Jonathan Rayner,
The Naval War Film: Genre, History, National Cinema.
Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2007.
ISBN-13: 978-0-7190-7098-3
US$84.95 (hb)
275pp
(Review copy supplied by Manchester University Press)

A great deal of critical attention has been lavished on the war film by practitioners of film and history, but while films dealing with the doings of armies and air forces, have been subjected to considerable scrutiny, there has been comparatively little direct focus on films about naval warfare. This is especially curious in the case of Britain where, until comparatively recently, the Royal Navy occupied such an important place in the history of the British at war and was held in such affection by the British people. Since cinema began over a hundred years ago, navies and naval warfare have always provided a significant theme for filmmakers from Potemkin(Soviet Union 1925) to Pearl Harbour (USA 2001) and even more recently Peter Weir’s Napoleonic blockbuster Master and Commander (USA 2003). During the World Wars, naval engagements and the vital work of the Merchant Navy inspired a number of patriotic adventures which showcased the commitment and dedication of those who fought at sea and provided effective propaganda for a peoples war – the ship’s crew, after all, were simply a society in microcosm – all classes and regions were included and offered the perfect arena in which national character could be represented. And this is equally true of the United States as well as Britain. Yet important as they are, there have been no comprehensive studies of these naval films, an omission which Jonathan Rayner’s new book, The Naval War Film: Genre, History, National Cinema, seeks to rectify.

The book offers comprehensive coverage of the genre in chapters that survey British naval films of the Second World War, those made both during the war itself and after; Hollywood’s representation of the Pacific War; the submarine film; American films of the Cold War; a curious chapter on Star Trek’s adaptation and integration of naval imagery and tradition, and a final chapter on contemporary naval films such as The Hunt for Red October(USA 1990) and the hugely enjoyable Steven Seagal romp Under Siege (France/USA 1992), which dealt with the hi-jacking of the battleship USS Missouri by mercenaries led by a rogue CIA operative. Rayner’s survey is certainly comprehensive and even includes such films as the 1950s sci-fi movies which combined monsters pitted against US nuclear submarines such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (USA 1953) and It Came from Beneath the Sea (USA 1955), and Wolfgang Petersen’s hugely successful narrative of German submariners during the Battle of the Atlantic, Das Boot (West Germany 1981).

While the author’s survey of these films generally adds little to what we already know about them, it serves to identify and explore the important key features of the naval war film which, Rayner argues, distinguishes it from the army/air force combat film so definitively analysed by Jeanine Basinger. The argument here is that the naval war film is not simply a variation on the war film with just different uniforms and different hardware, it is actually a “particularly conservative form of national, ideological expression” that it draws on, propagates and reinforces a range of “nostalgic, romantic and patriotic readings and appeals, closely associated with both naval tradition and national identity, in the construction of a consensual popular history (p. 224).”

Much of Rayner’s well-researched and well-written argument is persuasive; there is clearly a strong case for differentiating naval films from other war films. Their inherent conservatism and the manner in which they align naval and national traditions is well-worth examination. However, I would have welcomed a more in-depth discussion on the really interesting notion of naval films as vehicles which explore and promote national identity, particularly in the case of more recent productions. While Rayner makes some intriguing points here, this fascinating area does warrant a more in-depth discussion. While Rayner has made an excellent start in locating and analysing what is specific about the naval war film, there is, it would seem, more to say on the subject.

Overall, The Naval War Film is an interesting, well-researched, and sometimes illuminating book, but this is a fascinating topic that deserves further research.

Michael Paris,
University of Central Lancashire, UK.

References

Jeanine Basinger, The World War II Combat Film: Anatomy of a Genre (New York: Columbia University Press, 1986)

Created on: Saturday, 20 September 2008