I remember being quite young when The Hunley first premiered on the now defunct TNT channel. It's a story about the Civil War where an increasingly desperate Confederacy was groping in the dark for a miracle. The HL Hunley was intended to break the mighty Union's blockade of Southern ports. The only problem was that The Hunley was a primitive early submarine , the first of its kind. It was also more dangerous to the men operating it than to the enemy. Who would get into such a machine? That's what this film is about.
I vaguely remember being somewhat lukewarm toward The Hunley. Even back then I was a history geek and would snap up anything that involved The Civil War. Maybe I thought it was too light on action and battle scenes. I couldn't honestly say. But after recently revisiting The Hunley, I found myself really enjoying it. I admired its ambition and how much it managed to accomplish with an obviously tight budget. Dropping tens of millions of dollars on a tv show isn't a wild concept today. But back then it would seem insane. Films like The Hunley had very modest budgets and their success or failure would usually depend on the fundamentals. Good writing, smart casting, and the talent of the filmmakers.
The Hunley is, even by today's expectations, much better than it seemingly has any right to be. The cast is solid and ably led by the great Armand Assante. The writing is good enough, although it isn't without weakness. The special effects aren't what some might consider "special," but in the 90s they would were competent.
The Hunley is admirable filmmaking. It sheds light on a small chapter in American history that deserves attention. In that respect it carries legitimate cultural and historical significance. It also really feels like the people making it were doing their best with what they had. Most notably a scene at the end of the film that depicts the ultimate fate of the Hunley's crew. The filmmakers made some ballsy choices in their handling of that scene. It could have so easily been an eye rolling schmaltz fest. But to their credit, they actually managed to pull it off. I was sincerely touched by it.
I vaguely remember being somewhat lukewarm toward The Hunley. Even back then I was a history geek and would snap up anything that involved The Civil War. Maybe I thought it was too light on action and battle scenes. I couldn't honestly say. But after recently revisiting The Hunley, I found myself really enjoying it. I admired its ambition and how much it managed to accomplish with an obviously tight budget. Dropping tens of millions of dollars on a tv show isn't a wild concept today. But back then it would seem insane. Films like The Hunley had very modest budgets and their success or failure would usually depend on the fundamentals. Good writing, smart casting, and the talent of the filmmakers.
The Hunley is, even by today's expectations, much better than it seemingly has any right to be. The cast is solid and ably led by the great Armand Assante. The writing is good enough, although it isn't without weakness. The special effects aren't what some might consider "special," but in the 90s they would were competent.
The Hunley is admirable filmmaking. It sheds light on a small chapter in American history that deserves attention. In that respect it carries legitimate cultural and historical significance. It also really feels like the people making it were doing their best with what they had. Most notably a scene at the end of the film that depicts the ultimate fate of the Hunley's crew. The filmmakers made some ballsy choices in their handling of that scene. It could have so easily been an eye rolling schmaltz fest. But to their credit, they actually managed to pull it off. I was sincerely touched by it.