Director Report Card: Tony Scott (1995)

8. Crimson Tide

Even though the two feuded all throughout production of “Days of Thunder,” Tony Scott and Jerry Bruckheimer clearly worked things out at some point afterwards. The two would partner again on a project called “Crimson Tide.” The story was loosely inspired by events that occurred on a Soviet submarine during the Cuban missile crisis. In order to ensure absolute verisimilitude, the director and producers were invited to tour a real Navy submarine. When presented with the premise of a mutiny aboard a U.S. sub, military officials objected. Despite the lack of government support, Scott and Bruckheimer would continue forward with the project. “Crimson Tide” would open in 1995, becoming Tony Scott's first unquestionable big hit of the nineties.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia is split in two following military action in Chechnya. Nationalistic forces in the Russian military seize control of nuclear missile installations. The Navy dispatches the U.S.S. Alabama, a submarine outfitted with nukes and captained by Frank Ramsey. Lieutenant Commander Ron Hunter is assigned as his executive officer. Soon afterwards, the Alabama receives orders two separate orders. The first is to launch missiles. The second is cut off when the sub is attacked by a Russian Akula vessel. Ramsey insists on going through with launching the nuclear missiles. Hunter, meanwhile, insists on not triggering nuclear war unless they're absolutely certain. Soon, Hunter is forced to detained the captain. Yet soldiers loyal to Ramsey lead a mutiny. A tense stand-off ensues.

It's not too difficult to figure out why the military objected to “Crimson Tide's” contents. While Scott's “Top Gun” was a pure work of propaganda about how awesome U.S. military might is, “Crimson Tide” has slightly more complicated thoughts on its mind. Captain Ramsey is an old school military man, unquestionably loyal to the ideas of the military. Hunter, meanwhile, is a more analytical soldier. The two men represented different sides of the question of what a soldier's job is. Ramsey believes it's to obey orders, without question. Hunter believes it is to protect lives. This conflict is what the entire film is built around and it's understandable why the U.S. military wouldn't want people asking questions like that.

Throughout the film, Ramsey and Hunter have a number of debates about topics other than whether they should fire nuclear missiles at Russia or not. The two debate horses a few times throughout the film. They have a specific debate about Lipizzaner stallions. Hunter believing they're from Spain and Ramsey being firm they're from Portugal. Even after everything is said and done, Ramsey refuses to budge on this entirely trivial matter. (Both men are wrong, by the way.) This shows that Ramsey is totally unwilling to accept any version of reality except his own. Hunter listens to facts but Ramsey can't imagine anything existing outside his own perception. “Crimson Tide” is essentially a movie about an authoritarian view of reality versus an empathetic one.

Despite these high-minded ideas, “Crimson Tide” is really about watching two legendary performers face off. This movie would begin the long and fruitful collaboration between Tony Scott and Denzel Washington. Washington plays Hunter as someone who is determined to keep his cool, no matter how tense things get. He's definitely scared throughout the film. You can tell because of the sweat beads on his forehead. Yet, no matter how terrified he may be at the prospects of ending the world, the character remains steady. Denzel, of course, expertly displays both of these conflicting emotions. He makes loaded lines, about how much shit the world is in if they're wrong, seem deep and passionate in execution. He even finds some time to invest the character with warmth.

The other side of this face-off is Gene Hackman as Ramsey. Hackman is an expert at playing blustery, crotchety old men and Ramsey has to be among his most blustery, crotchety roles. From the moment we meet him, it's evident that Ramsey is a hard-ass. Hackman can make this charming but, as the story goes on, he twists that act into something truly toxic. His authority being challenged is what really sets Ramsey off. This allows Hackman to shout and swear, growing increasingly unhinged. This level of high intensity acting is well within Hackman's wheelhouse. It also makes a good contrast against Washington's mellower performance. Watching these two play off each other definitely is the highlight of the film.

Yet the two men have more in common than they realize. To let the audience know he's a down-to-Earth guy, Hunter is introduced at his kids' birthday party. Before leaving to get on the sub, he gives the family dog a loving pat. All throughout the film, Ramsey is never far apart from his beloved Jack Russell Terrier. The dog even stays with him on the sub. This is the main way the script humanizes Ramsey. Even though the script never comments on this connection, it is an interesting link between the two men. Maybe if Ramsey was less of a conceited asshole, the two could've bonded over their mutual love of dogs or something. 

