1997
File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...
television film
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
about the loss of the Soviet Navy's '' K-219'', a Yankee I class nuclear ballistic missile sub. The film stars
Rutger Hauer
Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century.
Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...
as the commander of ''K-219'' and claims to be based on the true story, also described in the 1997 book of the same name. The film was produced by
World Productions
World Productions is a British television production company, founded on 20 March 1990 by acclaimed producer Tony Garnett, and owned by ITV plc following a takeover in 2017.
History
The company's first major series was the police drama '' Betwe ...
for the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
and HBO, in association with Invision Productions and UFA Filmproduktions. It was written by
Troy Kennedy Martin
Troy Kennedy Martin (15 February 1932 – 15 September 2009) was a Scottish-born film and television screenwriter. He created the long-running BBC TV police series ''Z-Cars'' (1962–1978), and the award-winning 1985 anti-nuclear drama ''Edge of ...
and directed by David Drury, and was first transmitted on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, ...
on 26 July 1997.
Plot
In 1986, the Soviet Navy submarine '' K-219'' performs a Crazy Ivan, and USS ''Aurora'' collides with her, causing a rupture of the seal on one of its ballistic missile tubes. The leaking seawater causes a corrosive reaction which floods the sub with toxic gas. The corrosive reaction starts a fire that floods the sub with more toxic gas, and smoke.
The captain surfaces the boat and moves the crew out to the deck, and attempts to vent the sub. The chief engineer informs the captain that the fire may cook off the nukes and cause a nuclear explosion. The launch doors are opened on the sub to vent smoke.
''Aurora'' ascertains that a fire is aboard ''K-219'', and informs
the Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a meton ...
. The Pentagon, fearing radiological contamination of the Eastern Seaboard, orders ''Aurora'' to prepare to sink ''K-219''. The fact that the launch doors are open on the
SLBM
A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhe ...
s causes consternation in
Washington D.C.
)
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, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, Na ...
, with calls for the immediate sinking of the sub, should it appear to be preparing to launch.
The captain of ''K-219'' prepares a bold plan to dive with the launch doors open, to flood the missile bay and quench the fires. As the captain dives the sub, ''Aurora'' prepares to fire, assuming ''K-219'' is setting about to launch its missiles. After a brief but heated argument the U.S. commander is convinced to wait before launching and realises that the Soviet sub is diving, rather than launching its
SLBM
A submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) is a ballistic missile capable of being launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles (MIRVs), each of which carries a nuclear warhe ...
s.
''K-219s tactic works, and the sub resurfaces with the fires out. A new crisis develops: Both nuclear reactors are overheating, and the cooling rods must be lowered manually by two crew members who have only limited oxygen left. The rods are lowered, and both reactors are shut down, averting disaster, but one crew member remains locked inside the reactor room, running out of oxygen. With seawater flooding the submarine, the captain of ''K-219'' decides to abandon ship. Throughout the crisis, Washington insists that no information on the possibility of
nuclear fallout
Nuclear fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and the shock wave has passed. It commonly refers to the radioac ...
along the eastern American coastline be leaked to the
Governors
A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
and no evacuation plans be activated to protect the population, in order not to derail the forthcoming Reykjavik Summit between Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev and
U.S. President
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
Ronald Reagan.
Capt. Britanov and his surviving crew members return safely to
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 millio ...
with some crew decorated and he being dismissed from the navy. The Reykjavik Summit takes place as planned.
The film's postscript details that as a legacy almost a decade after the end of the Cold War, fifty one nuclear warheads and seven nuclear reactors from nuclear submarines litter the North Atlantic ocean floor.
Cast
*
Rutger Hauer
Rutger Oelsen Hauer (; 23 January 1944 – 19 July 2019) was a Dutch actor. In 1999, he was named by the Dutch public as the Best Dutch Actor of the Century.
Hauer's career began in 1969 with the title role in the Dutch television series ' ...
