Pretty good sub movie

jerm138 · 02-22-10, 04:17 PM

It's called "Below" (IMDB Link) It's basically a ghost story that takes place on a WWII Fleet boat. I had never heard of it, but saw it in a video store in Thailand for $2 and picked it up.

I expected it to be horrible, but I was pretty impressed with how realistic it seemed. They really did their homework on the technical stuff and did a pretty good job of getting a claustrophobic feel too (it's always been a peeve of mine when movies make the interior of a sub look as big as a carrier). The characters were very representative of real submariners, not the hard-core militant douches you see on other sub movies (like a JO making a First-Class do pushups on a bus!

I'd like to see them try that in real life!)

I also got a good smile when I heard some of the announcements and reports in the movie. Those of you who play SH4 with TMO may get a little Deja Vu when watching it

Anyway, It's worth a rent if you see it in the store. Let me know what you think.

One thing that I thought was funny was a quote from a bad review it got. It criticized the dialogue for being "heavy on sarcasm and puncturing insults." Apparently the reviewer has never been on a sub.

AVGWarhawk · 02-22-10, 04:20 PM

Is that the movie where the boat is haunted or something? I have not seen it but I read up on it.

jerm138 · 02-22-10, 04:29 PM

Yeah...
But they leave it up to your interpretation as to whether it's actually haunted, or if it's just the crew's imagination brought on by stress combined with a low oxygen/high hydrogen and CO2 environment.

Another cool thing about it is that Zach Galifianakis is in it ("Alan" from "The Hangover")

AVGWarhawk · 02-22-10, 04:36 PM

I thought that was the one. I was thinking about getting the movie from Amazon. Perhaps I will since you said was not as hokey as it sounded.

Andrew82 · 02-22-10, 05:53 PM

It's a pretty nice movie indeed, saw it a few years ago. Maybe nice to watch it again!

WarlordATF · 02-22-10, 06:51 PM

I enjoyed that movie also. Not going to spoil it for anyone, but the ending was kind of a surprise to me. I like how the story built up and explained why the sub may have been haunted.

Worth Watching!

Platapus · 02-22-10, 07:14 PM

If you have netflix they also have it.

It does not sound like my cup of tea, but it has to be better than U-571

Armistead · 02-23-10, 12:46 AM

I just watched "The enemy below" today. Haven't seen it in forever. Could be a good sub against ship movie, except the ending is so dumb.

AVGWarhawk · 02-23-10, 08:19 AM

"U-571" was utter dribble. "The Enemy Below" is a good one. I was close to buying it the other day. I did not because my wife me 10 hours of DVD in color, "War is Hell, Pacific". That will keep me busy a long time!

jerm138 · 02-23-10, 09:46 AM

I thought U-571 was entertaining enough if you go in with the understanding that it's not going to be technically realistic at all. Sure, it has Hollywood smeared all over it, which tends to ruin any film... but I thought it was bearable.

Do we have a comprehensive list of Sub movies anywhere? Maybe one for books, too? That would be something nice to have. Especially if people could comment on them. Maybe we could rate them for things like technical accuracy, entertainment value, acting, usefulness to subsimmers, etc. I found the book called "Submarine!" by Ned Beach to be extremely helpful to learning sub tactics.

I just read a book called "All Hands Below" about the USS Scorpion incident. It was very good, and I had never heard of the book until I saw it in the airport 2 days ago (in Bangkok of all places.)

Dust Devil · 02-26-10, 11:21 AM

Hey Guys

First time poster and long time reader and player of SH4

Just wanted to mention that I know the gentleman who played a U.S Navy pilot in that Below by the name of Chuck Ellsworth. I'm a Pilot up in Canada. Chuck does advanced training out on the West Coast. he can be found on the Canadian Aviation forum called Avcanada.ca under the name Cat Driver. He has tens of thousands of hours flying everything from 172's to Catalina's and DC3's and also Airliners. If anyone is interested in some of those old classics like the Cat and DC3 there is lots of good info over there. There is also a lot of petty bitching and whining too though so you'll just have to ignore that stuff

You can also find his personal website here http://www.chuckellsworth.com/

Cheers
Dust Devil

Nisgeis · 02-26-10, 01:07 PM

Welcome aboard Dust Devil!

ReallyDedPoet · 02-26-10, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AVGWarhawk

"U-571" was utter dribble. "The Enemy Below" is a good one. I was close to buying it the other day. I did not because my wife me 10 hours of DVD in color, "War is Hell, Pacific". That will keep me busy a long time!

I got The Enemy Below a few months ago, it's not bad. I found the character
development fairly shallow, it did not really pull me into the story like Das Boot or say the Hunt for Red October. On a related note I got Das Boot the uncut version last week, it is a great one. I had the Director's Cut prior to that.

