Under Siege (1992)

An ex-Navy Seal turned cook is the only person who can stop a group of terrorists when they seize control of a U.S. battleship.

Director:

Andrew Davis

Writer:

J.F. Lawton

Stars:

Steven Seagal, Gary Busey, Tommy Lee Jones

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Steven Seagal	...	Casey Ryback
Damian Chapa	...	Tackman
Troy Evans	...	Granger
David McKnight	...	Flicker
Lee Hinton	...	Cue Ball
Patrick O'Neal	...	Captain Adams
Gary Busey	...	Commander Krill
Glenn Morshower	...	Ensign Taylor
Leo Alexander	...	Lt. Smart
John Rottger	...	Commander Green
Brad Rea	...	Marine Guard
Michael Welden	...	Lt. Ballard
Bernie Casey	...	Commander Harris
Rickey Pierre	...	Kitchen Helper
Raymond Cruz	...	Ramirez

Storyline

The battleship Missouri is about to be decomissioned. Casey Ryback is Captain Adam's personal cook. And Ryback is always butting heads with the ship's XO Commander Krill but the Captain always intercedes. One day, after the President visits the Missouri, which is also the Captain's birthday, the Captain learns that a helicopter has been cleared to land on the ship by Commander Krill, which he was not informed of. When questioned Krill tells the Captain that it's a surprise for his birthday, the Captain then allows it. Later after another one of their scuffles, Krill has Ryback locked in the freezer. During the party, the rock band reveals themselves to be mercenaries, led by William Stranix, a CIA operative, who is in league with Krill to unload all of the ship's nuclear warheads. They lock up all of the crew and make preparations to remove the warheads. And Krill remembers Ryback, Stranix sends two of his men to take care of Ryback, only thing is that Ryback took care of them. Upon ...

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Plot Keywords:

cook | battleship | terrorist plot | one against many | knife throwing | 

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Taglines:

In 1992 a battleship's been sabotaged by nuclear pirates out to steal its warheads. Now, surrounded by terrorists, a lone man stands with a deadly plan of attack.

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Genres:

Action | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong violence, and for language and brief nudity

Details

Country:

France USA

Language:

English Italian

Release Date:

9 October 1992 (USA)

Also Known As:

Dreadnought

Filming Locations:

Fairhope, Alabama, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Gross USA:

$83,363,139

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$156,400,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros.,Regency Enterprises,Canal+

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Stereo (4 channels)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The events in the movie take place in mid-to-late December 1991. The opening scenes mention that the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor had taken place fifty years earlier on December 7, 1941. In addition, President George Bush's real-life order to remove nuclear missiles from U.S. Navy surface ships was issued in 1991.

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Goofs

The trap door inside the reefer is old and heavy and makes a lot of noise when opened, yet when Ryback opens it to climb up to hide from Cates and Ziggs, it's completely silent.

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Quotes

Casey Ryback: What made you flip like this?
William Strannix: I got tired of coming up with last-minute desperate solutions to impossible problems created by other fucking people.
Casey Ryback: All of your ridiculous pitiful antics aren't gonna change a thing. You and me, we're puppets in the same sick game. We serve the same master, and he's a lunatic and he's ungrateful. But there's nothing we can do about it. You and me, we're the same.
William Strannix: Oh, no. No, no, no. There's a difference, my man. You have faith. I don't!
[...]

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Crazy Credits

At the close of the credits: USS Missouri BB63 was decommissioned March 31, 1992 and is now moored at Bremerton Naval Yard, awaiting her next call to service.

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Alternate Versions

The version for Finnish theatrical and video release was heavily censored. The actual impact of most bullets was not shown. All fights involving knives were either heavily edited or removed entirely. Most notably: the scene in which a man is cut across his leg, then stabbed under his arm, was removed, along with that of a man being shoved into a bandsaw; the scene where Ryback rips out a man's larynx was cut out; the fight at the end between Ryback and Strannix did not show the eye gouge sequence nor did it show the head stabbing. The scene involving nudity was also cut.

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Connections

Referenced in Siskel & Ebert: The Fugitive/The Meteor Man/Manhattan Murder Mystery/The Secret Garden/The Wedding Banquet (1993)

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Soundtracks

SEA OF BLUES
Written by Gene Barge, Hiram Bullock, Tony Brown, Chris 'Hambone' Cameron,
Richard Davis, Tad Robinson and Wendall Wayne Stewart
Produced by Hiram Bullock

User Reviews

'Welcome to the revolution!'

When terrorists decide they need nuclear Tomahawk cruise missiles 'to sell like hot cakes,' they turn to the U.S.S. Missouri, the fastest and most powerful naval force ever to sail the seas... (The Missouri fired the first shots of the Gulf War... Her powerful 16' guns destroyed Iraqi bunkers... Her Tomahawk missiles rocketed deep into the heart of Baghdad.)

As luck would have it, Chief Ryback (Steven Seagal) happens to be on board working as 'head cook.' Ryback is seen by all as a 'sorry-looking sailor' but his true identity as an ex-SEAL expert in martial arts, explosives, weapons, and tactics, is the Captain's best kept secret...

There's supposed to be a 'surprise' birthday party for the Captain (Patrick O'Neal) but he is shot before he can even show up to the fiesta...

The terrorists, a group of professional killers, under the guise of entertainers and musicians, get access to the U.S. battleship by a helicopter cleared to land on the vessel's last voyage by a heavy turncoat officer...

Tommy Lee Jones is fabulous as the lunatic Hippie, a former CIA undercover operative, who is for a railing system to offload the missiles onto a submarine they will rendez-vous with...

Gary Busey is (Krill) the commander graciously ready to give a 'surprise' to his captain... He is absolutely perfect as the maniac everyone loves to knock him down...

Erika Eleniak is the beautiful Playboy centerfold who will knock you off your feet... Erika is hired to jump out topless of the cake and dance...

If you like to see your favorite celebrity shooting an evil bad guy in the back, don't miss Andrew Davis' 'Under Siege,' a good entertaining movie, well directed, and very exciting...