Diagonaldi Very well executed

FirstWitch A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Catangro After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Payno I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

bobshearer711 Errol Flynn shows what a brilliant actor, athlete and the ability to light up the screen with his presence. Only 4 or 5 actors in history could do that along with Cary Grant and Humphrey Bogart and a couple of others. A movie you can watch as many times as you want and never lose that magic that Hollywood was able to create, and unfortunately no longer can.

Tad Pole . . . which enabled the German Blitzkreig of the late 1930s, THE SEA HAWK's Queen Elizabeth (I) can be seen today as shifting from a stand-in for 1930s Brit PM Neville Chamberlain (who cowered at the advent of Hitler) to Barack Obama, currently sniveling at the feet of Russia's Crimean Crime Lord, Vladimir Putin. QEI quivers before Spain in many SEA HAWK scenes, even disarming and arresting the "sea hawks," her one line of defense against Spanish King Phillip and her own court, filled with Phil's mouthpieces and spies. In the run-up to WWII, Britain barely was able to force out its Nazi-sympathizer king. Today, at the beginning of the Russian Century, Obama has drawn so many "red lines" near Russia that America's "leader" looks more like a simple "Harold" who has changed crayon colors from purple to scarlet. Errol Flynn, as SEA HAWK Captain Thorpe, proved to be QEI's "nuclear option," and her Wishy-Washiness forced him to self-activate. Churchill became England's nuclear attack dog during WWII. Now is the time for a hero of equal stature to Captain Thorpe and Churchill to rise to the occasion, and change today's policies of resigned acceptance and "possession is 110% of the law." The West must adopt a "Nuke first, explain later" policy. America's H-bomb arsenal is decaying every day it sits underground within our borders. QEI finally Nay-Sayed her court's appeasers, and instigated the naval fleet which won a British Empire. Some brave Patriot MUST activate America's sleeping nuclear giant soon!

krishkmenon Everything is right in this film loosely based on the exploits of Sir Francis Drake and very little on the Rafael Sabatini novel. Errol Flynn, Claude Rains, Michael Curtiz, Erich Wolfgang Korngold, The WB Banner and piracy on the High Seas – What more could one ask for? Obviously the answer would be "The Sea Hawk". The only shortcoming to my knowledge was no Olivia de Havilland who for some reason was overlooked by Jack L Warner when he made the film. Flynn is at his dashing best as the fictionalised Geoffery Thorpe matching wits with the likes of King Philip of Spain and his treacherous agents . He matches swordplay, tongue in cheek and romance with ease making this his best ever. Claude Rains and Henry Daniel are unpleasantly debonair in their roles of Spanish spies. Brenda Marshall is adequate but just does not match up as one is always wishing Olivia alongside Errol as his lady love. Flora Robson re-creates her role as Elizabeth I and adds a great aura of grace and majesty in her depiction. One cannot but help feeling that her rendition is of such conviction that it makes one believe that Elizabeth could not but have spoken and behaved the way in which she is played. Michael Cutriz once again scores with his excellent action sequences but overall it is Korngold who enthralls the viewer with his sweeping score which is unforgettable. One cannot but recollect the similarities of this film to "Fire Over England" but the Hollywoodization of medieval England is more pronounced here. Some unforgettable scenes: The beginning of the film – the shadow of a dictator (Philip of Spain) covering the map of Europe wanting to covet England and her colonies bears a striking resemblance to Hitler and his dream all the more significant as the film was released in early 1940 when the Phoney war had just begun and Dunkirk was in the near distance. The swordplay between Flynn and the Spanish captain where he points out that the English are a practical people who do not sink with their ships – a veiled message to the Nazis that Britain would fight on even if all Europe was to fall? The speech by the Queen towards the end of the film where she warns her subjects of being prepared for the Armada that was poised to strike ( Hitler's Luftwaffe and The Battle of Britain) and a distant appeal to America to join the fight against Fascism. Last but not least the scene where the freed slaves of the Spanish Galley look wistfully at the distant Cliffs of Dover and ex- slave Tuttle mouths just one word "England" which to me was the émigré Curtiz announcing to all of downtrodden Europe that their safe haven in the wake of the impending onslaught was indeed Britain. One can go on and on about Sea Hawk but a review needs to be concise. The greatest of a swashbuckler that does not age a bit and can be viewed over and over again.

Martin Teller Fun swashbuckling adventure on the high seas (and on land) with a little comedy, a little romance, some political intrigue, and lots of action. I feel like I enjoyed this more than ROBIN HOOD or CAPTAIN BLOOD, but I saw those a long time ago and maybe I've just developed more of a fondness for Errol Flynn. At any rate, he's terrific here, perfect leading man material, and his final storming of the castle is classic stuff. A lot of the other performances are kind of lackluster, but I really loved Flora Robson's sly, almost flirty portrayal of the queen. The film moves swiftly without any significant dead spots, and my interest was held throughout. Curtiz had a real gift for framing, always seeming to find a visually exciting composition. Also noteworthy is Korngold's stirring score, and a coda which does the patriotic wartime call to action better than a lot of other films of its time. If there's a weakness, it's the romance between Flynn and Brenda Marshall, which feels rather perfunctory, even though it's a significant plot element. Some people seem to have a problem with Marshall's performance, but I think she simply wasn't given enough to do.