View Full Version : Recommend me some Submarine movies.
titsonritz
03-26-23, 15:33
I love a good submarine movie and you guys always have excellent movie recommendations. I know there is a bunch I have not seen, so what would you add to my list of submarine flicks? Based on actual events are always a bonus.
Das Boot
The Enemy Below
The Hunt for Red October
Crimson Tide
Run Silent, Run Deep
U-571
K-19: The Widowmaker
The Bedford Incident
Destination Tokyo
On the Beach
Hunter Killer
I'm even good with mixing genres like Sci-Fi or Supernatural themes. One of my favorite Star Trek episodes is Balance of Terror modeled after The Enemy Below with Mark Lenard playing the Romulan commander (the U-Boat) vs Capt. Kirk (the US destroyer). These flicks come to mind...
The Abyss
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
Voyage to the Bottom
Below
TIA
That's a pretty comprehensive list. I got nothing.
StainlessSteelRat
03-26-23, 15:48
Torpedo Run is pretty good. 'Below' from 2002 is decent, and 'Phantom' I liked.
gunnerblue
03-26-23, 15:55
I enjoyed Underwater, though it doesn't involve a submarine.
Check out the movie Greyhound with Tom Hanks.
You have a darn good list. Hard to add to that but...
The Command (Kursk)
The Hunley(TV Movie)
Black Sea (iffy adventure movie)
Don't forget Operation Petticoat ;)
You have most of them. It's hard to make a new, interesting film about subs. It has all the plot constraints of "we are on this rocket."
The Smithsonian channel had a series of accounts from WWII that I thought was presented well:
https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/hell-below
SilverBullet432
03-27-23, 00:03
If you’re into non-fiction documentaries, then I would recommend Azorian: The raising of the K-129, which covers the CIA’s top secret efforts to raise a portion of the sunken Soviet submarine K-129. I believe I watched it on Amazon Prime.
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2042455/
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Azorian
Send it...
03-27-23, 00:46
Tag for great movies to watch.
hoopharted
03-27-23, 04:51
Crimson Tide was my boat , '85 - '89 , Trident ,USS Alabama SSBN 731 B , MM2 A-Div , allot of submarine hocum going on in that movie made it hard to watch ,did not portray submarine life well at all , a more accurate representation of what it was actually like serving on a Sub was Hunt for Red October
all that ultra military berating simply has no place in sub service and is not practiced , if you get some douche on board be it officer , or SR chief or below tht wants to play that game they get put in their place fast , the Captain ,XO and COB really are the only ones that can get away with it and even they do not exercise it like they did in Crimson Tide
on a sub you have a never ending barrage of qualifications you must complete , you get issued "cards" and on each card you are required to get "sigs" and then a final "checkout", every sig is a in depth and comprehensive checkout on a particular aspect that involves that particular qualification , it can involve 5 sigs or 60 sigs , a checkout can include something for instance a in depth hand drawn from memory ventilation line up for any casualty scenario for any of the 3 compartments , which valves are open , which are closed , which fans circulate which fans dont , its no one or 2 valves or fans ,it involves 30 or more that can change given the particular casualty
the way you quell that stripe tapping rank pulling crap on a sub is through qual cards , you get a douche like that you dink him by making it impossible to get his sigs , dont get the required sigs for that week you go dink or delinquent , if you go delinquent on any card you get no lounge time ,your entire life now becomes standing watch and when you are not you are working on quals , sleep is now a luxury you can not afford , if you are a real tool bag you will find yourself "delinquent for life" , basically we put you so far behind on sigs on multiple cards you will never get off the delinquent list , suddenly attitudes change , we brought a SR Chief that cross rated from the surface fleet to his knees , he brought that surface fleet nonsense with him thinking he was going to employ it on a sub , think again
it was nothing for our boat to do 160+ days submerged without surfacing because if another boat , one in particular would break down and limp home we had to cover their package ,average was suppose t be around 120 days , the reason that military non sense doesnt fly on subs is there is allot of stress involved in not seeing sunlight for 160 days , the last thing you want is someone piling on with un necessary baggage , all that crap you see going on in Crimson Tide was as far from reality as if they were driving that boat to the moon , everyone is way more laid back which is why they start screening in boot
all together if you tally all my patrols that i was on , i have a little more than 2 years of my life hat expired while submerged under the ocean in total
Below (2002) is a supernatural horror movie set on a submarine, I only saw part of it about 20 years ago. I remember it being somewhat okay,. How's that for a ringing endorsement?
