Amazon.com: Customer reviews: Crimson Tide [Blu-ray]

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I thoroughly enjoyed this flick except for the CO character having a ...

Reviewed in the United States on February 27, 2017

Rant: As a former SSBN submariner (''83 to '96, work center was in MCC--Missile Control Center), I thoroughly enjoyed this flick except for the CO character having a dog aboard the boat. It's not the fact that that would never occur, it's the fact that the CO character allowed the dog to piss on the deck without cleaning up after it. This display of Total Disrespect for the crew was maddening to me. That would never occur in the fleet. Leave it to Hollywood to mess up a decent flick.

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Great Movie - Racial Focus Should be Ignored

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2021

1. I am born and raised in Alabama.
2. I took classes at the U of A and worked there for 11 years.
3. I am a lifelong Crimson Tide fan.
4. Gene Hackman and Denzel are two of my favorite actors.
5. Including in-laws we have six retired Colonels in our extended family.
This movie is excellent. Tons of drama. Conflict not only with the Russians, but between two alpha-dog officers.
All officers on-board are put in an untenable position of loyalty to their leader coupled with adherence to the Military Code.
Hackman, who served in the Navy (as a Marine), is always believable and does a good job of being a crusty, get'ur done Captain. Denzel is also a great actor. The two of them together is just good acting. Period.
I would rate this movie 5 Stars except for two things:
1. The racial issue seems far too contrived.
Almost every single older black career military man I have met told me the military was the closest thing to color-blind they have ever experienced.
The movie plot did NOT need the gratuitous racial component. It is sad to me that such a good movie would be tainted by this kind of social commentary.
There are several great YouTube videos of Denzel Washington where his message is loud and clear: race is not an issue in the USA - work hard, live right and treat others right. This lifestyle equals success.
2. The Captain punches the Executive Officer in the face.
Even with the tense situation of the movie, I just cannot see this happening. This kind of aggressive behavior has been slowly eradicated over the years, even by 1995 standards.
Great Movie...especially for an Alabama boy. Lose the racial object lesson for 5 Stars.

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From the United States

Great Movie - Racial Focus Should be Ignored

Reviewed in the United States on March 15, 2021

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GottaDoSumptin

A True Leader Wins the Hearts and Minds of their Crew

Reviewed in the United States on November 8, 2021

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It was once said that Denzel Washington was the most over-rated, most over-paid actor in Hollywood. I don’t know about that but he sure is eye-candy and does have a captivating presence. But, for me, Gene Hackman is the more versatile actor, capable to bring validity to any character he is assigned. Gene Hackman steals this show. Besides Washington’s and Hackman’s star-power, in addition to an ensemble cast of note (George Dzundza, Viggo Mortensen, James Gandolfini, Matt Craven, Ricky Schroder, Steve Zahn, Ryan Phillippe, among others), I was expecting more from this film than a mutiny in a submarine.

Tensions arise between headstrong combat-hardened veteran Captain Frank Ramsey (Hackman) and Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter (Washington) as his new XO, who has an extensive education in military history and tactics, therefore is more analytical and cautious, but no combat experience. We have a clash of wills (and underlying bigotry) from the git-go and two different styles of command – one old school, the other new – one brute force, the other psychological. The action takes place during a period of political turmoil in the Russian Federation, in which ultranationalists threaten to launch nuclear missiles at the United States and Japan. Ramsey’s and Hunter’s conflict comes to a head over interpretations of an order to launch their missiles – Ramsey proceeds, Hunter refuses to concur.

As I was watching, I kept seeing a re-boot of “Run Silent, Run Deep” (1958, Clark Gable/Burt Lancaster) with a twist = the race card. During the Mexican standoff near the end, an analogy is made to the Lipizzaner stallions.

The critics raved when the movie was released. I preferred “Run Silent, Run Deep”, but that’s not saying “Crimson Tide” is not worth your time… because it is.

