The Final Countdown (1980)

A modern aircraft carrier is thrown back in time to 1941 near Hawaii, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Director:

Don Taylor

Writers:

Thomas Hunter (story), Peter Powell (story)

Stars:

Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, Katharine Ross

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kirk Douglas	...	Capt. Matthew Yelland
Martin Sheen	...	Warren Lasky
Katharine Ross	...	Laurel Scott
James Farentino	...	Cdr. Richard Owens / Mr.Tideman
Ron O'Neal	...	Cdr. Dan Thurman
Charles Durning	...	Sen. Samuel Chapman
Victor Mohica	...	Black Cloud
James Coleman	...	Lt. Perry (as James C. Lawrence)
Soon-Tek Oh	...	Simura (as Soon-Teck Oh)
Joe Lowry	...	Cdr. Damon
Alvin Ing	...	Lt. Kajima
Mark Thomas	...	Marine Cpl. Kullman
Harold Bergman	...	Bellman
Dan Fitzgerald	...	Navy Doctor
Lloyd Kaufman	...	LCdr. Kaufman

Storyline

In 1980, an assistant in the Department of Defense Warren Lasky is assigned by his mysterious chief Richard Tideman to visit the aircraft carrier USS Nimtz commanded by Capt. Matthew Yelland as an observer of the routines. Lasky finds that Wing Commander Richard T. Owens has a great knowledge of history. Out of the blue, the vessel faces a weird storm and they find that they have traveled back in time to the eve of the attack of Pearl Harbor on 06 December 1941. When the two Japanese Zeros attack the motorboat of Senator Samuel Chapman, the crew of the Nimitz rescues the senator and his assistant Laurel Scott. But sooner Lasky learns that the senator had disappeared on that day and Capt. Matthew Yelland is planning to attack the Japanese. Will these actions create a time paradox?

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Plot Keywords:

time travel into the past | aircraft carrier | time travel | tragedy | japanese abroad | 

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Taglines:

Nothing in the world can prepare you for ...

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Genres:

Action | Sci-Fi

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Certificate:

PG

Did You Know?

Trivia

Charles Durning's character, Senator Samuel Chapman, is fictitious, as is the "Senate Defense Committee" that he co-chairs (in 1941, this would likely have been either the "Committee on Military Affairs" or the "Committee on Naval Affairs"). However Samuel Chapman Massingale was a real person, and a political figure. Representative Sam C. Massingale served in the House as a Democrat from Oklahoma from 1935 until his death in January of 1941.

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Goofs

When Commander Owen's F-14 is lining up to land on the carrier in the beginning of the movie, there's a brief shot where you can see another man's face in the pilot's rear-view mirror during the shot from the back seat of the cockpit.

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Quotes

[first lines]
F-14 Pilot: [voice over radio] Pearl Tower, Tomcat two-zero-zero. requesting clearance for departure runway zero-nine. Over.
Pearl Harbor Tower: [voice over radio] Two-zero-zero, Pearl Harbor Tower. You are cleared runway oh-niner. Winds zero-four-five at eight. SH-three approaching from the right. Have a nice day.

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Alternate Versions

Norwegian cinema version was cut by some seconds to get a 12 rating.

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Connections

Edited from Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

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Soundtracks

You Made Me Love You
(uncredited)
Written by James V. Monaco and Joseph McCarthy

User Reviews

One of my old favorites!

This movie deals with time-travel on a large scale... And like most sci-fi films, it is easy to pick their theories apart (especially after almost 25 years). I think that many of us have a tendency to over-analyze these types of movies, when, in fact, we should just sit back and enjoy the experience.

I first saw this movie at a drive-in (remember those?!?!), and during one scene in particular, the entire crowd actually cheered. This is not a reaction I'd expect from a large crowd during a "bad" movie. If you like sci-fi, aircraft, and time-travel movies, then ignore the nay-sayers and watch this movie! It's one of my all-time favorites.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Japanese Russian

Release Date:

1 August 1980 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Final Countdown

Filming Locations:

USS Kitty Hawk

Box Office

Budget:

$12,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$16,647,800

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$16,647,800

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bryna Productions, Film Finance Corporation, Polyc International BV

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo Dolby Atmos Dolby Surround 7.1 Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1