Sent from my SM-A326U using Tapatalk
.....then he proceeds to list the only 10 movies in existance. :)
Yep, Hunt for Red October is a far more accurate portrayal of what it is actually like. The Sonar stuff is pretty much spot on. Also, very much informal as Hoop describes, but he was only a part time sailor, as compared to being fast attack tough. One boat one crew!
The CO was having issues with the #2 scope and he walked in and asked me personally to take a look at it the next time we were at PD. Very tight group of individuals and you know everyone and who to go.
Learning and memorizing every system on something so complex isn't for the stupid, you had to meet minimum requirements and pass some exams to even volunteer. I thought it was strange talking to a shrink. The designated SME for each system is who you went to get signoff and they normally didn't make it easy, but if you were a douche you could chase shit down for weeks.
My qual board happened while we were deployed and I was driving the boat and answering questions.
Another one to add to the list. A French film called The Wolf's Call from 2019 on Netflix. It's pretty good for a subtitled movie.
Sidneyious
03-27-23, 14:00
down periscope
The fact no one has said this really makes me wonder about peoples taste in movies.
https://youtu.be/lTyxmVou27w
hoopharted
03-27-23, 14:32
.....then he proceeds to list the only 10 movies in existance. :)
Yep, Hunt for Red October is a far more accurate portrayal of what it is actually like. The Sonar stuff is pretty much spot on. Also, very much informal as Hoop describes, but he was only a part time sailor, as compared to being fast attack tough. One boat one crew!
The CO was having issues with the #2 scope and he walked in and asked me personally to take a look at it the next time we were at PD. Very tight group of individuals and you know everyone and who to go.
Learning and memorizing every system on something so complex isn't for the stupid, you had to meet minimum requirements and pass some exams to even volunteer. I thought it was strange talking to a shrink. The designated SME for each system is who you went to get signoff and they normally didn't make it easy, but if you were a douche you could chase shit down for weeks.
My qual board happened while we were deployed and I was driving the boat and answering questions.
you can tell i been out a while , i said "closed" which is a nono , as for part time sailor , fast boats go into ports all the time , no country wants 24 T-2 ballistic Missiles in port , i never heard of a fast boat doing 160 days straight submerged unless they were doing under hulls , they are both just different beasts , i still have my Submarine Drivers license and my ships quals card
you can tell i been out a while , i said "closed" which is a nono , as for part time sailor , fast boats go into ports all the time , no country wants 24 T-2 ballistic Missiles in port , i never heard of a fast boat doing 160 days straight submerged unless they were doing under hulls , they are both just different beasts , i still have my Submarine Drivers license and my ships quals card
We didn’t advertise our nukes and we all had reactors. It was political for our port calls as well.
I still have my original qual card too.
We were married to that damned pig 24x7 with three section duty whilst pier side. On the rare occasion we had 4 section duty it was like a fricken vacation.
We were surface transiting into Halifax after being deployed. The “friendly Canadians” were dipping sonar from a helo trying to record.
You-all got busy starting the diesel when the CO saw that bullshit.
hoopharted
03-28-23, 04:17
We didn’t advertise our nukes and we all had reactors. It was political for our port calls as well.
I still have my original qual card too.
We were married to that damned pig 24x7 with three section duty whilst pier side. On the rare occasion we had 4 section duty it was like a fricken vacation.
We were surface transiting into Halifax after being deployed. The “friendly Canadians” were dipping sonar from a helo trying to record.
You-all got busy starting the diesel when the CO saw that bullshit.
