I do love Tom Hanks. And the whole Play Tone Hanks/Goetzman and Spielberg, erm… Axis? Thank to these guys we have not only Shaving Ryan’s Privates, Band o’ Brothers, and Pacific. But also Greyhound, and, coming soon, Masters o’ the Air.
I’m not a fan of the modern subscription model, which is becoming ever more ubiquitous. Maybe I’d be less bothered if I was wealthier? But as a pauper, it puts a lot of stuff out of reach. And both Greyhound and the forthcoming Masters are on Apple TV.
Anyhoo, with a free weeks trial – will I do the usual, and forget to cancel in time? – taken out with the intention of watching Masters, the first thing I’ve actually watched is Greyhound. And I utterly adore it.
Having read a number books on the Battle o’ the Atlantic, I’ve been a-hankering for just such a fillum. I’ve watched loads of older WWII Naval movies. Many of which are great. But it’s taken time for advances in movie making tech to make possible what this movie delivers.
Tom Hanks himself wrote the screenplay, basing it on the C. S. Forester book The Good Shepherd.
I won’t synopsise the plot. Suffice it to say it’s great to see this team bring their film making prowess to bear on this oft’ overlooked subject.
I could waffle on about political balance, historical accuracy, hindsight, and so on. But I can’t be bothered, frankly!
It’s just terrific fun to watch a film of this quality, on a subject I’ve been longing to see treated just this way. So, thanks, Hanks! And Goetzman, and indeed all who made this a reality.
As a footnote to all this, as so often happens, watching this sort of stuff, I want to dress up… in this:
And maybe even one of these:
There’s also an interesting sub-plot, concerning mess-mate Cleveland. I won’t say more on that, but it’s a laudable inclusion.
All in all, highly recommended. Esp’, of course, to the military history buff.