Crimson Tide (1995)

What better way to ring in the New Year than to do a deep dive….underwater into the world of submarines?  

Let’s start this week with this exciting mid-‘90’s submarine thriller directed by the late, great Tony Scott.  Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman co-star as the new XO and Captain of the U.S.S. Alabama which has just set sail towards Russia as word gets out of a possible revolution there and the frightening possibility of a new military leader getting control of Russian nuclear weapons.  The submarine starts receiving messages about a possible launch of nuclear weapons but then…more messages start to come through and they’re not all clear.  What follows is an epic battle of wills between two leaders who disagree over what to do next...tensions get increasingly heightened on the boat with other crewmates as well, played by James Gandolfini, George Dzunda, Viggo Mortensen, and several others.  

Host: Geoff Gershon
Producer: Marlene Gershon

EXPLICIT LANGUAGE WARNING

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Transcript

CRIMSON TIDE - 1995

Directed by Tony Scott (Audio clip)

Starring Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, Viggo Mortensen, George Dzundza, James Gandolfini, Rocky Carroll, Matt Craven, Danny Nucci, Lilo Brancato, and Jason Robards

Genre: Submarine Thriller

Go Bama! Roll Tide!  What better movie to rewatch with your father during the holidays than this mid-'90's gem, probably one of THE great "Dad movies" ever made? I mean there are literally NO speaking parts for women once you get past the ten-minute mark...even Das Boot had more of a female presence at least periodically when they would get off of the titular "Boot." :) 

And that works because this film is pretty much a pure chamber piece for about 95% of its runtime....most of it taking place on the U.S.S. Alabama run by seasoned Navy veteran Captain Ramsey played fittingly by The Hack Man in all of his late-career, crusty, seen-some-shit glory. He has just been paired with a new XO - Second-in-Command - Stephen Hunter played by Den-Zel smack at the point when he was burnishing his reputation as one of our great actors and just as he was becoming a household name. This was Hackman about three years removed from his Oscar-winning scumbag sheriff role in Unforgiven and Washington about three years removed from his Oscar-nominated role as Malcolm X....and if that doesn't convey how much of a titanic pairing this was, nothing else will!  (Audio clip)

Because besides being one of THE great submarine thrillers of all time (IMHO just narrowly above 'Red October which my father was quick to remind me while viewing this was HIS personal favorite) and a great chamber piece which could almost be reconfigured just a bit as a top-flight stage drama a la Twelve Angry Men...Crimson Tide is just one of the best two-fors I can recall seeing. Having THESE two square off against each other was just a stroke of genius even though neither of them was actually the first or even second choice to play these roles originally. The WHOLE drive of this plot is basically whether this particular submarine should launch nuclear missiles on Russia per one received electronic message even though another incomplete message came afterward which MIGHT contradict it - it's a high stakes story for sure and we've sort of seen similar scenarios play out before in movies from WarGames to Fail-Safe, albeit in dramatically different settings. 

But thanks to the pairing of these two actors on opposite sides - Washington's Hunter is urging for more caution and to find out what that second message actually stated while Hackman's Ramsey feels resolute that his orders are clear-cut to proceed with missile launch - this scenario has never been more dramatic or...CINEMATIC. If you're me, you're inherently behind Hunter from the get-go...he seems smarter, more likable, inherently decent....and of course, he's being played by Denzel. ;) This was early in his years as a full-blown star but you had the critical Denzelisms in place...the nervy laugh, the thousand-yard stare, and even unique pronunciations of common words like "nuclear HOLO-caust?" 🤔 (Audio clip) 

Adding to that, neither Hackman nor the screenplay by Michael Schiffer (though apparently polished by several others including Quentin Tarantino whose contributions are unmistakable) wait too long before letting the audience know that his Captain is an old-school misogynistic dickhead...pretty much right away when he makes an off-color remark comparing horses to teenage girls. :/ (Audio clip)  As a result, it also seems easy to underestimate HIS intelligence....but going back to his explosive breakout roles in Bonnie & Clyde, The French Connection, The Conversation...there is almost ALWAYS more to Hackman than meets the eye. He can get hot-headed but that doesn't mean he's easy to relinquish control from...and that's how this whole scenario pretty much plays out. You have tense stand-offs, a mutiny, a counter-mutiny, etc.... (Audio clip) 

And STILL, even with two top-flight actors and such a juicy scenario, this could all fall apart without a sure hand in the director's chair. Fortunately, that didn't happen as we had the late, great Tony Scott at the helm just a couple of years after his unexpected masterpiece, True Romance. With THAT film, he proved he could direct more than just single-minded star vehicles starring megawatt stars at the time like Eddie Murphy or Tom Cruise, or Bruce Willis....he had this amazing cast of strong established actors from all over the map and he utilized EACH of them perfectly, sometimes with just one or two scenes devoted to letting them shine...and never detracting from the story. For example, just think of Christopher Walken with his one memorable scene in that movie...

And as much as he keeps the story focused on this ongoing mental chess game between Denzel and Hackman's characters - literally just barreling from one key development to the next with perfect forward momentum because this film just MOVES at just under two hours - Scott also makes great use of a pretty stacked cast of mostly up-and-coming actors playing the crew of this submarine. 

You have a young, smooth-faced Viggo Mortensen as Weps, a close friend to Denzel's Hunter but also torn as to what his duty is as HE is the one controlling the triggers to those missiles....he doesn't even say much but is constantly sweating, smoking, and shifting his head in uncomfortable angles so you KNOW this dude is tormented...he also plays a key part in our trailer moment but we’ll get to that a bit later.  

