The Battle of the River Plate/In Which We Serve/We Dive at Dawn

A box set of classic war films. 'The Battle of the River Plate' (1956) was Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's penultimate film and tells the true story of the famous 1939 naval battle.

Hans Langsdorff (Peter Finch) is captaining the crack German battleship Graf Spee through the South Atlantic, unaware that a small number of lightweight British battle cruisers are hot on his trail.

When the British cruisers manage to trap the powerful German ship in the Uruguayan harbour of Montevideo, they attempt to trick Langsdorff into believing that an entire battle fleet is waiting to destroy his vessel at sea. 'In Which We Serve' (1942), co-directed, written by and starring Noel Coward, is the story of a destroyer during World War 2 told through flashbacks and the reminiscences of the surviving crew after their beloved ship is torpedoed.

Coward was awarded a Special Oscar for 'outstanding production achievement'.

Whilst 'We Dive at Dawn' (1943) highlights the characters (all aged only between 19 and 23 years) as much as the actual events.

The British submarine Sea Tiger's crew is looking forward to a long shore-leave after months at sea.

This is cut short when they are ordered to pursue and sink the German battleship Brandenburg.

The crew's sub-Commander (John Mills) struggles to fulfil the mission despite discovering that the battleship is heavily defended.

Along the way Sea Tiger encounters many obstacles and once the crew has attempted to sink the battleship they have to escape knowing that they are about to run out of fuel.