Crimson Tide (1995)

On a U.S. 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	...	Hunter
Gene Hackman	...	Ramsey
Matt Craven	...	Zimmer
George Dzundza	...	Cob
Viggo Mortensen	...	Weps
James Gandolfini	...	Lt. Bobby Dougherty
Rocky Carroll	...	Lt. Westergaurd
Jaime Gomez	...	Ood Mahoney (as Jaime P. Gomez)
Michael Milhoan	...	Hunsicker
Scott Burkholder	...	TSO Billy Linkletter
Danny Nucci	...	Danny Rivetti
Lillo Brancato	...	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 ...

---

Plot Keywords:

submarine | u.s. navy | 1990s | submarine captain | naval base | 

---

Taglines:

Danger runs deep

---

Genres:

Action | Drama | Thriller | War

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 May 1995 (USA)

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 USA:

$18,612,190, 14 May 1995, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$91,400,000

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$66,000,000

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

116 min 123 min (extended)

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

As Ramsey reviews Hunter's service record, November 11, 1959 appears as the character's date of birth. Numerous other events have taken place on November 11th, 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, and the date Washington became a state in 1889. The U.S.S. Alabama is based in Washington. General Patton is mentioned in the movie. The actor is actually five years older.

---

Goofs

The message that orders terminating the missile launch is initially interrupted by one of the Russian Akula-class submarines in rebel hands, which leads to the subsequent conflict aboard the USS Alabama. However, when they eventually recover the full original message, it reads "Unconditional surrender of all Russian rebel military forces. Rebel submarines recalled". That means that by the time the message was sent, the rebel forces had surrendered, including the submarines. So the rebel Akula-class submarine shouldn't have been chasing and attacking US submarines at that point, according to the original message, and therefore that message wouldn't have been cut and all the following conflict would not have happened.

---

Quotes

Capt. Ramsey: God help you if you're wrong.
Hunter: If I'm wrong, then we're at war; God help us all.

---

Alternate Versions

Additional scenes in the new extended cut:

• Slightly longer scene at Hunter's daughter's birthday party.
• We see Zimmer saying goodbye to his wife/girlfriend at the base.
• A scene with COB getting a haircut and telling a dirty joke.

---

Connections

Referenced in Eagle Eye (2008)

---

Soundtracks

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

User Reviews

Tension and suspense achieved

This is the type of movie Tony Scott should have stuck to creating. While most Jerry Bruckheimer films prove to be bad, modern interpretations of old school martial arts movies, this was one of the better films Bruckheimer ever produced. While the story was completely plot-driven and the performances a little over the top, the rivalry between Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman made this film a cut above the rest of the trash Bruckheimer tends to produce. While simple and direct, it proves to be effective in the annals of storytelling, never overindulging the viewer.