My personal top 5 submarine movies

[Howard313]

• Has it been done before? Probably.
• Does anybody here care about my opinion? Probably not.
• Am I going to do this anyway? Sure, got nothing better to do right now.

Warning, possible spoilers ahead!
I did my best to keep spoilers out of this list but I make no guarantees that you won't run into any.

When it comes to submarine movies, you have a laundry list to choose from. While every one I've seen so far has been entertaining, some are obviously going to be better than others.

Now this is all just my opinion, but since I am a god amongst men if you disagree with me then you are automatically wrong no matter what arguments you make.....sucker. With that out of the way, lets get this bloody thing over with.

5. Down Periscope (1996) {not to be confused with 'Up Periscope' from 1959}

Those who take the time and effort to read my posts will know from all the badly written jokes I throw in them that I like to laugh, and this movie with it's dry American humor hits me right in the American funny bone. Yes it is a comedy, and for that reason I can't really recommend it to everyone.

The plot follows Tom Dodge, who is given command of an old rusty run down diesel engine submarine called the USS Stingray.

It's not for everyone, a lot of people disliked it, I did not. Moving on.

4. U-571 (2000)


One of the more recent titles to make this list, this movie generally ticks people off for two reasons.

• Monstrous portrayal of the German uboat crew.
• Historical Inaccuracies.

Other than those two things, I found this movie to be fantastic, the plot was effective, the action scenes were intense, the acting was spot on, the effects were fantastic, and it was all around good fun. The plot basically follows an American crew boarding a German submarine in order to capture and decode their Enigma cipher machine. That's pretty much it, if you don't mind the fact it's not 100% accurate and just enjoy it as a movie you'll probably enjoy this one.

3. Das Boot (1981)


I can hear you guys now. "Howard! How dare you put Das Boot at the #3 slot! Das Boot is the best movie ever made of all time in all existence!"

Well calm down, I still enjoyed this movie, it wouldn't have made it on this list if I didn't. It's just a little.....long for my tastes. I had the displeasure of watching the uncut 5 hour version. Do yourself a favor, stick to the normal version, this movie was cut for a reason, uncut it moves at a snail's pace and by the end I'm exhausted and utterly bored. Luckily the Director's cut's pacing is much better and I highly suggest going with it instead.

Anyway if you are looking for historical accuracy look no further, this movie (unlike the last one on my list) was not made by Hollywood, it was made by the Germans. And they did a good job telling the story of the life and crew of a typical uboat. Acting is great, action scenes are pretty good, and this movie probably has the best soundtrack out of all of them on this list.

The plot follows an aging uboat captain and a typical patrol as a reporter comes along for the ride. Will he return home successfully? Will he return home at all?

2. The Hunley (1999)


Talk about an overlooked gem. Why isn't this movie more popular!?

For those who do not know the C.S.S Hunley was the first submarine to successfully sink an enemy ship, and this movie tells all about it. This movie has everything; action, humor, romance, sadness....all rolled into one big ball of chewy movie goodness. That's really all there is I can say about this one without giving too much away. If you like submarines (which if you are on this site I'm assuming you do.) or if you like civil war movies then give this one a go.

Also I'd like to say this movie has a pretty awesome soundtrack!

1. The Enemy Below (1957)


Oh boy we are getting into the classics now. Despite it's old age this movie has INCREDIBLE special effects, I mean if I didn't know any better I'd say they recorded actual war footage and just put it into the movie for the action scenes....wait what? Oh, that's what they did....heh. Moving on!

Plot is simple, a uboat and a destroyer meet each other, decide they don't like each other, and then decide to start beating each other up over it. This movie is a personal favorite of mine because there is no "bad guy" you care for both the uboat captain and the captain of the destroyer in this movie. Which begins to confuse you because you don't want either of these guys to die. This began to take it's toll on me halfway through the movie, I was on the edge of my seat after every depth charge, and every torpedo.

It's a little slow for the first 25 minutes (mostly to introduce you to the characters and their back-stories.) But after that You are in for a wild ride.

Gotta love the trailer too.:

Well if you made it to here good job, you managed to read through this entire thing (Unless you just skimmed through it, then you are a cheater.) Let's just hope that I managed to put this in the right place/there isn't a sticky on the top of this forum that says "put your top 5 submovies here."

[Herr-Berbunch]

Something similar pops up about as often as 'SH3/4/5 - which do you think I'll like best'.

You'll be in for some flak about U571

[frau kaleun]

You lost me at "3. Das Boot"...

The Hunt For Red October and Below would be on my list, but then the number of sub movies I've actually seen probably tops out at 5, so I guess they would all have to be on it.

Das Boot would be be #1 by a wide margin.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Howard313

Has it been done before? Probably.

