H.M.S. DEFIANT (aka DAMN THE DEFIANT!) - LE

(Lewis Gilbert, 1962, 101 mins)
Release date: 21 July 2025
Limited Edition Blu-ray (UK premiere)

Alec Guinness (Kind Hearts and Coronets) and Dirk Bogarde (The Gentle Gunman) lead the all-star cast of H.M.S. Defiant, a rip-roaring tale of mutiny on the high seas from the great British action director Lewis Gilbert (Sink the Bismarck!, The Spy Who Loved Me).

During the French Revolutionary Wars, Crawford (Guinness), Captain of the Defiant, enters into a battle of wills with his sadistic First Officer Scott-Padget (Bogarde). When Crawford is injured during a skirmish with French forces, Scott-Padget takes control, but the crew begin to rebel against his brutal command, whilst remaining loyal to Crawford and to their country.

Adapted by Edmund H North (The Day the Earth Stood Still) and Nigel Kneale (The Quatermass Experiment) from Frank Tilsley’s best-selling novel Mutiny, H.M.S. Defiant – originally released in the US as Damn the Defiant! – does not water down its depiction of the harsh realities of naval life.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition remaster
  
• Two presentations of the film: H.M.S. Defiant, with the original UK title sequence; and Damn the Defiant!, with the alternative US titles
  
• Original stereo audio
  
• The Guardian Interview with Lewis Gilbert (1995, 83 mins): archival video recording of the prolific director in conversation with Tony Sloman at the National Film Theatre, London
  
• The BEHP Interview with Lewis Gilbert (1996, 101 mins): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the director in conversation with Roy Fowler
  
• Cast Adrift (2022, 29 mins): actors Peter Gill, Roger Mutton, and Brian Phelan recall their work on the film
  
• Defiant Crew (2022, 48 mins): the making of H.M.S Defiant as recounted by members of the production team, including special effects artist Martin Gutteridge, production manager Richard Goodwin, assistant editors John Crome and Norman Wanstall, and standby propman John Chisholm
  
• Original theatrical trailers
  
• Image gallery: publicity and promotional material
  
• New English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
  
• Limited edition exclusive 36-page booklet with new essay by Sheldon Hall, archival interviews with Dirk Bogarde and Murray Melvin, extracts from the film’s pressbook, and film credits
  
• UK premiere on Blu-ray
  
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies for the UK

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BBFC cert: PG
REGION B
EAN: 5060697924091