yea , had to have the ships card in the back pocket of the poopy suit 24/7 , what a weight that was lifted after getting my dolphins
only port we ever saw was Pearl to re-cert Mk48 , had to drag us to Ford Island because of the draft we drew , it was all officers quarters on the island ,and we were given explicit instructions not to cross the air field which was a shortcut back to the boat , but young and drunk we were not going all the way around , about half way across the field the MP's hit us with the lights and the chase was on , we were hiding in a tree in some officers front yard and the MP was directly under us ,my buddy was in the bushes and got nabbed , we could hear the people inside the house laughing there ass's off , must have looked like a comedy show , my buddy lost shore duty the rest of the stay
we were in florida before bringing it through the canal ,a feat the G crew got to do , but we launched a dummy Trident 2 , it was like the bottom fell out it shoved the boat down so hard
my buddy Halverson and me were the go to planes and helmsman on the boat , we had the bomb bay doors open in machinery 2 2nd level lifting a pump up from LL and the guys in RM 2 didnt have the hatch secured right ,i was down in the hole , the hatch weighs a couple hundred pounds and it was state 5 seas so even at a couple hundred feet we were rolling a bit , hatch came free and slammed down cutting one of my gangs foot in half , it literally plopped down right in front of me n LL , they put me and Rick on the planes to go up to periscope depth to send for a transfer for him to helo him to a surface boat , me and halverson were on the planes for 8 hours in state 5 seas, 3 of which were at periscope depth without broaching i was stern , he was helm , 30 foot swells and a flat missile deck , the trough of the waves suck on the missile deck like a suction cup wanting to yank you to the surface , really big deal to broach a sub , even bigger deal to not broach one in state 5 at periscope depth ,we both received accommodations for that day
hoopharted
03-28-23, 04:47
so we were punching holes at 5 knots one day , (or night , never knew which) sonor tells con they have a couple fast movers on a intersect , we go ultra quiet ,but the were humming so fast they were on us i believe before we even established true ultra quiet , i was aux forward watch which is a roving watch , and happen to be in control , all of a sudden you could start to hear the screw , then it started getting louder , and louder , and louder until that sub blew right over top of us going all out , but there was that cavitation moving away and another coming at us again , same thing ,louder and louder and then right over top of us , neither boat had a clue we were there as they were moving too fast for sonar , so Officer of the Deck , "Con/Sonar , WTF was that?" , "Sonar/Con wait one" , " Sonar/Con , that was a Alpha being dogged by a Aussie Diesel , Sonar/Con , wait one for particulars" , you could hear the screw count through the hull
another time i get racked out by what sounded like some one with a peen hammer hitting the hull right next to my head , battle stations , then changed to prepare for ultra quiet , didnt know who it was at first hence the battle stations , then sonar identified it as , you guessed it , bunch of drunk Aussie diesel boat sailors out wreaking havok , found us and was having a go at us for laughs , we ended up busting a move and out paced them , returned to ultra and sat there laughing while they tried to reaquire , we all hoped the captain would creep their baffles and light them up with active , but not our job and we were 2 football fields long and 6 stories from keel to sail , Aussies are ornery and diesels are quiet
We had a surface transit through the english channel in state 5 seas. It was so bad, we had seasoned Senior Cheifs running for the head to Ralph. Water was too shallow to submerge, so we were stuck on the surface for about 4 hours with shit and people flying everywhere.Water pouring down the access hatch to the sail, we actually had to seal it with the OOD and lookout up top. That was the one time I was glad I wasn't in the sail, otherwise that was the absolute best place to be during a surface transit. I loved watching the dolphins that were always there escorting us to our destination.
Pretty amazing how well active penetrates and reverberates the steel hull. Scares the shit out of you if you aren't expecting it.
No move will entirely accurately portray military life. No one wants to see that; they'd fire the entire military and make us all go into therapy.
RE: subs, the only subs I have been on aside from museum subs were to do lock-in/lock-out, and I have NO idea what subs they were. Caribbean, water was warm with perfect visibility. I recall being VERY cooped up with no room, just told "don't touch that."
Y'all want realism. I posted up Operation Petticoat. True to life as it gets man. Real life operational detail, engagement of ground LOC targets by sub, they even throw in some hard core SEAL/commando ops. Jeez, how much more accuracy do ya need. ;)
titsonritz
03-28-23, 16:29
Torpedo Run is pretty good. 'Below' from 2002 is decent, and 'Phantom' I liked.
'Torpedo Run' is on my list to get, have 'Below', never heard of 'Phantom'. Thanks for the suggestions.
titsonritz
03-28-23, 16:30
Check out the movie Greyhound with Tom Hanks.
This is one I've been wanting to see but I can't find it at a decent price. Looks to be good for a newer movie.
titsonritz
03-28-23, 16:32
You have a darn good list. Hard to add to that but...
The Command (Kursk)
The Hunley(TV Movie)
Black Sea (iffy adventure movie)
Don't forget Operation Petticoat ;)
The Hunley is one I'd like to see for sure. Of course 'Operation Petticoat' is a classic, not sure if I have it or not. I haven't heard of the other two, I'll look into them. Thanks.
titsonritz
03-28-23, 16:35
You have most of them. It's hard to make a new, interesting film about subs. It has all the plot constraints of "we are on this rocket."
Yeah, that's part of the problem, still some new ones have come out, issue there is so many new movies just suck. I was pleasantly surprised with 'Hunter Killer'.
titsonritz
03-28-23, 17:10
.....then he proceeds to list the only 10 movies in existance. :)
I forgot 'Hellcats of the Navy' on my list and there's a few more.
https://www.filmkuratorium.de/blog/the-best-submarine-movies/
hoopharted
03-28-23, 17:29
We had a surface transit through the english channel in state 5 seas. It was so bad, we had seasoned Senior Cheifs running for the head to Ralph. Water was too shallow to submerge, so we were stuck on the surface for about 4 hours with shit and people flying everywhere.Water pouring down the access hatch to the sail, we actually had to seal it with the OOD and lookout up top. That was the one time I was glad I wasn't in the sail, otherwise that was the absolute best place to be during a surface transit. I loved watching the dolphins that were always there escorting us to our destination.