“Crimson Tide,” truthfully, has all the parts necessary to be an effective thriller. It has two compelling lead characters, motivated by strong ideas. It's tightly edited and well-paced. Hans Zimmer's score pumps along, keeping the adrenaline up. There's a number of effective sequences throughout the movie. The stand-off between the Alabama and the Russian submarine is tense. There's a lot of focus on the bleeping sonar, torpedoes just missing the submarine and rocketing through the water. This is supported by some fine model work and visual effects. As “Crimson Tide” move towards its conclusion, it succeeds in mining more tension from the conflict between the two men. The fate of the world, after all, is resting on their disagreement. 

Like I said, “Crimson Tide” has all the pieces needed to be a suspenseful motion picture. But there's a problem. See, this is a movie that revolves around the threat of the world plunging into nuclear war. In other words, if Ramsey gets his way, planet Earth as we know it will be destroyed. “Crimson Tide” is not an apocalyptic, sci-fi story though. It's a grounded military thriller. The story does not stray outside of the submarine but we can assume war between America and Russia hasn't been declared. There's no actual threat of the world ending. “Crimson Tide” isn't that kind of movie. Honestly, if a bogus plot description the producers supposedly gave the Navy – about an insane super computer threatening to launch the missiles – is true, it would've made the movie more effective. At least then, we could've accepted the possibility that impossible things might happen in this film. 

Even if “Crimson Tide” falls short of being as effective as it could've been, Tony Scott still directs the hell out of this movie. Clearly, he relishes the chance to make a movie on a submarine. The glowing control panels and darkened setting lead to countless shots of actors' faces bathed in red, green, or purple light. There's lots of tightly shot and edited sequences of people running through the tight interiors of the sub. The camera weaves in and around the catwalks and ladders of the setting. There's even a shot of a spotlight shining behind someone, which makes me wonder if Tony wasn't taken some hints from his brother's “Alien” movies. And before the story even really gets running, Tony makes sure to throw in a shot of the sun setting, all glowing and orange, over the ocean waves.

“Crimson Tide” is probably of most interest to a lot of film nerds because Quentin Tarantino, as a favor to his “True Romance” director, did some uncredited dialogue polishing on the script. The parts Tarantino is responsible for are really obvious. When pestering a new recruit on the bus ride to the dock, a pair of officers banter about famous submarine movies. Later, Hunter compares the situation to “Star Trek.” The most egregious insertion is a pair of officers arguing about which version of the Silver Surfer is the definitive ones. In lesser hands, conversations like this would feel utterly out of place. Yet, even when doing script doctoring work, Tarantino is able to ground his pop culture obsessed views. These exchanges are among the film's liveliest and most memorable.

A chance to co-star alongside such iconic figures as Denzel and Gene Hackman was probably irresistible to a lot of actors. This might be why “Crimson Tide” has a pretty great supporting cast. James Gandolfini returns from “True Romance,” as one of the officers loyal to Ramsey. It's a part that doesn't call for Gandolfini to be more than smarmy and intimidating but, naturally, he's excellent as that. After appearing in Ridley's “G.I. Jane,” Viggo Mortensen shows up as a far more reasonable military man here. It's not Viggo's most distinct part, though you can tell he delights in the chance to shoot off some Tarantino dialogue. Also, see if you can spot small roles from Steve Zahn, Ryan Phillippe, and Ricky Schroder of all people. 

“Crimson Tide” was well received by most critics, generally found to be a successful thriller. It did well at the box office, grossing 157 million against a 50 million dollar budget. I have no doubt that the mutual star power of Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman helped pack people into theaters. Yet I guess I'll just have to admit that this one didn't work for me. It feels like it should be based on a Tom Clancy book or something like that, one of those orderly military thrillers that are pitched directly at an older, male audience. Scott and Tarantino's attempt to spice up the material certainly helps, and it's no fault of the cast and crew, but “Crimson Tide” simply doesn't hook me the way a thriller should. [Grade: C+]