Crimson Tide (1995) First Time Watching! Movie Reaction!! 

Gene Hackman is a legend. The guy could play just about any role.

The Admiral on the review board at the end was Jason Robards, legitimately one of the greatest actors of all time.

"Don't act like you're all friends. Half of you should go to jail." I laughed way too hard at that 🤣

So this is loosely related to an incident that occurred on a Russian sub during the Cuban Missile Crisis. The Russian sub was being pursued by US ships and due to both damage and the depths they were at while hiding they were out of contact with both Russia and pretty much the rest of the world for a few days. The captain of that sub and the Soviet political officers assumed that war had broken out due to the Cuban Missile Crisis and wanted to launch their weapons at US ships. The XO on the ship didn't and wanted to surface to re-establish contact. Thankfully they needed all 3 officers to agree to launch and ended up surfacing prior to anything really happening.

The tension in this movie is so well done. This is one of Tony Scott's best films.

I think the movie made the point that Ramsey & Hunter genuinely like each other outside of the sub. But underwater, their perceptions of each other started to sour after Hunter said that "the enemy is war itself" and later on when Ramsey ran a drill immediately after the kitchen fire. This is one of those intense "acting duel" films like Heat or Face/Off where two legendary actors go toe-to-toe and it's difficult to say who had the better performance. Definitely go through more of Tony Scott's filmography: Top Gun, Days of Thunder, Enemy of the State, Spy Game, etc... Also, this is Hans Zimmer's best score, imo.

Best thing I like was that there was no villain, both protagonists had their reasons. The way music and editing built tension was awesome.

Mississippi Burning…Gene Hackman, Willem Dafoe, Frances McDormand, all legends

Fun Fact: Quentin Tarantino was hired by director Tony Scott to do an uncredited rewrite of the dialogue in the film. Scott had previously directed Tarantino's True Romance script.

That Dinner scene with all of the officers might be one of my Top 5 favorite scenes in a blockbuster movie. You get some good characterization for all of the supporting characters, but the interaction between Denzel and Gene is top notch. I love the setup that Ramsey was someone who only needed to "know how to push the button ... they'll tell me when." It makes sense that once he's given the go-ahead to launch, he gets tunnel vision. Pushing that button and carrying out his orders is the only thing that matters. Hunter, on the other hand, is someone who wants to know the "why" of a situation. He's constantly evaluating the situation and looking at the big picture on the consequences of their actions/non-actions. It really establishes the unstoppable force/immovable object dynamic that carries through the rest of the film. Also, I'll never forget the line, "In the Nuclear World ... the true enemy is war itself." It's a mark of a good thriller when a movie can have some pretty memorable action scenes, yet the scene that sticks out most to me is a bunch of guys talking at a Dinner table.

Gotta catch Denzel in Training Day, Oscar winning performance.

I recognized the actor who plays the character fixing the radio. He was a co-star in a great Mob movie called "A Bronx Tale" I wish you get to add it your polls at one point. Robert DeNiro and Joe Pesci are also in the movie but with supporting roles.

Can never go wrong with a movie with Denzel in it

Another classic cold war submarine movie you might check out is 1968's "Ice Station Zebra". Directed by veteran action movie director John Sturges(1960's"The Magnificent Seven, 1962's "The Great Escape")

"John Q" is another really good Denzel movie.

They had The ELF, extremely low frequency Antenna stretched across Northern Wisconsin & a part of Michigan's upper peninsula. It was around 85 miles long & was used to transmit signals to subs for many years basically resonating through the Earth instead of the atmosphere where normal radio communications take place.. Do to concern over what that much power would do to people & the environment it was eventually shut down. Subs communicate via satellites now.

Excellent movie and great performances by Gene Hackman & Denzel Washington, cool reaction as always Schmitt & Samantha, you both take care

I get the biggest chill when Hunter says "Our Target Package could have changed." I mean, that is a bigger valid point. The message could say where the better target now is, and you wouldn't know and waste the attack anyway.

5:45, that's right,and what he says is true: "The Real Enemy Is War Itself."

