Ghostboat (2006)

A British Sub goes missing at the end of WWII, leaving only one survivor. Everyone believes it lost to the bottom of the Baltic Sea, then 40 years later it reappears without a crew. The ... See full summary »

Director:

Stuart Orme

Writers:

Neal R. Burger (novel), Guy Burt (screenplay)

Stars:

David Jason, Ian Puleston-Davies, Tony Haygarth

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
David Jason	...	Jack Hardy
Ian Puleston-Davies	...	Travis
Tony Haygarth	...	Cassidy
Julian Wadham	...	Captain Byrnes
James Laurenson	...	Admiral Nealy
Robert Whitelock	...	Spender
Crispin Bonham-Carter	...	Redding
Jamie Martin	...	Tyler
Roger Evans	...	Monroe
Robert Horwell	...	Mason
Jonathan Cullen	...	Captain Basquine
Alan Stocks	...	Peterson
Lee Whitlock	...	Reeves
Ricky Nixon	...	Langdon
Ian Targett	...	Captain Lyle

Storyline

A British Sub goes missing at the end of WWII, leaving only one survivor. Everyone believes it lost to the bottom of the Baltic Sea, then 40 years later it reappears without a crew. The British government sends for the one surviving crew member (David Jason), who is now a marine biologist. With a new crew, Jason proceeds to trace the last known happenings on the sub. But this submarine has a life of its own and the new crew soon start showing characteristics of the old crew.

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Plot Keywords:

submarine | bering sea | possession | british navy | haunting | 

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Genres:

Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The patriotic German song that the crew hear on the military radio frequency is the Horst Wessel Song, the anthem of the Nazi Party.

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Goofs

HMS 'Scorpion' is supposed to be a British submarine, presumably (given her name) an S-Class. However, she doesn't resemble any Royal Navy submarine of the Second World War, looking far more like a late-war German Type VIIC U-boat. The only significant concession is that exterior periscopes have been altered to give it a more British look, but they are closer to what was on a T-Class submarine than on the S-Class.

User Reviews

Excellent thriller, very eerie, superb acting, 10/10

I don't tend to watch a lot of television (preferring to stick to DVDs) so something has really got to interest me to get me to firstly remember the programme's on and secondly to actually watch.

The thing that immediately attracted me to the programme was, of course, fabulous actor David Jason. And yet again he excels himself in this wonderful thriller.

The story is based on a book also called 'Ghostboat' and is about a submarine called the Scorpion that surfaces in 1981-but which hasn't been seen since the second world war where it was presumed to have sunk. When it sank only one survivor was found, Jack Hardy (David Jason) who can't remember anything due to amnesia) When the sub resurfaces, Hardy is invited to go on a journey on the sub, with another crew and retrace the path the Scorpion took to find out what happened to it.

When they first go onto the sub to check out the damage and pull out the bodies of the dead, they find something astonishing. There are no bodies, everything is as the crew left it 40 years ago, nothing has changed.

And so the journey begins. Hardy can hear voices, things are happening in the same way they did 40 years ago-and the crew are beginning to change. As Hardy says 'The past is breaking through' The CGI effects in the film are very, very good, although not perfect, the storyline is gripping, the acting and cast are stellar.

The perfect thing for the family to gather in front of the telly to watch-10/10!

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

9 April 2006 (UK)

Also Known As:

Le vaisseau fantôme

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Paperback Company Films, Yorkshire Television (YTV)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

111 min (DVD) 180 min (2 parts)

Color:

Color