2karl-
true story of nave drills by the seals an aging ship with top brass making out the ship was good. the acting for TV was all right but not great cant understand why the top brass like that try and defend itself blaming others and not the ship over the explosion given the sailors a bad name the Captain wanted things for his ship but no money available to him all the other officers were doing there job but cutbacks mean people cutting corners they tried to cover up things but the truth came out with out given away any of the story the navy was lame in changing there mind and rewarding them medals but not giving them scandalous that is
whpratt1
Enjoyed this film because it clearly shows the American public that all Military Forces have a slogan, which is simply: CYA in more ways than one. In this film there had to be a fall guy for a problem of this magnitude, where many lives were lost, and the gay sailors took the brunt of all the blame and were not able to defend themselves. In the picture a Navy Officer clearly pointed out the many problems that existed; the sailors in the gunnery section were taking parts from one place to repair another problem. The Navy was not allocating any funds for these old Battleships from World War II. James Caan,(Capt. Fred Moosally did an outstanding acting role and stood up for all the enlisted Naval Personnel and made the stink go away. However, the big wigs in the Naval Department in Washington still stood their own ground. The American public cannot be fooled any long by such incidents and the truth will come out today without any cover ups. Great picture, but very graphic and maybe it needed to be shown.
gsm1usn
I was on active duty in the US Navy at the time of the tragedy aboard USS Iowa, and can clearly recall the controversy surrounding the incident. Many unanswered questions remain to this day, but this film does a fine job of presenting the story. Outstanding performance by James Caan as CAPT Moosally. The scenes showing the firing sequences of the big guns are alone well worth the purchase price of the movie. There has never been, nor will there ever be a single piece of military armament as awe-inspiring and fear-inducing as the mighty 16-inch/50 caliber gun. The saddest day in naval history was the final decommissioning of the Iowa Class battleships. One small error to point out: during the opening few minutes of the film, a battleship is seen underway(at sea). The hull number of the ship is "63", which was the number of the USS Missouri - the "Mighty Mo" - not the Iowa.
alicecbr
Why does it take years after an event for the media to gain the courage to film an actual event with all its warts? The difficulty this guy had in even getting this mildly white-washed film made is witness to how sensitive we are in this country to even MILDLY criticizing our corrupt government.
The acting by James Caan is remarkable, as he has to portray a good ol boy captain, striving to be an admiral, was well as a self-important, lazy Navy officer, imposing no discipline on his troops, nor even overseeing properly the supplying of his ship (which might have saved a few of the 40+ lives). Yet, Caan also portrays his good side (which we all have), making him keep his lips tightly closed as he tries to walk the line between truth and completely throwing in with the whitewash of the Navy investigative committee. As if the higher-ups in government don't know that no group can truthfully investigate itself. I find it puzzling that this was a Made for TV movie, instead of for the big screen. Having worked as a NASA contractor throughout its initial coverups and waiving of the O-rings preceding the Challenger debacle, I find the disingeniousness attempts by the NASA PMs presetly at work very similar to the nefarious activities by the Navy big wheels in this movie. Quite instructional for any idealist young patriot, and I mean that in the best sense.
AD
