lay on the heroics towards the climax, then surely that was a part of the reality too. The drama is intensified by the antagonistic relationship between the two officers, with John Gregson playing the by-the-book career soldier at odds with Michael Craig as the thin skinned amateur, and his gang of tough, grubby mavericks.

A big bonus is the artistic desert photography, in stark monochrome. And this is a rare British war film of its period in which the grunts are not just grumbling halfwits. They get to trade some witty backchat. It's a tribute to special operations in the desert war, and their bravery and sacrifice, which blows up the scenery, but digs deeper than most.