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K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe

Original title: K-19: The Widowmaker
  • 2002
  • 12
  • 2h 18m
IMDb RATING
6.7/10
67K
YOUR RATING
Harrison Ford in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
Trailer for K-19: The Widowmaker
Play trailer2:31
1 Video
81 Photos
DramaHistoryThriller

When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.

  • Director
    • Kathryn Bigelow
  • Writers
    • Louis Nowra
    • Christopher Kyle
  • Stars
    • Harrison Ford
    • Sam Spruell
    • Peter Stebbings
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    6.7/10
    67K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Kathryn Bigelow
    • Writers
      • Louis Nowra
      • Christopher Kyle
    • Stars
      • Harrison Ford
      • Sam Spruell
      • Peter Stebbings
    • 302User reviews
    • 100Critic reviews
    • 58Metascore
  • See production info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 1 win & 2 nominations

    Videos1

    K-19: The Widowmaker
    Trailer 2:31
    Watch K-19: The Widowmaker

    Photos81

    Harrison Ford in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
    K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
    Harrison Ford in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
    Liam Neeson in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
    Liam Neeson and Christian Camargo in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
    Peter Sarsgaard in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
    Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
    Harrison Ford in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
    Harrison Ford in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
    Harrison Ford in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
    Harrison Ford and Ingvar Sigurdsson in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)
    Liam Neeson in K-19 - Showdown in der Tiefe (2002)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Harrison Ford
    Harrison Ford
    • Capt. Alexei Vostrikov
    Sam Spruell
    Sam Spruell
    • Dmitri
    Peter Stebbings
    Peter Stebbings
    • Kuryshev
    Christian Camargo
    Christian Camargo
    • Pavel
    Roman Podhora
    • Lapinsh
    Sam Redford
    Sam Redford
    • Vasily
    Steve Nicolson
    • Demichev
    Liam Neeson
    Liam Neeson
    • Capt. Mikhail Polenin
    Ravil Isyanov
    Ravil Isyanov
    • Suslov
    Tim Woodward
    Tim Woodward
    • Partonov
    Lex Shrapnel
    Lex Shrapnel
    • Kornilov
    Shaun Benson
    Shaun Benson
    • Leonid
    Kris Holden-Ried
    Kris Holden-Ried
    • Anton
    • (as Kristen Holden-Ried)
    Dmitry Chepovetsky
    Dmitry Chepovetsky
    • Sergei
    Christopher Redman
    Christopher Redman
    • Kiklidze
    Tygh Runyan
    Tygh Runyan
    • Maxim
    Joss Ackland
    Joss Ackland
    • Marshal Zelentsov
    John Shrapnel
    John Shrapnel
    • Admiral Bratyeev
    • Director
      • Kathryn Bigelow
    • Writers
      • Louis Nowra
      • Christopher Kyle
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The director and producers of K-19 were the first Western civilians ever allowed inside the Russian naval base at the Kola Peninsula.
    • Goofs
      The movie presents a fictionalised account of the real K-19 event, however, eight men died as a result of radiation exposure not seven.
    • Quotes

      Capt. Mikhail Polenin: They'll send you to the Gulag, like your father.

      Captain Alexei Vostrikov: Well, it's a family tradition, isn't it?

    • Connections
      Featured in Late Night with Conan O'Brien: Harrison Ford/Jennifer Esposito/Wilco (2002)
    • Soundtracks
      L'Internationale
      Lyrics by Eugène Pottier

      Music by Pierre Degeyter

    User reviews302

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    7/10
    Definitely worth a look.
    There is a scene early on in this film that pretty much sums up the risk that the crew of the new submarine of record will be taking. The officers are sitting around enjoying some vodka and one of them brings up the cosmonaut hero Yuri Gagarin. He offers the rumor that Gagarin was not in fact the first man sent into space. He was simply the first guy who made it back alive. And the crew of this brand new nuclear sub will face similar danger as their hastily prepared vessel will be pushed to the limit in order to impress both the politburo, and make the Americans take note of its existence. The boat has not even left the dock before it has claimed a handful of lives, most notably the ship's doctor who is hit by a truck just before departure. The top nuclear engineer on board is also hastily replaced when he is discovered drunk on duty. And of course, the champagne bottle doesn't break during the dedication ceremony on the first hit. This is a uniformly bad omen in anyone's navy! K-19 stars two wonderful actors in Harrison Ford, and Liam Neeson. Neeson plays the boat's original captain who strongly objects to how hastily the new vessel was thrown together. Ford, who has higher political connections is put in charge of the K-19 with Neeson being demoted to executive officer. Both men are stubborn, be generally respectful to one another. Trouble is, as the film later points out, a ship can only have ONE captain. One man that the crew looks to and respects. Two such men only create tension. Once the boat leaves port, things generally go pretty well. Despite a leak or two, the boat initially holds together. Ford orders a very deep descent, and of course we are treated to one of those scenes which every submarine movie has where the entire crew looks on nervously as the boat may or may not implode under pressure. Anyway, it holds up. The K-19 then breaks through a patch of ice and has a successful test firing of a missile. Everything looks like it is going great. The crew even stops to pose for a happy picture atop the ice after a game of soccer. Of course, things begin to fall apart from there on.

    First off, the nuclear reactor pretty much goes kaput. Radiation levels rise rapidly, and for a while it looks like the whole sub might explode. Making things even more drastic is the presence of an American destroyer ship that would theoretically be taken out if the sub went nuclear. Tensions between the two nations were never really much higher than they were back then, so this may have been a real possibility. Once things start going badly, the tensions between Ford and Neeson begin to magnify. A mutiny is even attempted by those loyal to Neeson. Worst of all, the attempt to fix the reactor takes the lives of a handful of the crew in a particularly gruesome fashion. The film becomes more tense as things keep getting more and more dangerous for all involved. The conclusion is somewhat logical, but it might seem a little contrived. The entire movie is loosely based on real events, but the film has too many clichés for it to really be taken too seriously. Since there is no outright warfare going on here, the script has to pretty much recycle just about every tense moment from every other submarine movie not actually involving live combat.

    The acting is good, but Harrison Ford is a bit tough to swallow as a Russian. His accent needs a little work, but other than that his performance was as good as he could have done for such a part. Neeson is terrific as usual. Peter Sarsgaard also shows great promise in this early effort of his. Hats off to director Kathryn Bigelow for using the claustrophobic environment of the submarine to her advantage. It must have been a difficult shoot, but she makes it work as well as you could hope. The film lost a small fortune at the box office for whatever reason. Maybe the absence of an American lead character was too much to overcome. Anyway, it is a shame that more people have yet to see this very good film. 7 of 10 stars.

    The Hound.
    helpful•39
    9
    • TOMASBBloodhound
    • Oct 14, 2007

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    FAQ20

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 5, 2002 (Germany)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • Germany
      • Canada
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Russian
    • Also known as
      • K-19: The Widowmaker
    • Filming locations
      • Gimli, Manitoba, Canada(filmed on location in)
    • Production companies
      • First Light Production
      • IMF Internationale Medien und Film GmbH & Co. 2. Produktions KG
      • Intermedia Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Budget
      • $100,000,000 (estimated)
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $35,168,966
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $12,778,459
      • Jul 21, 2002
    • Gross worldwide
      • $65,716,126
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      2 hours 18 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • DTS
      • Dolby Digital
      • SDDS
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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