#4 Crimson Tide vs. #12 Hell and High Water

VS.

DIALOGUE:  The dialogue in “Crimson Tide” is not flowery.  It does lack in sailor jargon since the movie concentrates on the officers.  There are some philosophical discussions between Ramsey (Gene Hackman) and Hunter (Denzel Washington) on topics like Hiroshima and von Clausewitz.  The confrontations between the two mutineers (that’s right, each leads a mutiny) are pretty intense.  Quentin Tarantino was brought in to add pop cultural references to the script.  GRADE  =  A 

“Hell and High Water” puts a scientist and his comely assistant on board a boat with a motley crew and a hard-boiled skipper.  Much of the dialogue pits science against the military mind.  There are no memorable lines, but the actors are not forced to embarrass themselves by what comes out of their mouths.  GRADE  =  C

FIRST QUARTER SCORE:  Crimson Tide  =  9

                                             Hell and High Water  =  7

SPECIAL EFFECTS:  “Crimson Tide” had the benefit of cutting edge technology and a big budget.  It did not have the cooperation of the US Navy.  It tends to frown on plots involving mutinies.  The director did manage to film the actual USS Alabama at sea and submerging.  Everything else was CGI.  There is a duel between subs that is better than in “The Hunt for Red October”.  The movie manages to get a fire into a sub movie.  This is truly a Hollywood production.  The sound effects were worthy of an Academy Award nomination.  GRADE  =  A

“Hell and High Water” had a budget of less than $2 million. Denzel Washington was paid $7 million to make “Crimson Tide”.  Not exactly a level playing field.  The littler movie did well with what it had.  The underwater scenes are better than average and the film was nominated for Best Effects.  GRADE  =  B

HALFTIME SCORE:  Crimson Tide  =  18

                                   Hell and High Water  =  15

ACTION:  “Crimson Tide” has a galley fire and a sub duel, but it’s mostly the threat of violence that dominates the latter part of the film.  The level of action would have gone off the meter if all those guns had been used in the final confrontation between the opposing sides.  As it is, we had to be content with verbal fisticuffs.  The movie is more of a thriller than an action movie.  GRADE  =  C

“Hell and High Water” has a tangle with a Chinese sub and two shore landings.  In the sub encounter, they ram the enemy under the water.  Well, that’s different.  The first commando raid is your typical blow things up type.  The second gives the sexy female scientist the chance to shoot a guard.  That is also something you don’t see in every sub movie.  Oh, and they shoot down a B-29.  GRADE  =  B

THIRD QUARTER SCORE:  Crimson Tide  =  24

                                              Hell and High Water  =  23

ACCURACY:  “Crimson Tide” posits a doomsday scenario that cannot be judged for accuracy.  However, the way the sub handles the crisis can be judged based on American nuclear doctrine and procedures.  The scenario involves Russian rebels getting control of some ICBMs and possibly firing them at the U.S.  The clock-ticking nature of Hollywood thrillers requires the missiles to be fueled up before launched when in reality they would be ready to go immediately.  The biggest artistic license is with the central issue of the exec refusing to concur with the launch because he feels a second incomplete message is likely a cancel order.  In reality, the exec has only the power to confirm the authenticity of the message, not stop its implementation.  There were sub veterans, including the technical adviser who had skippered the real Alabama, who insisted the movie was essentially accurate.  A political adviser might have been nice since American nuclear doctrine is against a preemptive strike.  Not that a President might not violate that rule.  (Who are you picturing right now?)  All of the inaccuracies were classic artistic license to enhance the drama.  GRADE  =  C

“Hell and High Water” is totally fictitious.  It is very much a product of the early Cold War.  Although entertaining, it is totally preposterous.  The Red Chinese have a plan to use a purloined B-29 to drop an atomic bomb and blame it on the U.S.  International scientists hire a rogue sub to stop the bad guys.  Surely you read of this in your history textbook.  And a woman scientist in 1954 – come on!   As Capt. Jones says:  “So tell me Professor, what makes a girl who looks like that get mixed up in science?”  GRADE  =  D

FINAL SCORE:  Crimson Tide  =  30

                           Hell and High Water  =  28

ANALYSIS:  I consider myself pretty knowledgeable about war movies, but I have to admit I had never heard of “Hell and High Water” before starting work on this tournament.  When I began to hunt for 16 sub movies that fit my criteria I ran into it.  It almost did not make the cut because I was unsure that I would be able to get a copy.  It is not a well-known movie.  I am glad it worked out because it was an enjoyable movie to watch.  This matchup was one between an obscure B-movie and a blockbuster.  “Crimson Tide” could not be more different.  It is the better movie, but mainly because of all the resources available to it.  Still, “Hell and High Water” put up a good fight and hopefully its performance will encourage others to seek it out.