Pretty amazing how well active penetrates and reverberates the steel hull. Scares the shit out of you if you aren't expecting it.
ahh the dolphins , the way they use to roll over the bow playfully , that was cool , you are right , i loved standing lookout while surfced , it was so peaceful just you and 2 others
hoopharted
03-28-23, 17:32
yea state 5 on the surface is no joke , we had to helo that guy off in it, im glad i wasnt topside for that, you can roll pretty good a couple hundred feet down
hoopharted
03-28-23, 17:35
No move will entirely accurately portray military life. No one wants to see that; they'd fire the entire military and make us all go into therapy.
RE: subs, the only subs I have been on aside from museum subs were to do lock-in/lock-out, and I have NO idea what subs they were. Caribbean, water was warm with perfect visibility. I recall being VERY cooped up with no room, just told "don't touch that."
yea but to divorce so completely from reality isnt the way either ,i was navy and not war time but i would thing Saving Private Ryan was pretty realistic ,and as a result probably one of the best war movies ever done as a result ,IMHO
Check out Hostile Waters…if i recall, it was a pretty good flick with Martin Sheen and Rutger Hauer.
titsonritz
03-28-23, 20:17
Check out Hostile Waters…if i recall, it was a pretty good flick with Martin Sheen and Rutger Hauer.
I like Rutger Hauer, thanks for the suggestion.
Yeah, that's part of the problem, still some new ones have come out, issue there is so many new movies just suck. I was pleasantly surprised with 'Hunter Killer'.
That's industry wide. Few people want to make an actual film anymore.
Last new film that surprised me was "The Highwaymen" (2019).
I think "The Hunt for Red October" (1990) was the first original film about subs since "Das Boot" (1981). Btw, they recently did a remake of "Das Boot" as a German tv series (2018) and I'm part way into ok. So far it's "ok" and might be worth watching. It's on Hulu.
To those who were actually on such boats … thank you for your service!
On Netflix, check out Sea Power. Lots of sub history there, pretty enlightening.
Do you read? Its difficult for me to watch movies anymore, I much prefer books now. So much more entertaining and suspenseful. I enjoy military thriller novels and although I haven't read one revolving around a submarine yet, I'm sure there are plenty good ones out there.
StainlessSteelRat
04-04-23, 09:50
To those who were actually on such boats … thank you for your service!
Some years ago, I toured USS Pampanito, a Balao class boat from WW2 tied up to the dock in SF. It was a very cool experience to say the least. I was struck by the cramped space, with diesel fumes all through the boat. Rocking gently in the bay, I realized if this damn thing sinks, there's no way I'm getting out before I drown like a rat. I can't imagine the testicular fortitude it must have taken to sail one of those across the Pacific, into combat. Thank you all for your service, sincerely.
Averageman
04-04-23, 10:06
Lots of U-Boat history over on YouTube.
Lots of U-Boat history over on YouTube.
Thanks for reminding me. Instead of my memory lane exercise, I should have mentioned this one.
@SubBrief (https://www.youtube.com/@SubBrief)
StainlessSteelRat
04-04-23, 10:16
Drachinifel has a top-notch naval history channel on YT. Many hours of content. If you like naval history, look no further.
titsonritz
04-04-23, 12:46
Do you read? Its difficult for me to watch movies anymore, I much prefer books now. So much more entertaining and suspenseful. I enjoy military thriller novels and although I haven't read one revolving around a submarine yet, I'm sure there are plenty good ones out there.
I wish I did, it is one of my many short comings I need to address.
titsonritz
04-04-23, 13:01
Some years ago, I toured USS Pampanito, a Balao class boat from WW2 tied up to the dock in SF. It was a very cool experience to say the least. I was struck by the cramped space, with diesel fumes all through the boat. Rocking gently in the bay, I realized if this damn thing sinks, there's no way I'm getting out before I drown like a rat. I can't imagine the testicular fortitude it must have taken to sail one of those across the Pacific, into combat. Thank you all for your service, sincerely.
We have the USS Blueback (SS-581), a Barbel-class submarine, that served from 1959 to 1990 here at OMSI in Portland. She was the last non-nuclear submarine to join the United States Navy and was the final conventionally powered combat capable submarine to be decommissioned. She also appearing in "The Hunt for Red October". I have taken the tour a couple times with my kids when their were young.
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.