Definitely. But It's been awhile.

Does anybody here care about my opinion? Probably not.

Definitely so! Of course I'll disagree with it vehemently, virulantly and violently, but hey, what are internet forums for?

Am I going to do this anyway? Sure, got nothing better to do right now.

Always a good thing. I've got nothing better to do that give you grief.

Warning, possible spoilers ahead!
I did my best to keep spoilers out of this list but I make no guarantees that you won't run into any.

Is any one of these movies less than five years old? One of them is over fifty! Anybody who hasn't seen them by now deserves to get spoiled

Now this is all just my opinion, but since I am a god amongst men if you disagree with me then you are automatically wrong no matter what arguments you make.....sucker. With that out of the way, lets get this bloody thing over with.

As I've said elsewhere, my chiseled jaw and muscular frame are irresistable to women, men admire for my debonair manner and quick wit, but my best quality by far has to be my overwhelming humility.

Down Periscope (1996)

I didn't like what I saw, but I haven't seen all of it, so I could be influenced to change my mind.

U-571 (2000)

Monstrous portrayal of the German uboat crew.

For some reason I didn't pick up on that. I guess I was too busy banging my head over the

Historical Inaccuracies.

I wouldn't have minded those nearly as much if they had even bothered to do some research on the littlest things. As soon as Harvey Keitel blew the klaxon three times for a dive I started throwing popcorn at the screen. Nit-picking? Sure, but when they can't even get the little details right what hope does the rest of it have. The special effects were great. Everything else, from the writing to the acting - not so much.

Das Boot (1981)
I can hear you guys now. "Howard! How dare you put Das Boot at the #3 slot! Das Boot is the best movie ever made of all time in all existence!"

Howard! How dare you put Das Boot at the #3 slot! Wait. Did somebody already say that?

You didn't like the long version? Read the book, then watch the long version in 1-hour sittings. You'll find it much easier to take and very like the book.

As for historical accuracy, a lot of actual u-boatmen disagreed. I liked the attention to detail where the interior of the boat was concerned, but a lot of the plot devices were cliches taken from other movies. Johann freaks out and has to be subdued? Destination Tokyo. There are others I can't think of right now, but they are there. I love the movie, but it's far from perfect. What I love the most is the lack of real plot. It just follows the patrol, for better and for worse.

...an aging uboat captain...

Well, in a submarine or a fighter squadron, I guess 30 is considered "aging".

The Hunley (1999)

Why isn't this movie more popular!?

Probably because it stunk so bad. I loved the concept (but what do I know? I'm a fan of Ironclads, which was probably worse) but the execution? Way, way WAY too much melodrama. Why can't these guys just tell the story and leave the fiction out of it? This is why Tora! Tora! Tora! is a true classic and Midway is classic crap.

The Enemy Below (1957)


I mean if I didn't know any better I'd say they recorded actual war footage and just put it into the movie for the action scenes....wait what? Oh, that's what they did....heh. Moving on!

Actually that's what they didn't. They used a real destroyer escort and did real things like dropping real depth-charges, but I'm pretty sure there was no stock war footage used at all.

I saw it in the theater when I was a kid, and those scenes played a major part in making me choose destroyers when I joined the navy.

Then again, one of my all-time favorites gets me razzed every time I mention it, so I won't. It sucked, both plot and acting, but it featured real early-war subs that just don't exist any more, and real pre-war Elco 77-footers, which even They Were Expendable didn't have, and it was supposed to be about those early boats.

So here's my guilty pleasure. Watch it at your own risk.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=139820

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Harvey Keitel

Will no doubt be the primary and possibly only reason I'll ever sit through all of U-571, when it finally comes up on my Netflix queue.

This is why Tora! Tora! Tora! is a true classic and Midway is classic crap.

Quoted, bolded, and enlarged for truth.

[Alex]

I can't recall how many movies featuring subs I've got the opportunity to watch so far , but I'd say those I won't forget are Das Boot (for obvious reasons), the enemy below (Curd Jürgens fanatic here), and the hunt for Red October that will remain at the very top of my list (simply because it's the first sub-related movie I've been watching, and mainly because it features Sir Sean Connery in all his magnificence *joining hands in prayer*).

[kiwi_2005]

The Enemy below. ( I need to get this movie to own as I watch this movie when I was 9 or 10 on the TV late at night with my father if there was a war movie on late at night he would let me stay up and watch it. )

Das Boot

K-19 The Widowmaker

Below

Crimsom Tide

.

[Howard313]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Is any one of these movies less than five years old? One of them is over fifty! Anybody who hasn't seen them by now deserves to get spoiled

You never know, someone might have missed one of these (born after the times, or mere lack of interest until this point.) and I did not want the plot spoiled for them. So I try to avoid adding spoilers on things like these at all costs. (unless you catch me doing a full on review, then I'll spoil away.)