#5 U-571 vs. #12 Hell and High Water

VS.

PLOT:  “U-571” is based on the true story of the capture of an Enigma machine from a German u-boat.  It is very fictionalized, especially the part where the Americans are the heroes instead of the British.  An American sub is sent on a special mission to intercept a damaged u-boat and purloin the code machine by way of faking that it is a milch cow.  Unfortunately, the real supply sub arrives at an inopportune moment and now a few surviving Americans must take the u-boat back home.  The plot piles every cliché and implausibility that it can so if you have never seen a sub movie, you won’t ever have to see another one.  GRADE  =  D

“Hell and High Water” is set in the Cold War.  An ex-sub skipper (Richard Widmark) is hired by a group of scientists to recon an island in the northern Pacific due to a mysterious nuclear explosion.  The motley crew of mercenaries will travel on a ramshackle old Japanese sub.  Widmark is forced to carry the lead scientist on board as well as his comely assistant scientist.  Having a woman on board causes dysfunction and romance for Widmark.  The movie manages to justify a duel with another sub and a shore raid.  The plot is certainly unique, but not as silly as you would expect considering the premise.  GRADE  =  B

FIRST QUARTER SCORE:  U-571  =  5

                                             Hell and High Water  =  8

ACTING:   The problem with “U-571” is not with the acting.  It’s a fine cast of veterans and newcomers.  Matthew McConaughey is admirably restrained as the exec who has command thrust upon him.  It’s not exactly a ground-breaking role, but he is a good anchor for the film.  Harvey Keitel is perfect for the crusty Chief Gunner’s Mate.  The movie is essentially an ensemble piece and the actors work well together.  Too bad there is no character development.  GRADE  =  B

“Hell and High Water” is a vehicle for Richard Widmark.  He is his usual snarky self as the captain.  He also plays the amorous Jones as something of a hypocrite and predator.  The most interesting character is Bella Darvi as the hot scientist.  This role could have been sexist, but she is an egg-head who proves to be an asset to the mission.  She also puts up with the condescending sexism with aplomb.  The crew does not make much of an impression.  GRADE  =  B

HALFTIME SCORE:  U-571  =  13     

                                   Hell and High Water  =  16

TACTICS:  You may learn a lot about submarine clichés from “U-571”, but you won’t be tutored on tactics.  The movie has a scene where two subs duel submerged.  I’m not saying that might not have happened once or twice, but it would have been very rare.  There is also a successful duel with a German destroyer (alone in the mid-Atlantic?!) on the surface.  They use their deck gun to take out the destroyer’s radio antenna with one lucky shot from a German deck gun.  These guys’ learning curve is incredibly high.  GRADE  =   C

“Hell and High Water” is not really a movie about submarine warfare.  However, it must have wanted to be one because it throws in a duel with a Chinese (?) sub that make little sense for the narrative, but puts some action into the middle section.  The two subs are tracking each other through passive sonar and both go silent on the bottom.  first, but that does not justify offending our intelligence.  Not to mention the tactic of using a sub’s anti-aircraft guns (and assorted machine guns) to shoot down a bomber that is taking off.  GRADE  =  D

THIRD QUARTER SCORE:  U-571  =  19

                                               Hell and High Water  =  21

CLICHES:  “U-571” brought submarine movies into the 20^th Century, but it is very much a throwback to the 1940s style.  The director made no bones about throwing the kitchen sink in.  That might have worked with viewers who were unfamiliar with the subgenre and its well-established tropes, but for war movie lovers, it comes off as insulting.  This movie has more clichés than any submarine movie ever made.  The American sub has to cut short its leave to go on a special mission.  There is a conflict between the skipper and his exec.  They have to go below crush depth with resulting leaks and rivets popping.  There is a black mess mate, but he is given a major role.  They jettison debris and a dead body to fool a destroyer.  There is a commando on board although not for a shore mission.  The sub has to make an emergency dive leaving crew in the water.  There is a repair necessary, but costly to a crew member.    GRADE  =  F

The plot of “Hell and High Water” does not really lend itself to clichés.  This makes it the exact opposite of “U-571”.  There is a bit of a conflict between Jones and the scientist, but it doesn’t raise the temperature of the boat.  The mission is definitely special – to save the world from nuclear annihilation.  There is a commando raid to blow stuff up.  GRADE  =  B