Thirteen Days which is a film about the Cuban missile crisis is definitely worth a watch as well. similar tension around misunderstandings and not having the full picture to make critical decisions on.

The dynamic between Hackman and Washington is amazing. I always wanted to see these two in an alternet universe doing A Few Good Men to see what that would look like. Hackman would've made a very terrifying Jessup. For his effort, Washington would make a wonderful Kaffee, although with less of the playfulness Cruise brought to the role. If you want to see a very good, but underrated film, where James Gandolfini stars in an authoritarian role, check out The Last Castle, where he stars opposite Robert Redford as a military prison warden.

I served in the Navy during the mid 1980's, and I was part of the damage control team on my ship. and though i didn't serve on a submarine, during situations a lot of information is passed through the chain of command that would make your head spin. For certain situations, I was positioned in Damage Control Central where the Chief Engineer and other officers and enlisted kept updated information regarding any damage to the ship and how that damage is being taken care of. then that information is passed on to the CO in CIC, where ALL information is readily available to the CO on any tactical situation outside the ship as well as inside the ship. that's why our sailors have to be well trained to do their jobs. and submarines are even more so, as they are in a submerged, pressurized metal container, hundreds of feet below the surface of the ocean!

The Silver Surfer conversation was written by Quentin Tarantino.

FYI, COB is not his person name, its his position (Chief Of The Boat)

One of my favorite films from 1995. I saw it in the theater and was blown away.

The thing I love about this movie is that Ramsey is fighting to save 50,000,000+ people and Hunter is fighting to make sure they don't accidentally kill 500,000,000+ people. When Ramsey is holding a gun to the seaman's head, he is doing it to save Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, Los Angeles, etc. Really, how far is too far with stakes that high? Also, I love the look on Ramsey's face when he's pointing the gun at one person is so much more pained than when he's pulling the trigger to launch nukes.

The guy who wrote this movie was one of my Screenwriting professors in college. He was a cool, no BS east coast guy. Mike Schiffer. This movie has so many incredible dialogue exchanges in it. Really holds up.

Fun fact. Both Unstoppable and Man on Fire were directed by Tony Scott as well! He also made Crimson Tide and True Romance.

For another James Gandolfini movie you should watch *The Last Castle* with Robert Redford.

ohhh yea, love Denzel. I actually met him a year after he won best actor for "Training Day". His movies in the 2,000's are dope. But his movies before 2,000 like this one, are his best, in my opinion. My top picks of his would be "Mo Better Blues", "Malcolm X", "Devil in the Blue Dress", "Fallen" and "Glory".

A couple of reaction worthy Denzel pics would be 'Training Day' and Fallen,' with John Goodman.

Great watch with the two of you again. Man, seeing Jason Robards at the end there residing over the committee... wow, so many incredible performances flashed in my mind. I hope you two try All the President's Men (1976) someday.

Gene Hackman is probably the most underrated actor ever, legendary and one of the best of all time.

One of my dearest friends is a Navy lifer, who's been on a sub the entire 20+ years...mostly at Sonar. He says that this is actually the most accurate sub movie ever made.

Quentin Tarantino did some work on the screenplay... polishing some of the dialogue as a favor to Tony Scott. Tarantino added some bits of his own: including the Silver Surfer bit and the discussion about the horses.

4 amazing movies with Viggo you guys should watch : Eastern Promises, The Road, Green Book and History Of Violence.

You also saw Denzel in Glory.

For an earlier excellent submarine related film, "The Bedford Incident" with Sidney Poitier and Richard Widmark. (Cold War)

Denzel was in "Philadelphia" with Tom Hanks. Definitely worth a watch.

Speaking of the Cuban Missile Crisis, there's an amazing movie called Thirteen Days that deals with that very event. We all know how it turned out which makes it all the more impressive that the movie is so gripping from start to finish. It shows just how close the world came to World War 3. It's got Bruce Greenwood as JFK and Kevin Costner as his best friend and top advisor. You should absolutely check it out if you're interested in what happened during those Thirteen Days.

