The Rank Collection: The Best of British War Cinema [5 Discs] [DVD]

This superb collection of classic British War Cinema includes 10 of the most prominent examples of British film making at it's finest. Crackling with suspense and drama, these well-crafted films showcase great scripts, beautiful black and white cinematography, great dialog and some of the best actors then working in film: A foreign correspondent, an old salt, and his daughter unite to sabotage a U-boat base, in the British WWII thriller quot;The Day Will Dawnquot; (1942). With Deborah Kerr, Hugh Williams. Michael Wilding, Roland Culver, and James Mason carry out a quot;Secret Missionquot; (1942). With Williams, Carla Lehmann. The Battle of Arnhem is re-enacted in the docudrama quot;Theirs Is The Gloryquot; (1946). Reporters Stanley Maxted, Allan Wood play themselves. A prize cow fuels the comic action of quot;Appointment With Venusquot; (1951). David Niven, Glynis Johns star. AKA: quot;Island Rescue.quot; In quot;Seven Thundersquot; (1957), British POWs lay low in France. Stephen Boyd, Anna Gaylor star. AKA: quot;The Beasts Of Marseilles.quot; Dirk Bogarde falls for a Japanese girl, in quot;The Wind Cannot Readquot; (1958). Yoko Tani, Ronald Lewis co-star. A British officer and the Dutch team to lift a diamond stash, in quot;Operation Amsterdamquot; (1959). With Peter Finch, Eva Bartok. Five-disc set also includes quot;Unpublished Story,quot; quot;The Flemish Farm,quot; and quot;Two Thousand Women.quot; 15 hrs. Total.

During World War II, the British film industry swung into action, turning out a remarkable series of big screen dramas that dealt with wartime life, both at home and on the front lines. Many of these films were the doing of mogul producer J. Arthur Rank, one of the most legendary figures in the industry. This box set caters to fans of Rank's British war dramas, with ten such titles. Contents include: The Day Will Dawn, Operation Amsterdam, Theirs is the Glory and many more. Stars seen here include David Niven, Glynis Johns and Dirk Bogarde.