Crimson Tide (1995)
Director: Tony Scott
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
The crisis in the former Soviet Union has intensified. With a nuclear base in the hands of nationalist rebels, the world is waking up to another Cuban missile crisis, and the USS 'Alabama' is dispatched to deep waters within striking distance of Moscow. Only executive officer Hunter (Washington) stands between hawkish Captain Ramsey (Hackman) and a pre-emptive strike. Conceived as a post-Cold War update on Fail Safe, this tense, lucid brinksmanship drama also incorporates elements from The Caine Mutiny, A Few Good Men, and every submarine movie you've ever seen. There's no disguising the braggadocio with which director Scott plays cat-and-mouse with nuclear holocaust, cranking up the excitement with crazy angles, hot reds and greens, and Dariusz Wolski's hyper, heat-seeking camera. The screenplay may be credited to Michael Schiffer, but the punchy dialogue has Quentin Tarantino written all over it. The cast has a ball. Hackman, especially, brings immense reserves of humour, dignity and conviction to his meatiest role since Unforgiven.Author: TCh
Cast & crew
Director: Tony Scott
Producer: Don Simpson, Jerry Bruckheimer
Cast: Gene Hackman, Denzel Washington, George Dzundza, Viggo Mortensen, Matt Craven, James Gandolfini, Rocky Carroll, Jaime P Gomez, Jason Robards full cast
Genre(s): Action/Adventure
Duration: 116 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Hippies who work for The Man
To celebrate George Clooney comedy 'The Men who Stare at Goats', we look back at six memorable onscreen hippies who fought the system from within
Roland Emmerich's guide to disaster movies
Ahead of the release of '2012', Roland Emmerich offers his ten tips on creating the perfect global catastrophe
Grant Heslov: interview
Grant Heslov, director of 'The Men who Stare at Goats' talks about his old pal George Clooney, his interest in the paranormal, and his fond memories of working on 'Happy Days'
The Coen brothers discuss 'A Serious Man'
Masters of contrary comedy, Joel and Ethan Coen have struck gold again with their latest, ‘A Serious Man’
Ten inspirations behind 'Avatar'?
Time Out ponders the influences behind James Cameron's anticipated space-opera on the basis of the trailer
Michael Jackson's This Is It: review
Kenny Ortega's posthumous concert film is a rousing eulogy for one of pop's great enigmas
Michael Haneke: The man behind the menace
From Cannes to Munich to London, Dave Calhoun tours Michael Haneke's Palme d'Or winner, 'The White Ribbon'
Lone Scherfig talks 'An Education'
Danish director Lone Scherfig was an unlikely choice for a very English affair like 'An Education'. Cath Clarke meets her
How Jane Campion brought John Keats back to life
Time Out gets Romantic with the ‘difficult’ New Zealander about her new film, 'Bright Star'
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations












What do you think?
Post your review now