The Sinking of the Laconia (2010– )

Documentary telling the true story of the sinking of the liner Laconia by a German U-boat in 1942 through the eyes of six survivors.

Stars:

Andrew Buchan, Ken Duken, Franka Potente

4 nominations.

Cast

Series cast summary:
Andrew Buchan	...	Thomas Mortimer (2 episodes, 2011)
Ken Duken	...	Werner Hartenstein (2 episodes, 2011)
Franka Potente	...	Hilda (2 episodes, 2011)
Thomas Kretschmann	...	Admiral Dönitz (2 episodes, 2011)
Brian Cox	...	Captain Sharp (2 episodes, 2011)
Lindsay Duncan	...	Elisabeth Fullwood (2 episodes, 2011)
Matthias Koeberlin	...	Rostau (2 episodes, 2011)
Ludovico Fremont	...	Vincenzo Di Giovanni (2 episodes, 2011)
Jacob Matschenz	...	Mannesmann (2 episodes, 2011)
Frederick Lau	...	Fiedler (2 episodes, 2011)
Simon Verhoeven	...	Harro Schacht (2 episodes, 2011)
Morven Christie	...	Laura Ferguson (2 episodes, 2011)
Jodi Balfour	...	Sarah Fullwood (2 episodes, 2011)
Nicholas Burns	...	Captain Coutts (2 episodes, 2011)
Ciarán McMenamin	...	Declan McDermott (2 episodes, 2011)
Lenny Wood	...	Billy Hardacre (2 episodes, 2011)
Ben Crompton	...	Harry Townes (2 episodes, 2011)
Matthew Aubrey	...	William Williams (2 episodes, 2011)
Paul Hilton	...	Henry Bates (2 episodes, 2011)
Josef Du Plessis	...	Anthony Bates (2 episodes, 2011)
Rebekah Nathan	...	Charlotte Bates (2 episodes, 2011)
Jörg Malchow	...	Weber (2 episodes, 2011)
Oskar Brown	...	Waldemar (2 episodes, 2011)
Stefan Rudolf	...	Remmert (2 episodes, 2011)
Nikolai Kinski	...	Walter Drexler (2 episodes, 2011)
Christian Serritiello	...	Additional Voices (2 episodes, 2011)

Storyline

Part one:- In 1942,the Laconia,an old British cruise liner turned troop ship, is returning to Liverpool from Egypt with civilian passengers and Italian prisoners. Its guns are outdated, its captain, Sharp, lost his last ship and the Italians, unhappy at being caged below the water line, are tormented by their Polish guards. Third officer Mortimer learns that his family have been killed in an air raid and seeks comfort with Hilda Smith, a mysterious widow who seems to have visited Germany recently. At that moment the ship is torpedoed by a German U-boat, whose humane captain, Kapitanleutnant Werner Hartenstein, learning that the Laconia was not a warship, decides to rescue the survivors, bringing some into the submarine and towing others in life-boats.

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Plot Keywords:

u boat | survivor | ship | captain | german | 

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Genres:

Drama | History

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site at UFA.de

Country:

UK Germany

Language:

English German

Also Known As:

A Laconia elsüllyesztése

Filming Locations:

Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa

Company Credits

Production Co:

Talkback Thames, Teamworx, Two Oceans Production (TOP)

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

The number of lifeboats being towed often changes from shot to shot.

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Connections

Featured in When TV Goes to War (2011)

User Reviews

Brilliant Drama

I couldn't disagree more with the other review already posted.

I found it a very convincing piece of drama, especially the u-boat scenes were reminiscent of the other great u-boat drama "Das Boot" with the camaraderie on the sub.

The acting, especially from Ken Duken as Hartenstein, was subtle and excellent.There were some brilliantly acted, moving scenes with Brian Cox, Andrew Buchan and Franka Potente. There are some slightly comic scenes that add a bit of life as it is to the drama.

Alan Bleasdale took his story from research in many survivors stories and created his view of the Sinking of the Laconia. It was much more true to the real histories than the majority of war- dramas I know(even " Das Boot" took liberties).

I don't care for the exact badges and stripes on the navy uniforms.Those are minor details(visible only for experts) that don't detract the average viewer from the story.

But careful: this review is for the UK-version of the film only . The German TV-version is different(edit,music, language)!!!