Crimson Tide

Review from a REAL Submariner
I gave this movie 3 stars because ultimately, I was entertained. The acting (for the most part) was outstanding, and the tension that was created could be cut with a Knife.

That being said, Let me put some peoples mind at ease, and relate some of the inaccuracies of the movie.

1. No Animals on Board. Period. Lose the Dog and the Fish Tank. An aquarium would be a terrible missile hazzard, and a dog crapping and pissing onboard, not a chance.

2. The supply officer (James Gandolfini) would never be allowed near control. Nor would he have the ability to force a seaman or petty officer to do push ups onboard a bus. The Supply Officer is a "restricted" officer, which means they can not participate in "command" of the vessel. The "Chop" would simply be in charge of the ships stores and the galley, nothing else.

3. There is no countermanding a launch command. Period. If the CIC (The Prez) issues a launch, the birds are flown. All the...

Decent Treatment, But Iffy Editing
The original DVD release of Crimson Tide occurred at a time before the trends of including cut scenes, commentary, and animated menus. While it makes sense to re-release the film with what we now considered the standard features, missing from the original, I found the overall experience somewhat disappointing.

For die-hard fans of Crimson Tide, this DVD is worth getting just to see the 7 minutes or so (Original release was 116 minutes, this version is supposed to be 123) of exra footage. The title menu is much nicer than before, and the addition of the documentary is a great bonus. But under deleted scenes, we're shown only three very short "scenes": an extra line of dialogue onboard the crew bus, a longer version of Radchenko's speech to the reporter, and a half-minute long nearly silent waiting scene before the panel at the end of the movie. All three are shown as raw footage, without any cleaning, or explanation.

All of the content in the deleted scenes is...

A Taut, Anxiety-Filled and Exciting Action Drama!
Wow! This is one that is sure to raise your blood pressure and get the old heart pounding! The movie is set in the near future, during a time of extreme instability and potential military adventurism in the crumbling Russian republics. As a result of all that is going on, old cold-war tensions are revived, igniting a heightened military readiness in the USA and sending an anxious submarine crew venturing on patrol into position to potentially launch its inventory of ICBMs at Russia if ordered. Under these circumstance, and based on contradictory information coming in piecemeal from the outside world, a mutiny occurs between the eccentric and stern authoritarian skipper, played brilliantly by Gene Hackman, and his executive officer, also played extremely well by Denzel Washington.

The story line leading to the mutiny, and what happens as a result of it is all quite plausible, and given the fact that the submarine has enough missile power to destroy most of industrial...

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