Don't forget that Tony Scott also directed Top Gun

This is such a great movie. I feel like it's very underrated because very few people talk about it. If you liked this one from Tony Scott, also check out Enemy of the State if you haven't already seen it. It's another Tony Scott action thriller and a banger.

Glad you guys decided to watch this GREAT film !!!! I watched this movie at the cinema in 1995,I was clutching my arm rest the entire movie !!! Tony Scott was a great film director and producer,his other films are,TOP-GUN,Days of Thunder and Beverly Hills Cop 2. Scott's net-worth was 200 million dollars,he was also british.He died at the age of 68,it was suicide,he jumped from a Los Angelos County Bridge. SO SAD. Loved you guys reactions,you really enjoyed the movie and I enjoyed re-watching it with you.

Do you guys plan on watching Deja Vu? Its another Denzel Washington/Tony Scott film, highly recommend!

A) GREAT flick! B) I recommend U-571 as your next submarine flick. Also, STAR TREK 2: THE WRATH OF KAHN as another great submarine (-like) flick.

Great reaction, great film. Hackman and Washington are at the top of their game with this one. I would recommend also checking out the films Denzel won awards for, "Glory" and "Training Day".

It just hit me watching your reaction, but Denzel and Jason Robards shared the screen in Philadelphia 🙂 A couple suggestions for some of the actors... Denzel and James Gandolfini - Fallen James Gandolfini - The Mexican Gene Hackman - Mississippi Burning Lillo Brancato (comms) - A Bronx Tale (with DeNiro) George Dzundza - No Way Out (in a supporting role, as usual) Steve Zahn - Employee Of The Month (with Matt Dillon)

Another type of sea adventure, The Poseidon Adventure, with another sterling performance by Hackman. How many more lives?!

The amazing part for me was always that in theory, both of them were in the right. And, from what I understand of military law and structure, Gene Hackman's character could not be blamed if he launched. For me, that makes the movie so much better. It's a struggle between two right. One is following the chain of command, the other is following your moral compass and common sense

The cooks were making PB&J when the galley fire occurred. One of them used the back of a table spoon to spread jelly causing the initial spark catching the peanut butter on fire. They should have used a Naval Butter Knife (N.B.K.) that is coated with anti flammable material.

No joke, I literally just re-watched this movie for the first time in years yesterday, what are the odds. Awesome movie, love your reaction and discussion as always. :)

As so often is the case, Hanz Zimmer's amazing score really elevates this movie even further.

Gene Hackman could make folding laundry legendary. I can’t remember a movie Hackman didn’t give an Oscar winning performance. The man is a legend imho.

I saw this in a theater with other vet friend and we all agreed this was the most intense film we had ever seen to date. The actors and the filmography were outstanding.

You two should watch: 1. An Officer and a Gentleman 2. U-571 3. A Clear & Present Danger 4. Air Force One All are very similar to Crimson Tide. And Crimson Tide is great.

My favourite Denzel Washington movies. Training day. Bone collector. Man on fire. American Gangster. The Book of Eli. Fallen. Philadelphia. The taking of Pelham 123. Crimson tide. The siege. Courage under fire. The Equalizer

Notice how Denzel's team are framed in green late in the movie while Gene Hackman and his guys are all show in red light. This is especially cool when Viggo hesitated to open the safe near the end when he is half red and half green.

Y'all have to check out more of Denzel films

You guys should react to… The French Connection (1971) It's Gene Hackman at his best! 🎥👌

One cool fact, the way they get the emergency action message is from two buried cables in northern Michigan and Wisconsin called the ELF (Extremely Low Frequency) array. The cables send a signal which is then amplified by the granite rocks in the area and it can send a signal to a sub underwater anywhere on the planet.

Considering the navy wouldn't work with this film's production (because the plot depicts a mutiny), they did an amazing job with the sets, costumes, and the procedures/litany.

One of the best movies ever made. Music, Plot, Characters and Tension. PERFECT in every way

Denzel. Glory. And Philadelphia. Must see! Also you are both soooo good at this! You are one of my favorite channels on RU-vid!!!!

Nobody shouts quite like Gene Hackman.