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Hackman and Washington are great Ending very predictable

Reviewed in the United States on August 19, 2020

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Russia is falling into civil war. A strongman is threatening to fire nuclear missiles at the United States. It responds by scrambling its armed forces included a submarine commanded by Gene Hackman as Captain Frank Ramsey, along with Lt. Commander Ron Hunter (Denzel Washington), Lt. Peter Ince (Viggo Mortensen), and Lt. Bobby Dougherty (James Gandolfini). Tony Scott did the directing along with Jerry Bruckheimer as co-director. The story focuses upon the tension over what’s going on in Russia along with the conflict between Ramsey and Hunter.

The movie has plenty of action, but it’s all the usual submarine fare. One side fires torpedoes, the other side uses countermeasures, there’s a chase, there’s flooding, etc.

The real story is about how Captain Ramsey and Commander Hunter disagree and the power struggles that ensue. Hackman and Washington are their usual intense selves.

The major problem is the ending is completely predictable.
C

3 people found this helpful

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Okay movie until the end, then it loses momentum and disappoints

Reviewed in the United States on April 15, 2022

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***Some minor spoiler-ish bits.

Premise is interesting - there's been a sort of coup in the USSR and they have captured a nuclear silo complex. The US scrambles subs in the area in anticipation of a possible retaliatory strike, should the coup leader (who is saber rattling), order a strike on the US from that seized complex.

Gene Hackman plays a one dimensional character with some race-biased overtones, and Denzel Washington is (surprisingly) a bit stiff as the XO Hackman decides to appoint to replace his usual XO, who is sick.

I love subs and I love Cold War movies, so I can forgive some of the above. The sets are great and the appearance of some good supporting actors- including Viggo Mortensen - helps compensate. But after a while the flaws tend to grate. Hackman is too much the irritating, abrasive and haughty captain, who thinks he is God. For someone in the sub service, Washington seems almost meek and confused at points, until he very much ISN'T. When an order comes in to prepare for a potential launch and then the sub is damaged, leaving a subsequent order incomplete, Hackman and Washington come to odds.

I know it's Hollywood, but a feel a lot of disservice is done to submariners. So many of them seem either unsure, hysterical, emotional or mercenary. If you know something about the sub service, because of the nature of it candidates are heavily screened and trained. So the shrill sound of the radar operator's voice, or James Gandolfini verging on someone who is psychotic really beggars belief.

I won't play out the twists and turns, but things get VERY bad on board, with crew taking sides and even weapons drawn.

It is eventually resolved, and then comes the Naval review of the situation, which is just RIDICULOUS and just impossible to believe, really undermining the tension and making the Navy almost seem very corrupt. For a tantalizing idea, good actors and equally good sets and filming, the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Cleaned up, more realistic with appropriate tension and more depth to make the characters more relatable, this could be a banger of a thriller. As presented, it just doesn't do the trick.

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A good movie, but two major things prevent me from 5 starring this.

Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2021

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1. The racial component, especially the horse conversation near the end, seemed to be way too tacked on, including the officer who was seemingly insanely eager (as per his little evil grin we see a few times) to help the captain retake the ship and launch the missiles. The entire thing seems unneeded and doesnt really do anything except make the CO look more evil than he already was, with the magical saving grace being his recommendation to promote XO asap. But this of course pales in comparison to the real issue at stake here.

2. The biggest flaw with this movie is the CO's apparent desire to begin a nuclear war, evidenced by multiple statements he makes throughout the movie as the situation escalates, right up to its conclusion. XO was in the right by removing CO as per regulation, but the captains bloodthirst was so great that he actually staged a real mutiny (despite what the actions of the XO were described as) to retake and force a launch. Beyond this though, was the courts complete ignoring of the fact that had the CO had his way, the US and world would have entered into World War 3, with a billion dead being just the initial toll. They center the entire conflict around this issue and yet when it comes time, they just let the CO retire without repercussion for almost causing a nuclear war. Then the outside shaking of hands and joking between the two seems so far fetched, that Washingtons character would just be okay with this man walking off scot free after being the voice of sanity and reason the entire time on the sub. It may be that this is how it would actually play out, but if nothing else it shows that the military is willing to just take major issues and sweep them under the rug.