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

For some reason I didn't pick up on that. I guess I was too busy banging my head over the

I believe this can be traced to one scene, and I quote.

The movie portrays a scene in which the U-boat sailors kill the Allied merchant crewmen who have survived their ship's sinking, in compliance with naval policy and so that the survivors do not report the U-boat position. Out of several thousand sinkings of merchant ships in World War II, there is only one documented case of a U-boat crew deliberately attacking the ship's survivors: that of the U-852, whose crew attacked survivors of the Greek ship Peleus.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-571_%28film%29#Critical_receptio

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Well, in a submarine or a fighter squadron, I guess 30 is considered "aging".

I mainly called him aging because he said himself that he felt ancient next to the rest of his crew members.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Probably because it stunk so bad. I loved the concept but the execution? Way, way WAY too much melodrama.

What can I say? I like a little drama.

This was actually one of those movies I came to with extremely low expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised by it. It actually inspired me enough to do a boatload of research on The C.S.S Hunley herself.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

Actually that's what they didn't. They used a real destroyer escort and did real things like dropping real depth-charges, but I'm pretty sure there was no stock war footage used at all.

Thanks for the correction. Didn't know that one at all, kind of makes me like this movie even more, they went out of their way to get a real destroyer to drop some depth charges. That's devotion you don't see much of anymore, what with everything moving to computer graphics and all that jazz.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

So here's my guilty pleasure. Watch it at your own risk.
http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=139820

I'll be sure to check that one out, it looks interesting from the screen shots.

I enjoyed this response immensely, good show SS, good show. (you don't mind if I call you SS do you?)

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Howard313

You never know, someone might have missed one of these (born after the times, or mere lack of interest until this point.) and I did not want the plot spoiled for them. So I try to avoid adding spoilers on things like these at all costs. (unless you catch me doing a full on review, then I'll spoil away.)

I was just teasing of course. Spoiler warnings are always a good idea. I tend to forget that some people haven't seen Das Boot even though it's almost 30 years old now, and it shocks me when someone says "Why'd you have to tell me that ?!?!"

I believe this can be traced to one scene, and I quote.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U-571_%28film%29#Critical_receptio

Huh. I don't even remember that part. Of course Germans always machine gunned survivors. I saw Murphy's War, y'know.

I mainly called him aging because he said himself that he felt ancient next to the rest of his crew members.

It's even funnier that in the book the LI was described as being 27, but looking 40, so they made a point of hiring a 40+ actor to play the role.

What can I say? I like a little drama.

The truth? If I dislike something about a movie I'll exaggerate the point, but there have only been one or two movies in my life I've actually regretted seeing. I love to complain about U-571 and Pearl Harbor, and I'll certainly never watch them again, but I didn't ask for my money back, or wish that I had. So while Hunley ticked me off big time and I won't own it like I do Ironclads, the models were nice and the action scenes were pretty good. I just wish they'd had more history and less fluff.

Thanks for the correction. Didn't know that one at all, kind of makes me like this movie even more, they went out of their way to get a real destroyer to drop some depth charges. That's devotion you don't see much of anymore, what with everything moving to computer graphics and all that jazz.

At that time the navy had plenty to spare, and giving the crew some excersize at someone else's expense was all part of the fun. It's like the scene in 12 O'Clock High in which a B-17 does a long protracted belly flop. They were a dime-a-dozen in those days and they didn't blink twice about racking one up.

(you don't mind if I call you SS do you?)

Would it matter if I did?

[sharkbit]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

...Das Boot even though it's almost 30 years old now...

Thanks Steve. I feel really old now. I saw it in college when it first came out.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by sharkbit

Thanks Steve. I feel really old now. I saw it in college when it first came out.

I don't want to hear it. I got out of the navy twelve years before it came out.

[frau kaleun]

Originally Posted by sharkbit

Thanks Steve. I feel really old now. I saw it in college when it first came out.

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

I don't want to hear it. I got out of the navy twelve years before it came out.

I was still in high school.






But just barely.

[Howard313]

You guys think you have it bad? I wasn't even born until 10 years after it came out. How do you think that feels?

Edit: Great now I feel like a child.

[Sailor Steve]

Originally Posted by Howard313

Edit: Great now I feel like a child.

That will pass. Well, actually it won't. Sometimes I still feel like a kid in a world full of grownups. But the mirror says otherwise, and that never goes away.

[sharkbit]

Originally Posted by Sailor Steve

But the mirror says otherwise, and that never goes away.

It is especially bad when you look in the mirror and say, "Dad?"