FINAL SCORE:  U-571  =  23

     Hell and High Water  =  29

ANALYSIS:   “U-571” did well at the box office and got favorable reviews.  This attests to the entertainment value of a submarine movie even as recently as 2000.  If you haven’t seen many sub movies (and who has?) it can seem like a fresh approach to an action movie confined to the claustrophobic interiors of a sub.  The cast is attractive and there is plenty of action of the modern variety (meaning to hell with reality).  However, this is a submarine movie tournament involving only sub movies.  In comparison to its brethren, it comes off as an attempt to be the quintessential example of its ilk.  It tries too hard.  “Hell and High Water” is obviously less known.  It is also reality-challenged, but does not try to be everything you expect in a sub movie.  It does try to bring the sub movie into the Cold War and while not as good as “The Bedford Incident” (another Widmark film), it does keep the subgenre vibrant.

SUB MOVIE: Hell and High Water (1954)

                “Hell and High Water” is a Samuel Fuller (“The Steel Helmet”) film.  He did not really want to make the film, but he owed Darryl Zanuck because he had stood up to FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover when he wanted to squash the release of Fuller’s film noir “Pickup on South Street”.  Hoover did not like Fuller’s movies and felt the movie was not patriotic enough.  Zanuck told him tough luck.  Fuller insisted on rewriting the script and agreed to use cinemascope to prove that it could work in a submarine setting.  The movie was nominated for an Oscar for Best Special Effects.  The movie was a big hit and is one of Steven Spielberg’s favorite films.

                The movie begins with a narrator telling us that there has been a mysterious nuclear explosion in the North Pacific.  The year is 1953 and the world is stuck in the Cold War.  This ominous development has brought a team of international scientists together and they hire an ex-sub skipper named Jones (Richard Widmark) to go on a special mission to save the world from nuclear destruction.  Jones is provided with an old WWII Japanese sub that he accurately describes as a “sewer pipe”.  But he at least gets to pick his motley crew.  However, he will also have to bring aboard the lead scientist Professor Montel (Victor Francen) and his comely assistant scientist Denise Gerard (Bella Darvi).  Once they get their wolfish comments out of the way, the crew realizes that they are supposed to be upset about having a woman on board.  Jones quells the mutiny by pointing out that it is impossible to have a romance without a female.  As with all submarine special missions, the sub has to sail prematurely.  It follows a Chinese freighter that is delivering supplies to a mysterious island.  And it is being followed by a Chinese sub.  Queue the sub duel.  When they reach their destination they have to make two shore party landings.  Double the fun! 

                I have to admit that I was not familiar with “Hell and High Water” until I did my Submarine Movie Tournament.  This is surprising because it is a Sam Fuller film and it was a box office success.  The movie has possibly been forgotten because it is something of a curio from the Cold War era.  It is the only sub movie that I can recall that features a Red Chinese sub.  The plot is unique (although not immune from sub movie clichés), but not outlandish.  The idea of the Communist Chinese possessing a nuclear bomb would have been a scary specter in 1954, but the how the movie posits they might use it is James Bondsian.  Jones is no secret agent, but he does have Bond’s snarky nature and gets to bed the sexy scientist.  Widmark is perfect for the role and could play it in his sleep.  The rest of the cast is fine.  Even Darvi, who did not have to win the role by out-auditioning others.  She was Zanuck’s mistress.  The rogue invented her stage name from a hybrid of Darryl and his wife’s name, Virginia.  (War movie fans might recall that Zanuck also put his current mistress, Irina Demick, into “The Longest Day” eight years later.)  She does not embarrass her mentor/lover. She is the rare strong female character in a war movie.  She is a hot egg head who can fight.  Her character gets to kill a commie – surely the only female kill in a sub movie.  The big three get some character development (Jones lost his boat in WWII to a mine), but other than drooling and bitching about the dame, the crew is just along for the ride.

                “Hell and High Water” is one of the better sub movies.  This is mainly because it is a Sam Fuller film.  It has his gritty, no nonsense style.  This is crucial because there are plot developments that are nonsensical.  He avoids most sub clichés.  The most common cliché, the sub is depth charged, does not occur.  It can’t avoid the special mission and commando raid tropes.  The first landing has a lot of “Crash Dive” in it.  The effects are fine and deserved an Oscar nod.  The underwater effects are fine, but hardly revolutionary.  It is certainly a must-see for war movie lovers and Sam Fuller fans.

GRADE  =  B