Actual submariner here who was serving on active duty (fast boats, not ballistic missile subs) at the time this movie was released. We were told by our command we were not to discuss any technical aspects of this film should anyone ask. Some behind the scenes stuff that isn't discussing classified knowledge: - The crew’s briefing and entry onto the boat was filmed on the former USS Barbel (SS-580), a decommissioned diesel-powered sub awaiting disposal. The film crew built the submarine’s large sail and part of the missile deck to make it look like an SSBN. - The submarine submerging at the beginning of the film is the real USS Alabama (SSBN-731). The Navy did not give permission for the sub to be filmed submerging, but the film crew learned Alabama was in port in Pearl Harbor and stalked the exit of the harbor until the boat emerged and went under. The previous scene of a submarine on the surface was a completely different class of boat, a Los Angeles class fast attack. You can easily see it is missing the fairwater planes the SSBNs all have. - Galley fires are one of the most common and dangerous casualties a submarine can suffer and often will start in the deep fat fryer. This is one of the most common drills run aboard a submarine at sea. - The purpose of a torpedo - especially in submarine warfare - is not to hit the target directly, but to detonate the warhead within a certain distance from the hull in the hopes the pressure wave will damage or breech the hull. The best place to detonate a torpedo is actually directly under the keel of the opposing vessel. While there are numerous things this movie got right, there are also many, MANY things this movie got wrong. (One of the main reasons the Navy did not cooperate in the making of this film.) Watch this with a room-full of submariners and they will tear this film apart like an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Now yall should see "What about Bob?" You'll have the BEST time. One of the funniest movies ever made.

"the enemy below" is one of my favorite submarine movies even though the u-boat depicted in the film is not accurate at all, but the story is great, the actors are great and all of the scenes showing the destroyer dropping depth charges were shot off the oregon coast aboard a real ww-II destroyer the film company hired from the us navy.

Fantastic movie, sublime score, superbly acted.

I'm so glad you chose this. One of my favorite movies of all time.

- This is tied with 1991's _The Last Boy Scout_ as my favourite Tony Scott effort. - It marks one of many collaborations between Scott and Washington. - You can spot Quentin Tarantino's script embellishments in the extravagant pop culture references.

A slightly older sub film is Enemy Below with Robert Mitchum and Curt Jurgens. Run Silent Run Deep and Hunt for Red October.

The interchange of Denzel and Gene is sooooo good. One of favorite scenes.

Two of my all-time favorite actors in the same movie. My uncle was in the Navy at the time and it's one of his favorite movies.

I love how at certain points in this movie both characters are right. Though in the end, Hackman’s character was first out of line to scream and swear at his XO in front of everyone. And then his attempt to remove him was wrong and illegal. Otherwise, their argument over the orders/cancelled orders isn’t black and white.

I could NEVER serve on a submarine. I toured a WWII sub once and had a hard time getting my 6'4" frame through the hatchways. I know modern subs are much bigger but I think it takes a "special kind of crazy" to work and live in such a confined space underwater, especially under battle conditions where you might end up crushed on the seabed.

All around great movie and Hans Zimmer's soundtrack is amazing.

8:20: If Cooper Dog was onboard, he would be Viggo's best friend

Yesss Man on Fire is a must!! Same director as this...the great Tony Scott...

I was never on a sub (3 ships of 3 classes though), but I had to laugh at some of the really "serious" scenes in this move that were just way over the top. For better or worse, sailors don't take themselves nearly as seriously as portrayed. There's professionalism, but people still joke and screw around to let off steam. Every sailor I've heard who was on a sub has said Down Periscope is the most realistic sub movie they've seen. Even people with a stick up their ass don't usually go around yelling at subordinates.

Love movies that take place in one location like this, 12 Angry Men, Phone Booth, Cube, The Exam, Circle etc.

The star power in this film is amazing.

Since they mentioned the missile crisis of Cuba, "13 Days" with Kevin Costner is worth watching about that event. I miss this type of movies that involves action, political and thriller in one movie and here Denzel and Gene are top notch.

