Apple TV is introducing a new movie about WWII based on a novel written by C. S. Forester, The Good Shepherd. The plot is about a first-time captain of a Navy destroyer, played by Tom Hanks, fighting hard to protect a US convoy as it makes it’s way down the Atlantic ocean and comes across various obstacles. He not only battles German U-boats, but his inner demons as well.
The movie was originally set to air in theaters, but plans quickly had to change once the pandemic started. Now the movie will be available on Apple TV on July 10th. This patriotic film will be a nice addition to Apple TV and will appear shortly after the fourth of July. The director, Aaron Schneider and Tom Hanks worked closely together to make this movie possible. Hanks wrote the script and based it off C. S. Forester’s novel The Good Shepherd.
In both the movie and the book, the main character, US Navy Commander George Krause helps see that a convoy carrying $50 million’s of supply makes it across the Atlantic and to England. The problem is that German U-boats lurk across the ocean. The setting is true and there was battles held in the Atlantic. Winston Churchill coined the phrase “Battle of the Atlantic.” He said this in March of 1941 drawing attention to The Battle of Britain and highlighting it’s significance.
The book very clearly illustrates that Krause had spent many years in the military, but had no actual wartime experience. The movie does not go into enough detail to know for sure. Although the protagonist is humble in both the book and movie, his past dealing with wartime experience is not as detailed in the latter.
Greyhound is Apple’s biggest investment in feature film so far. Apple TV is a rather new platform and could use something unique like this new movie. Apple purchased this in hopes to show that they can compete with Netflix, Hulu and other major streaming platforms. This movie was able to pull a lot of material from the book it is based off of.
Many war veterans face PTSD or some other type of psychological trauma. Krause may deal with something of this nature or be the exception. Please feel free to look at the trailer offered on this website and remark at how realistic the trailer looks, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/true-story-behind-greyhound-movie-180975077/ .