Crimson Tide (1995)

On a US nuclear missile sub, a young first officer stages a mutiny to prevent his trigger happy captain from launching his missiles before confirming his orders to do so.

Director:

Tony Scott

Writers:

Michael Schiffer (story), Richard P. Henrick (story),

Stars:

Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington, Matt Craven

Nominated for 3 Oscars. Another 5 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Denzel Washington	...	Lt. Commander Ron Hunter
Gene Hackman	...	Capt. Frank Ramsey
Matt Craven	...	Lt. Roy Zimmer, USS Alabama Communications Officer
George Dzundza	...	Chief of the Boat
Viggo Mortensen	...	Lt. Peter 'Weps' Ince
James Gandolfini	...	Lt. Bobby Dougherty
Rocky Carroll	...	Lt. Darik Westergaurd
Jaime Gomez	...	Officer of the Deck Mahoney (as Jaime P. Gomez)
Michael Milhoan	...	Chief of the Watch Hunsicker
Scott Burkholder	...	T.S.O. Billy Linkletter
Danny Nucci	...	Petty Officer First Class Danny Rivetti
Lillo Brancato	...	Petty Officer Third Class Russell Vossler (as Lillo Brancato Jr.)
Eric Bruskotter	...	Bennefield
Ricky Schroder	...	Lt. Paul Hellerman (as Rick Schroder)
Steve Zahn	...	William Barnes

Storyline

When some Russian rebels takes control of some ICBM's, the Americans mobilize. Among the vessels sent is the nuclear sub, the Alabama. But before they leave they need a new X.O. and among the choices is Commander Hunter, who hasn't seen much action. But the ship's Captain, Ramsey OK's him. While on the way, there was an incident and Hunter disagreed with how Ramsey handled it, it's evident that Ramsey doesn't think much of Hunter because Hunter was college educated while Ramsey worked his way up. They're given orders to attack but when they were in the process of receiving another order, the ship's communications were damaged, so the entire message was not received. Ramsey decides to continue with their previous order while Hunter wants to reestablish contact first. That's when the two men butt heads that ends with Hunter relieving Ramsey. Later when some men die, some of the officers feel that Hunter is not up to the task so they team up to retake control. But Hunter has taken ...

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Plot Keywords:

order | submarine | alabama | radio | mutiny | 

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Taglines:

On The Brink Of Nuclear War, Two Men Clash Over The Fate Of The World.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

M

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 June 1995 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Marea roja

Filming Locations:

Burbank City Hall - 275 E. Olive Ave, Burbank, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$53,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£2,902,929 (UK) (17 November 1995)

Gross:

£5,023,381 (UK) (15 December 1995)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 123 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As Ramsey reviews Hunter's service record 11 November 1959 appears as the character's date of birth. Numerous other events have taken place on 11 November including: birth of General Patton in 1885, President Harding's dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier in 1921, the beginning of construction of the Naval Base at Pearl Harbor in 1909, the formation of the United States Marine Corps in 1775 and the date Washington became a state in 1889. USS Alabama is based in Washington. General Patton is mentioned in the movie. The actor is actually about 5 years older.

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Goofs

The much-disputed EAM changes wording. The initial message fragment begins with "Nuclear Missile Launch..." before being cut off in the attack by the Akula soviet sub. The recovered message as shown in the climax of the movie begins with "Terminate Launch All Missiles..." They are ostensibly the same message, however had the initial message fragment begun with "Terminate" Capt. Ramsey probably wouldn't have been so gung-ho about firing his missiles, and there wouldn't be a movie.

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Quotes

Capt. Ramsey: Mr Ince, Mr Ince, unlock the tactical firing trigger.
Peter "Weps" Ince: Sir, it is my duty to...
Capt. Ramsey: Son, do'nt talk to me about duty! Open the fucking safe!
Peter "Weps" Ince: I ca'nt do that, sir.
[Ramsey draws a gun and places it to the back of Weps's head]
Capt. Ramsey: I'm gonna count to 3, then I'm gonna blow your fucking head off! One... two...
[no response]
Capt. Ramsey: ...SHIT! It does me no good to kill you. You're the only one who knows the combination!
[sees Weps's assistant]
Capt. Ramsey: But petty officer Hilaire doesn't know the combination. Millions of lives are...
[...]

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Connections

Spoofed in Command & Conquer (1995)

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Soundtracks

SWEET HOME ALABAMA
Written by Gary Rossington, Ronnie Van Zant, Edward King
Performed by Lynyrd Skynyrd
Courtesy of MCA Records

User Reviews

Intense!

I love this film for it's intensity,particularly the intense relationship of the characters portrayed by Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington.They are two men at odds in the worst of situations;the possibility of war.It all involves an incomplete transmission.It could mean war,it could mean nothing at all.What do you do?You could strike your enemy before he strikes you,but would the strike be uncalled for? It's the not knowing that creates the intensity.Hackman and Washington are excellent actors,which goes without saying since they are both Oscar winners,and they play off of each other extremely well in this film. This fact alone makes it a must see,but the film's content is equally as impressive.