One of the greatest supporting casts. Aside from Viggo and Gandolfini, you had George Dzundza (Basic Instinct); Matt Craven (A Few Good Men); Rocky Carroll (NCIS); Michael Milhoan (Third Rock from the Sun); Danny Nucci (Titanic); Lilo Brancato (A Bronx Ttale); Ricky Schroeder (Silver Spoons); Steve Zahn (That Thing You Do); Eric Bruskotter (Starship Troopers); Ryan Phillippe (Cruel Intentions) AND the Jason Robards cameo!

Retired Naval Officer here. As the Admiral at the review board said, both Ramsey and Hunter were correct, which was the problem. The Captain wasn’t trigger-happy mad-man. He was following the long-standing protocol that was the basis of the “Mutually Assured Destruction” (MAD) nuclear deterrence strategy established during the Cold War. They had been ordered to fire their missiles, and without another order to stand down, the CO had no choice but to follow those orders. The sub crews were trained to assume the worst if it came to having to fire, and since an incoming message could potentially be spoofed, they had to authenticate every EAM to be sure it was genuine before they would follow its directives. since they couldn’t authenticate the partial EAM, the Captain was correct that it wasn’t a valid message. The Navy also used to have continuous long-range communications running (24/7x365) that the subs would periodically check to make sure it was still up. If the signal was not received, the subs would have to assume the U.S. had been attacked and they would fire at pre-selected targets. This movie highlighted a fatal flaw in Nuclear Ballistic Missile Subs (SSBNs) acting as a “dead man’s switch” to fire our missiles - the MAD strategy only works if the other nuclear power is somewhat reasonable. It completely falls apart when you’re up against someone with nothing to lose and everything to gain in a stand-off. That’s why the rule allowing autonomous launch from our subs was changed in 1996.

Great movie period!!!! I can also recommend The Quick and The Dead for a real good Western movie with Gene Hackman.

I have a cousin in the navy, and once I asked him, out of all the submarine movies out there, which one is the most realistic in terms of the feel of being in a sub, he said Crimson Tide. This is one of my favorites, a great film where there isn't really a villian, just competing beliefs, both parties believing they're right. I recommend The Rock from 1996, similar feeling to this film, except a lot more action. And if you guys like Denzel, STRONGLY recommend Training Day (2001) and Flight (2012)

Something similar to this actually happened on a Russian sub. They thought that a nuclear war had already started. They had three missile keys, and two of the chief officers were ready to launch their missiles, but the third officer refused.

A note about this film that you guys may enjoy is that Tarantino was brought in to punch up the script. You can really tell his influences on it with the geek culture references etc.

Yesss, one of my favorite movies! I think you guys would also enjoy U-571, Hunter Killer, or The Enemy Below. If you want a hilarous sub movie, watch Down Periscope.

You have to understand that they were both right and wrong....they allowed the chain of command to get manipulated like play dough which was so dangerous on a vehicle that had that much firepower. But that's what made the movie so fantastic.

Allow me to recommend three older films to at least watch. Run Silent Run Deep, The Enemy Below, and The Bedford Incident. All are amazing.

Such a good movie I'm glad y'all got to see it

One of the biggest losses to acting was when Gene Hackman decided to retire from acting.

I never thought that "It was a short list" line landed the way they wanted it too. Short list is better in a way as he's one of the few people they considered capable to be put on the list at all. Doesn't matter how many names are on the list. Could be 1000 or just one. When you're at the top you're at the top.

So glad you two are watching this!! One of my all time favorite movies. Check out Denzel in Training Day.

9:26, this is a funny scene right here, with thanks to Quentin Tarantino.

Talk about a coincidence! I randomly decided to watch this movie for the first time only three days ago, and it really exceeded my expectations. One of Tony Scott's best.

"COB" is not a name, it's an acronym: "Chief Of the Boat" As a countermeasures expert for the past 30+ years, "those little swirly guys that confuse them" cracks me up.

Famously the whole Silver Surfer conversation is part of a script 'punch-up' by Quentin Tarantino. Once you know Tarantino wrote it, it's so verrrryyy him.

classic Jerry Bruckheimer movie. on a completely different note: "Roger Rabbit", "Chinatown", "Moulin Rouge", "The Sting"