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Glama Puss

A nightmare within a nightmare but...

Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2021

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why is there only ONE radio on a nuclear submarine, are you joking? First a possible nuclear attack, then a mutiny and a mutiny within a mutiny, that's where this really got interesting. Great performances as always by Washington & Hackman. No big suspense as in The Hunt for the Red October. Seriously, ONE radio?? Recommend.

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joseph

gene hackman and denzel washington, what more do you need to know.

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2018

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As a prime video member, for $ 3.99 I didn't feel I could go wrong. I was right. Good action, great acting and being on a submarine plenty of good stuff. I know 3 stars doesn't seem like much but I am a pretty hard marker and there are quite a few better movies out there.

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3D-fan

Disappointing transfer to DVD

Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2008

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This review refers to the 1998 edition of 'Crimson Tide'. The movie itself is good, worth 5 stars. The transfer to DVD is relatively poor (not horrible, acceptable)for a recenet movie (1998). The format is widescreen, but NOT enhanced for large screen TVs, so you wind up with the "letterbox" picture with large swaths of black on all sides of the picture--not good for an action film like this (why do the studios still issue DVDs with this format? It is so annoying!). The sound is OK--Dolby 5.1, but the picture is somewhat grainy--moreso than it should be. The DVD transfer is mediocre at best. I viewed this on a 46-inch high definition TV, played on my Toshiba 1080p HD DVD. This movie is now available on Blu-ray which is supposed to look great. I'll repurchase the movie in Blu-ray after I decide to get a Blu-ray player.

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Joe

A well-acted thriller saves Planet Earth (once again.)

Reviewed in the United States on April 14, 2013

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A beloved teacher of English Literature, himself a successful novelist, instructed me 50 years ago as follows: Let character drive the action. Over-rely on chance events, and your audience will perceive gimmicks propping up your plot.

Indeed, I enjoy a good action film loaded with spectacular effects and cheap thrills. Hollywood understands this formula for market success. But here, the story and film dramatization had the seeds for something greater. Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman were equal to the challenge. The chaos of a world teetering on the edge of war could provide killer subs credibly firing on the protagonist's ship, and so on. A narrow escape or two is OK. But in rapid succession, a first, second and third hair's breadth escape, with the improbability of actual survival rising, and still forty minutes left in the film??? You start to experience the predictable formula: Casualties are allowed, but the protagonists WILL survive to finish the film. What fails to survive is the drama.

The excesses of narrow escape are worsened when Planet Earth is once again on the line. War Games (1983 version) introduced us to the nuclear missile version of this genre. Independence Day. The Sum of All Fears. How about Space Cowboys? The list goes on ... But one thing in favor of this Almost Planet-Killer: By THE FORMULA, the global threat supports the Real Drama: salvation of the protagonist's kith and kin. Space Cowboys: A Planet-Killer asteroid is deflected so that the hero can marry his sweetheart. The Day After Tomorrow: the freezing death of billions is a backdrop to our joy over the survival of the protagonist's family. At least this drama focused our emotions on a credible planetary threat. It did not lean on our Darwinian instincts for survival of tribe and offspring. It challenged us with a concern for survival of the planet that supports all tribes and all offspring. We need more of that.

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Richard Byers

Good Entertainment

Reviewed in the United States on October 1, 2007

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Crimson Tide is solid entertainment, although as a retired submariner I can tell you it is chock-full of mistakes, some serious, some downright silly. I watched it mainly because of Denzel Washington & Gene Hackman, two of my favorite actors. By the way, has anyone else noticed the picture on the box of this "unrated extended edition"? Along the bottom it shows a WWII-era submarine(?!) Since this takes place in the mid-1990's, I was hard pressed to figure out why it would be there! Gotta love it!

3 people found this helpful

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