Your favorite nautical-themed movies?

Discussions on naval-war movies, films and games.
Orville H. Larson
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Post by Orville H. Larson »

These three: "Run Silent, Run Deep" (1958), "Action in the North Atlantic" (1943), and "The Cruel Sea" (1953).

"Run Silent, Run Deep" stars Gable and Lancaster (need I say more?) and it's based on a book by Commander Edward Beach, USN, a seasoned submariner.

"Action in the North Atlantic" is a tribute to the Merchant Marine. Captain Steve Jarvis (Raymond Massey) and Chief Mate Joe Rossi (Humphrey Bogart) were sunk by a U-boat. They get another ship--S.S. SEA WITCH--which is in a Russian-bound convoy. The convoy scatters, and SEA WITCH survives a stalking U-boat and an air attack off Norway. She gets through to Murmansk.
(Good special effects--and this was 1943!)

"The Cruel Sea" is a fine movie (based on Nicholas Monsarrat's novel of the same name). Jack Hawkins plays Lieutenant Commander Ericson, RNR, skipper of the corvette HMS COMPASS ROSE. His officers and crew are green, but COMPASS ROSE develops into an effective escort vessel.
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Karl Heidenreich
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Post by Karl Heidenreich »

Okay, let´s see:
My first choice is: "Tora, Tora Tora" still :clap:
2. The Enemy Below
3. Midway
4. Sink the Bismarck ("Target leading ship, stand by to open fire!")
5. Master and Commander

There is one nautical (not naval) one that I treasure a lot: "Poseidon Adventure"

Best regards!
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Post by Bgile »

Hi Marcelo,

I am on book 16 now of the Patrick O'Brien series (I think there are 20) and the battles are almost all 1v1. I highly recommend them. There is a LOT of nautical terminology and he actually teaches a lot about how ships were run.

The movie actually used parts of two of the books and while it captured the "flavor" of his books it didn't really follow either of them.
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marcelo_malara
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Post by marcelo_malara »

So they didn´t take just one book but took the ideas of two books to make the story? Interesting, didn´t know that.
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Post by Bgile »

marcelo_malara wrote:So they didn´t take just one book but took the ideas of two books to make the story? Interesting, didn´t know that.
Yes, there is a book in the series called "Master and Commander", but the movie doesn't follow it. The movie takes it's general theme from the way the series is written, but not any one book.
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Karl Heidenreich
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Post by Karl Heidenreich »

Marcelo,

they took "Master and Commander" and "The Far Side of the World".

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Post by Bgile »

Karl Heidenreich wrote:Marcelo,

they took "Master and Commander" and "The Far Side of the World".

Best Regards.
True - I tried to edit my post but it won't let me. The movie has ideas from both, but deviates from them a lot.

For example, the ship he was pursuing was USS Essex in the book, and there was no battle because Essex was wrecked on a Pacific Isle and he never encountered her in the book except for her castaway crew. Essex was also not substantially more powerful than the British Frigate, unlike the French ship in the movie which was supposed to be a "super frigate".
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Karl Heidenreich
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Post by Karl Heidenreich »

I was wondering: in the movie all the action takes place in 1805 (and for several long months also), so, did Capt. Jack Audrey is finally involved or not (in the books at least) in Trafalgar? :think:
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motpie
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Post by motpie »

My favorite flm would be hunt for red october followed by sink the Bismarck.

Yay! First post!
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nwhdarkwolf
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Post by nwhdarkwolf »

The Hunt for Red October Rocked.

Sink the Bismarck is just a classic, mistakes aside.


Pearl Harbor.... *pukes* has more mistakes in it than any, so-called, movie should be allowed to have. That stated, it's not a bad movie to watch sometimes.

I do find it funny, I always laugh every time to mothballed Destroyers are "blown up" Those are Spurances and Kidd class, and very modern by the standards the movie is SUPPOSED to set.

I saw it the first time, and was extremely disappointed. I guess, it gets the overall feel of the time, but that's it. The rest is much nonsense.

I don't understand why, if the Titanic movie can use CGI, and Pearl Harbor SUPPOSEDLY used it...Why they didn't do the whole movie that way, it would have been better, IMO. And let's not get started on Ben Affleck. Sheesh
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Post by Bgile »

Karl Heidenreich wrote:I was wondering: in the movie all the action takes place in 1805 (and for several long months also), so, did Capt. Jack Audrey is finally involved or not (in the books at least) in Trafalgar? :think:
Sorry Karl; somehow I missed this question. The answer is “no”, he doesn’t participate in any of Nelson’s battles in the books. “Master and Commander” IIRC is the first book and descibes his first command, as a lieutenant but commanding a small warship so therefore “Master and Commander” by title. The series may begin soon after Trafalgar – I’m not sure of the exact date.
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marcelo_malara
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Post by marcelo_malara »

During a dinner he said he had fought in the Nile.
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Post by Bgile »

marcelo_malara wrote:During a dinner he said he had fought in the Nile.
Good memory! I remember that now. Not part of the book series, though. As a junior officer before the series begins.
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marcelo_malara
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Post by marcelo_malara »

Not good memory, just watch the movie three times!!!
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Jellicoe
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Re: Your favorite nautical-themed movies?

Post by Jellicoe »

In Harm's Way (1965)
Tora Tora Tora (1970)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Damn the Defiant (1962)
Sink the Bismarck (1960)
Das Boot (1981)
The Enemy Below (1957)
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
The Bedford Incident (1965)

and
A Night to Remember (1958) Not naval, but certainly nautical, and the best telling of the Titanic story by far.


and a few near misses:
The Riddle of the Sands (1979)-- An terrific book about seafaring, and tides, and the North Sea, and plots to invade England pre-World War One. Not a bad movie, but not a classic. Read the Book!

Shout at the Devil (1976)-- Wilbur Smith's epic based very loosely on the exploits of the Konigsberg stranded in the Rufiji River in East Africa. This time though its the Armed Cruiser Blucher, which in reality was lost at Dogger Bank. The
movie is fun, and does feature some great shots of a model of the Blucher sailing around. It also boasts a terrific opening credit sequence that features actual footage from the Battle of Jutland.


and lastly, the worst:
Pearl Harbor (2001) I cringed at this movie, though at times it looked nice. It was a slap in the face of the real American pilots who managed to get airborne in the face of the Japanese onslaught. Sappy as a love drama. Deplorable as an historical epic. Watch Tora Tora Tora again instead.
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