ReallyDedPoet · 02-26-10, 01:15 PM

By the way. @ Dust Devil, welcome to a fellow Canadian

sergei · 02-26-10, 02:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dust Devil

Hey Guys
First time poster and long time reader and player of SH4

Welcome aboard.
Always room in here for one more

02-22-10, 04:17 PM	#1
jerm138 Watch Officer Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 332 Downloads: 35 Uploads: 0	Pretty good sub movie It's called "Below" (IMDB Link) It's basically a ghost story that takes place on a WWII Fleet boat. I had never heard of it, but saw it in a video store in Thailand for $2 and picked it up. I expected it to be horrible, but I was pretty impressed with how realistic it seemed. They really did their homework on the technical stuff and did a pretty good job of getting a claustrophobic feel too (it's always been a peeve of mine when movies make the interior of a sub look as big as a carrier). The characters were very representative of real submariners, not the hard-core militant douches you see on other sub movies (like a JO making a First-Class do pushups on a bus! I'd like to see them try that in real life!) I also got a good smile when I heard some of the announcements and reports in the movie. Those of you who play SH4 with TMO may get a little Deja Vu when watching it Anyway, It's worth a rent if you see it in the store. Let me know what you think. One thing that I thought was funny was a quote from a bad review it got. It criticized the dialogue for being "heavy on sarcasm and puncturing insults." Apparently the reviewer has never been on a sub. __________________

02-22-10, 04:20 PM	#2
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,257 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	Is that the movie where the boat is haunted or something? I have not seen it but I read up on it. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

02-22-10, 04:29 PM	#3
jerm138 Watch Officer Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 332 Downloads: 35 Uploads: 0	Yeah... But they leave it up to your interpretation as to whether it's actually haunted, or if it's just the crew's imagination brought on by stress combined with a low oxygen/high hydrogen and CO2 environment. Another cool thing about it is that Zach Galifianakis is in it ("Alan" from "The Hangover") __________________

02-22-10, 04:36 PM	#4
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,257 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	I thought that was the one. I was thinking about getting the movie from Amazon. Perhaps I will since you said was not as hokey as it sounded. __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

02-22-10, 05:53 PM	#5
Andrew82 Torpedoman Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 113 Downloads: 32 Uploads: 0	It's a pretty nice movie indeed, saw it a few years ago. Maybe nice to watch it again! __________________ TMO 2.2

02-22-10, 06:51 PM	#6
WarlordATF Frogman Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: SW Florida Posts: 288 Downloads: 105 Uploads: 0	I enjoyed that movie also. Not going to spoil it for anyone, but the ending was kind of a surprise to me. I like how the story built up and explained why the sub may have been haunted. Worth Watching! __________________

02-22-10, 07:14 PM	#7
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,369 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	If you have netflix they also have it. It does not sound like my cup of tea, but it has to be better than U-571 __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

02-23-10, 12:46 AM	#8
Armistead Rear Admiral Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: on the Dan Posts: 10,880 Downloads: 364 Uploads: 0	I just watched "The enemy below" today. Haven't seen it in forever. Could be a good sub against ship movie, except the ending is so dumb.

02-23-10, 08:19 AM	#9
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,257 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	"U-571" was utter dribble. "The Enemy Below" is a good one. I was close to buying it the other day. I did not because my wife me 10 hours of DVD in color, "War is Hell, Pacific". That will keep me busy a long time! __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

02-23-10, 09:46 AM	#10
jerm138 Watch Officer Join Date: Dec 2009 Posts: 332 Downloads: 35 Uploads: 0	I thought U-571 was entertaining enough if you go in with the understanding that it's not going to be technically realistic at all. Sure, it has Hollywood smeared all over it, which tends to ruin any film... but I thought it was bearable. Do we have a comprehensive list of Sub movies anywhere? Maybe one for books, too? That would be something nice to have. Especially if people could comment on them. Maybe we could rate them for things like technical accuracy, entertainment value, acting, usefulness to subsimmers, etc. I found the book called "Submarine!" by Ned Beach to be extremely helpful to learning sub tactics. I just read a book called "All Hands Below" about the USS Scorpion incident. It was very good, and I had never heard of the book until I saw it in the airport 2 days ago (in Bangkok of all places.) __________________

02-26-10, 11:21 AM	#11
Dust Devil Bilge Rat Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 1 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	Hey Guys First time poster and long time reader and player of SH4 Just wanted to mention that I know the gentleman who played a U.S Navy pilot in that Below by the name of Chuck Ellsworth. I'm a Pilot up in Canada. Chuck does advanced training out on the West Coast. he can be found on the Canadian Aviation forum called Avcanada.ca under the name Cat Driver. He has tens of thousands of hours flying everything from 172's to Catalina's and DC3's and also Airliners. If anyone is interested in some of those old classics like the Cat and DC3 there is lots of good info over there. There is also a lot of petty bitching and whining too though so you'll just have to ignore that stuff You can also find his personal website here http://www.chuckellsworth.com/ Cheers Dust Devil

02-26-10, 01:07 PM	#12
Nisgeis Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 2,909 Downloads: 77 Uploads: 11	Welcome aboard Dust Devil! __________________ -------------------------------- This space left intentionally blank.

02-26-10, 01:15 PM	#14
ReallyDedPoet Canadian Wolf Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Canada. The one and only, East Coast Posts: 10,886 Downloads: 946 Uploads: 5	By the way. @ Dust Devil, welcome to a fellow Canadian __________________ Back in the Day