You have pre-Sopranos Gandolfini just killing it as Dougherty, the loyal Lieutenant to Captain Ramsey who not only orchestrates a counter-mutiny but has such a shit-eating grin on his face as the tension ramps up, you just KNOW he has got some unresolved shit he's looking to unleash on Denzel's Hunter. :/ (Audio clip) 

There's Lilo Brancato in sadly his ONLY notable role after A Bronx Tale (which he was fantastic in) just chewing up the scenery as the sadsack Vossler who JUST wants to fix that damn radio....the irreplaceable George Dzundza as Cob, the unexpected fulcrum of this two-man conflict as you can see how much it pains him to be doing the right thing at the expense of his long-time superior, Ramsey....the legendary Jason Robards coming in for JUST the last play in the fourth quarter to be THE man to reprimand both Hunter and Ramsey at their court-martial hearing (Audio clip)....and among so many others, you even have the usually subdued character actor Matt Craven as Zimmer genuinely relishing his moment to shine by gleefully delivering this film's most ridiculous piece of dialogue: (Audio clip) 

"Radchenko is fueling his birds, now why do you he's doing that? You don't put on a condom unless you want to F!@K!" 

And there are plenty more gems where that came from - there's no shortage of macho dialogue throughout but it feels apt as you can clearly FEEL the sense of urgency and desperation most of these characters are exhibiting. 

Scott fills the screen with so many close-ups and Dutch angles and yet it all works towards ratcheting up the tension....keeping things claustrophobic but never taking you out of the story or where we are supposed to be situated within the geography of this submarine. It also helps that he gets a HUGE assist from Hans Zimmer delivering what I believe is his most hummable score. 

Having now rewatched this film SO many times, it's pretty difficult for me to find any real criticisms...there's an overreliance on faux CNN clips to provide exposition, the amount of sheer physical activity Denzel's Hunter is allowed to engage in ALL within a crowded submarine (crawl spaces where you just need to slightly crouch really??) stretches credibility at times, and yes he's cute to look at but Ramsey's Jack Russell terrier Bear just gets a distracting amount of screentime. Still, overall, this is a near-perfect thriller filled with tension, humor, and a compelling central conflict at its core - it's Hollywood blockbuster filmmaking at its best and great for dads of all ages. 🤫

Best Needledrop (best song cue or score used throughout the runtime of the film) AND 

Trailer Moment (scene or moment that best describes this movie): 

Mixed in with all of the macho bluster and back-and-forth, there is also plenty of thoughtful stuff dialogue, usually from Denzel who delivers potentially cheesy lines like these with enough forcefulness to have you buy-in.  This occurs in one key exchange towards the end when both Hunter and Ramsey are at an impasse regarding the launch of nuclear missiles and whether they should hold off on getting a complete EAM message…..this exchange between them is the FIRST part of the trailer moment. (Audio clip) 

And that leads us to the second part which includes the NeedleDrop….and this is one HELL of a needle-drop too. 

Hans Zimmer’s main theme "Roll Tide" remains one for the ages for me and when that orchestra kicks up, it's enough to just make you want to stand at attention and salute!  You have the chorus in the background, the synth beat percolating throughout….just truly rousing music!  The theme picks up at a few key moments throughout the film but none better at that very critical moment towards the end….not gonna spoil it but let’s just say it comes after a VERY important announcement. (Audio clip) 

And that brings me back to Viggo playing Weps who guards those all-important nuclear launch codes.  As I said, his character does a lot of silent physical acting throughout but never more so than during the trailer moment as Zimmer’s theme is escalating.  We see the simple payoff of his back to us with a simple fist pump in the air as the camera then closes in on half of his smile.  At a key moment, just these simple gestures from his character make it all the more gratifying! 

Wasted Talent (most under-utilized talent involved with film): 

MAYBE Vanessa Bell Calloway could have been given a few more lines of dialogue in the opening ten minutes as Hunter’s wife? Or anyone else female for that matter?  I think I can cut this film some slack as it’s pretty much a chamber piece set on a boat with all men.

MVP (person or people most responsible for the success of this film): 

It pains me to do this but sorry I just HAVE to – this is a three-way tie as you have career-best or NEAR career-best work from three key players here.  You could make a VERY strong argument that this is the best film Tony Scott has ever directed – he just brings all of his signature style and pizazz to this story while also just building wonderful tension and making perfect use of such an extensive cast.  

Yes, Denzel has been probably given better all-around performances in movies like Malcolm X, Glory, Flight, and probably The Hurricane.  But this could very well be his best “movie star” performance – this was a breakout role for him, headlining a box office hit for the first time in his career.  It’s just all the more impressive when you think of the likely blander performances which we would have seen this role of XO Hunter from other movie stars at the time who were almost cast in this very role, including Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt.  I could see both of those guys doing well but not just tearing up the screen right alongside Hackman as Denzel does.  (Audio clip) 

And then there’s that music from Hans…..it’s iconic music for sure…SO iconic that you’re likely to hear it playing during sports broadcasts, Presidential campaign speeches, and even covered by one of today’s premier metal bands Night Wish.   This is just an all-time score and definitely one of Zimmer’s best.  And in case you couldn’t tell, I just love this movie and I just can’t imagine it working so well if not for the contributions from the star, the director, and the composer – therefore I anoint Denzel Washington, Tony Scott, and Hans Zimmer as Co-MVP’s! (Audio clip) 

Final Rating: 5 stars out of 5

Whether you’re a dad or not, there’s no reason for you NOT to enjoy this movie and for me, it’s one of my personal favorites….right up there probably in my All-Time Top Ten.  And SPEAKING of dads, I just would like to give a shout-out to MY father – Stuart Gershon – whose birthday happens to fall on the date when this particular episode will be released.  I remember seeing this in theaters with him and though he PERSONALLY prefers The Hunt For Red October – future episode ‘Red October – he shares my love of this film as well.  Happy Birthday, Pop!

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