Martin Sheen
Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...
as Aurora Skipper
*
Max von Sydow
Max von Sydow ( , ; born Carl Adolf von Sydow; 10 April 1929 – 8 March 2020) was a Swedish-French actor. He had a 70-year career in European and American cinema, television, and theatre, appearing in more than 150 films and several television ...
as Admiral Chernavin
*
Colm Feore
Colm Joseph Feore (; born August 22, 1958) is a Canadian actor. A 15-year veteran of the Stratford Festival, he is known for his Gemini-winning turn as Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau in the CBC miniseries '' Trudeau'' (2002), his portrayal of G ...
Sergei Preminin
Sergey Anatolievich Preminin (russian: Сергей Анатольевич Преминин; 18 October 1965 – 3 October 1986) was a Soviet Russian sailor who, after an explosion aboard nuclear submarine '' K-219'', prevented an impending nuclea ...
*
Harris Yulin
Harris Yulin (born November 5, 1937) is an American actor who has appeared in over a hundred film and television series roles, such as '' Scarface'' (1983), ''Ghostbusters II'' (1989), '' Clear and Present Danger'' (1994), '' Looking for Richard' ...
as Admiral Quinn
*
Regina Taylor
Regina Annette Taylor ''Film Reference''. (born August 22, 1960) is an American
as Lieutenant Curtis
*
John Rothman
John Mahr Rothman (born June 3, 1949) is an American film, television, and stage actor.
Life and career
Rothman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Elizabeth D. (née Davidson) and Donald N. Rothman, a lawyer. He is the brother of film ...
as Aurora Executive Officer
*
Michael Attwell
Michael John Attwell (16 January 1943 – 18 March 2006) was an English film and television actor. He is possibly best known for his role as Kenny Beale in the television soap opera ''EastEnders''.
After training at RADA (studying Stage Manage ...
as Kuzmenko
*
Dominic Monaghan
Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan (born 8 December 1976) is a British actor. He is best known for playing Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck in Peter Jackson's film trilogy ''The Lord of the Rings'' (2001–2003), and Charlie Pace on J. J. Abram ...
as Sasha
* Peter Guinness as Vladimirov
* James E. Kerr as Aznabaev
*
Alexis Denisof
Alexis Denisof (born February 25, 1966) is an American actor. He is primarily known for playing Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in the television series ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' and its spin-off ''Angel''. He also had a recurring role on ''How I Met Your ...
as John Baker
* Seamus McQuade as Helmsman
* Paul Birchard as Torpedo Chief
* Oliver Marlo as Doctor
* Mark Drewry as Petrachkov
* Denzil Kilvington as Volnigbirov
*
Garry Cooper
Garry Cooper is an English actor.
He was born in Hull, East Yorkshire, on 2 June 1955. Garry trained at Drama Centre, London and has worked extensively in film, television and theatre.
Filmography
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coope ...
as Gennady
* Frank Baker as Pumps
* Richard Graham as Belikov
* Joachim Paul Assböck as Tigran Gasparian
* Alexander Wachholz as Martinov
* David King as Admiral 2nd Class
*
Todd Boyce
Todd Boyce (born July 1, 1961) is an American film, television and theatre actor. He is perhaps best known for playing Stephen Reid in the successful soap opera ''Coronation Street'' from 1996 to 1997, 2007 and again from 2022.
Early life
Todd ...
as Larry Brock
*
Michael Shannon
Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor, producer, musician, and theater director. He is an off beat actor known for his on-screen versatility, performing in both comedies and dramas. He became known for his frequent ...
as Admiral
* Sanja Spengler as Britanov's Wife
* Philip Martin Brown as Cook
* J.J. Gordon as Officer 4
* Lawrence Elman as Officer
* Erik Hansen as Naval Marshall
* William Marsh as Acoustics Officer
* Rainer Sellien as Technician
* Norbert Tefelski as Admiral / Engineer
* Felix zu Knyphausen as Sonar Operator
* Frank Witter as Russian Submarine Soldier (uncredited)