Movie of the Week: Crimson Tide

   

    Movie of the Week (3/2/14-3/8/14): There are many submarine movies out there that keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. But, of course that is why they were made, to put several men in life threatening situations in a very small and claustrophobic space. Some of those movies have other ships or submarines shooting back at them or dropping depth charges on them. But this film here took a different approach to it as we have fighting and mutiny, allegedly that is, aboard the USS Alabama in, Crimson Tide.
    On the brink of nuclear war a young officer boards the USS Alabama for the first time as the nuclear submarine is sent out to help with the situation. On board the ship on the journey, the crew get to know each other and their new X.O. But, the new X.O. doesn't become too fond of the Captain after he orders a drill to take place without warning, something happens and the X.O. and Captain begin going down hill. Soon the sub receives an order to fire a nuclear warhead, but their communications equipment becomes damaged, therefore they can't confirm the order. So, the Captain insist on firing anyway, but the new X.O. does not agree which then begins a mutiny and an intense ride of crew vs. crew.
    This movie does have a great cast and is probably one of the most testosterone filled movies ever! We have Denzel Washington as Lt. Commander Ron Hunter as the man the leads the mutiny, Gene Hackman in an outstanding role as Captain Frank Ramsey, Matt Craven as Lt. Roy Zimmer, George Dzundza as Chief of the Boat, Viggo Mortensen as Lt. Peter Ince, the late James Gandolfini as Lt. Bobby Dougherty, Michael Milhoan as Chief of Watch Hunsicker, Danny Nucci as Petty Officer First Class Danny Rivetti, and Steve Zahn as William Barns. There you have it, a lot of great actors here along with a few not well known actors who are very good at playing small character roles.
    Probably the best thing about this movie is the editing. As soon as they get on the submarine the editing becomes a major part of the film, it had to be used carefully as they filmed scenes in a very tight set and the editing gave it much more intensity. The movie also sounds great, but of course it has too with everything going on and the intense editing gave it a huge edge. The sound editing was very good as well, I mean from the minute the crew goes against each other the movie was edited wonderfully with the sound and all the commotion that is taking place. Both sound editing and picture editing are top notch here.
    This is probably director Tony Scott's best movie because of the close attention he paid to the specifics of the film and how he shot it. This film has great detail to it and Scott himself even shot many of the scenes while in tight places and directing at the same time. He particularly did a great job with the actors as well, especially Gene Hackman, who was outstanding here and I think that had a lot to with Tony Scott. We also have a great and intense score here from Hans Zimmer, it adds to the film and the intensity of the plot perfectly. This is a powerfully acted, well directed, wonderfully edited, and perfectly scored film that might leave you sweating as much as the actors are during the movie. However, I felt it could have been a little longer with a little more story from outside after everything is over added in.
3/4 Stars