A respectable entry in the "sub" genre, largely due to Hackman and Washington.
The writing is sharp enough to create a convincing world, with some of the more memorable lines coming from the Captain ("We're here to preserve democracy, not to practice it") and his exec ("In my humble opinion, in the nuclear world, the true enemy is war itself"). To the screenwriters credit, and to the credit of the performers, the two main characters are portrayed with enough complexity to where it's easy to feel sympathy for both men. The door is also left open just enough to where the one you think is off his nut might actually be the one whose gut feeling is right. Or not.
Scott apparently liked working with Hackman and Washington, because he teamed up with Hackman again in "Enemy of the State" (1998) and with Washington in "Man on Fire" (2004) and "Déjà vu" (2006).
While many dramas like this might have opted to include cutaways to show the Russian general, U.S. stateside navy brass, or TV broadcasts to heighten our sense of a worsening conflict, Bruckheimer thankfully had the good sense to trust his writers and director and keep the focus on the submarine crew. They don't know what's going on beyond the walls of their submerged ship, and neither do we. The result is a solid film in the tradition of "Fail-Safe" and other Cold War classics, which all but invites viewers to turn out the lights and be afraid. Be very afraid.
Video:
"Crimson Tide" is presented in 1080p High Definition (aspect ration 2.40:1), and except for some halos and fringing in some instances and some shooting blue horizontal lines in others, the picture is very sharp, with pleasingly saturated colors and decent black levels.
Audio:
The audio, however, is practically flawless. The English PCM 5.1 (uncompressed 48kHz/16-bit) audio is superb, with plenty of rear-speaker action in very subtle ways, so that we hear every creak of the ship as it sinks to near-crush depth and feel the sailors' pain. The bass is powerful without vibrating too much, while the balance between the FX and dialogue is very good.
Extras:
Okay, what's the deal? For a film like this, I would have expected all kinds of extras. Instead, there's just "The Making of Crimson Tide," which is a pretty standard affair that integrates cast and crew interviews with clips. The whole thing feels suspiciously like a promo piece, because there's an awful lot of plot summary. The only other extras are a handful of deleted scenes that are hardly worth watching, and "On the Set of 'Crimson Tide,'" which isn't bad, but how much detail can you get in 10 minutes?
Bottom Line:
"Das Boot" is still the reigning champ of submarine films, but "Crimson Tide" is a respectable entry in the "sub" genre, largely due to Hackman and Washington.
Scott apparently liked working with Hackman and Washington, because he teamed up with Hackman again in "Enemy of the State" (1998) and with Washington in "Man on Fire" (2004) and "Déjà vu" (2006).
While many dramas like this might have opted to include cutaways to show the Russian general, U.S. stateside navy brass, or TV broadcasts to heighten our sense of a worsening conflict, Bruckheimer thankfully had the good sense to trust his writers and director and keep the focus on the submarine crew. They don't know what's going on beyond the walls of their submerged ship, and neither do we. The result is a solid film in the tradition of "Fail-Safe" and other Cold War classics, which all but invites viewers to turn out the lights and be afraid. Be very afraid.
Video:
"Crimson Tide" is presented in 1080p High Definition (aspect ration 2.40:1), and except for some halos and fringing in some instances and some shooting blue horizontal lines in others, the picture is very sharp, with pleasingly saturated colors and decent black levels.
Audio:
The audio, however, is practically flawless. The English PCM 5.1 (uncompressed 48kHz/16-bit) audio is superb, with plenty of rear-speaker action in very subtle ways, so that we hear every creak of the ship as it sinks to near-crush depth and feel the sailors' pain. The bass is powerful without vibrating too much, while the balance between the FX and dialogue is very good.
Extras:
Okay, what's the deal? For a film like this, I would have expected all kinds of extras. Instead, there's just "The Making of Crimson Tide," which is a pretty standard affair that integrates cast and crew interviews with clips. The whole thing feels suspiciously like a promo piece, because there's an awful lot of plot summary. The only other extras are a handful of deleted scenes that are hardly worth watching, and "On the Set of 'Crimson Tide,'" which isn't bad, but how much detail can you get in 10 minutes?
Bottom Line:
"Das Boot" is still the reigning champ of submarine films, but "Crimson Tide" is a respectable entry in the "sub" genre, largely due to Hackman and Washington.
![Lost [TV Series]](/images/displaymedia.php?id=23770&sizew=70&cat=3)
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]22866[/release]