Hooked On Submarine Movies

The Hunt for Red October (Special Collector's Edition)

Amazon Price: $9.49 (as of 12/23/2009)

In this film, Sean Connery is senior Lithuanian submarine captain, Marko Ramius, who decides to defect to the U.S. and hand over Russia's newest nuclear submarine, Red October, in the process--the sub that can run silent thanks to an innovative propulsion system called the caterpillar drive. But the U.S. isn't privy to Ramius's intentions. In fact, they believe he might be planning to attack.

Enter Alect Baldwin, who plays CIA analyst Jack Ryan, the one person who believes Ramius is trying to defect. And he has to convince the American navy he's right ... before they blow the whole submarine out of the water. Meanwhile, the Russians are also on the hunt to stop Ramius before he carries out his plan. Unbeknownst to Ramius, there's even someone amongst his own crew who is dead set on stopping him.

Despite some negative reviews by film critics (poo on them) at the time of its release in 1990, The Hunt for Red October was one of the year's top grossing movies, and I certainly think it's well-acted, including the scenes with more looks between characters than words. In fact, the movie has me in suspense no matter how many times I've seen it.

The Hunt for Red October (Jack Ryan)

by: Tom Clancy

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This novel was the first of many by Tom Clancy in which CIA analyst Jack Ryan is one of the central characters.

According to Wikipedia, "the novel was originally published by the U.S. Naval Institute Press-the first fictional work they ever published and still their most successful."

Crimson Tide (Unrated Extended Edition)

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You have a Russian nuclear installation in the hands of rebels, who threaten to push the button if either the Americans or the Russian government challenge their control. Then you have an American submarine, the USS Alabama, under the command of seasoned combat veteran, Captain Frank Ramsey (Hackman), on patrol off the Russian coast, poised to launch a pre-emptive strike should the rebels arm the missiles. Second in command of the Alabama is XO Ron Hunter (Washington), who has great knowledge of military tactics and history, but has never experienced combat.

Then the order comes to fire; the Russian missiles have been armed. But before the Alabama can launch its missiles, another message begins. That message, however, is interrupted by the attack of a Russian submarine that supports the rebels. With no further radio contact and without knowing the full content of the second message, Captain Ramsey decides to go ahead with the launch.

But not if XO Hunter has anything to say about it, not until that second message can be confirmed. So begins the most tense scenes of the film, as the struggle between the captain and his right-hand man and those crew members that support one or the other escalates.

Crimson Tide

by: Richard P. Henrick

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I don't actually know which came first here, the book or the movie, but both are great in and of themselves, and, as I see it, each complements the other as well.

K-19: The Widowmaker

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This independent film is based on actual events that happened aboard the Soviet submarine K-19, nicknamed "The Widowmaker," and was National Geographic's first feature film. Just as in the movie, the real K-19 experienced a malfunction in its nuclear reactor on its maiden voyage in 1961 in the North Atlantic.

At the core of the film, similar to the struggle between the main characters in Crimson Tide, is the clash in leadership styles between the stern and militaristic Vostrikov and the more fatherly commander, Polenin, which leads to power struggles throughout the movie in the midst of high-tension events.

K-19 THE WIDOWMAKER: The Secret Story of The Soviet Nuclear Submarine

by: Peter Capt Ret Huchthausen

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The book includes passages from the captain's memoir and rare historic images, along with excerpts from the original screenplay.

U-571 [HD DVD]

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As the film begins, the Nazi's have the advantage, because the Allies are unable to crack their codes. That is, until a disabled German U-boat sends out an SOS signal after a deadly fire on board, and the Allies, disguised as Nazi's themselves, take their chance to steal the "enigma coding machine." They intend to decode the Nazi's transmissions in order to find out where their boats are headed and prevent them from sinking the Allies' supply ships. The Allies' plan hits a snag, however, when they get stranded on the German sub.

U-571

by: Max Allan Collins, Universal Studios

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