copacetic-76122 Despite some pretty big names for the time, acting in general was bad and just some general "goofyness" in the story/ representation of the military, Navy in this case. Too distracting so I didn't finish it. Don't set expectations your too high.

jtwcosmos "Secure that door!"This is the story of Nautilus, the nuclear submarine that sank with all hands, but some of them got rescued. No submarines were harmed during the making of this movie, even though the script is quite bad and the special effects were done in a bathtub. The cast is great and it is just about the only grace saving this picture.The story and it's translation into script require the viewer to believe that the highly trained officers of the Navy are idiots. Which could be, but I highly doubt it, especially when we're talking about the flagship of the submarine fleet. Then again, stupid accidents happen all the time, and it could be possible that a ship the size of Manhattan would sucker punch a sub, once in a while. After that it gets better, especially towards the end, when the tension is well done.The special effects are terrible, but they seem to improve during the movie. Or I just got used to them, not sure. If you can look past the flimsy models and their less than impressive screen presence, however, they do their job and tell a decent story.The cast is great. Charlton Heston, Stacy Keach, Ronny Cox, David Caradine and Christopher Reeve are excellent.Gray Lady Down. A decent sub movie, with terrible special effects. 5/10.

innocuous A better-than-average disaster movie, due mostly to the absence of any ridiculous scenes. (There are no overweight older Jewish women who won swimming medals many years ago trying to reach the sub, for example.)On the other hand, Ronnie Cox as the first officer goes to pieces very quickly and you wonder why the Navy ever thought he'd be able to command a sub of his own. Also, you've got to ponder the initial collision. The sub's crew basically just lets a freighter in open water run them down, not even noticing that the freighter is in the area until it's too late to do anything about it. Kind of makes you wonder.Heston is restrained in his role, which works out pretty well. Everybody else does a good job (except for Cox) and the special FX are average for the time.Definitely worth watching.

Poseidon-3 This murky disaster film concerns the fate of a nuclear submarine which is carelessly struck by a freighter and sinks 1400 feet beneath the surface. Heston plays the stalwart captain who is just about to give up seafaring when this last voyage turns deadly. Cox is his somewhat adversarial second-in-command. Keach is a stubborn captain heading the rescue effort on topside. Carradine, along with assistant Beatty, is the creator of an experimental mini-sub which may be able to aid in the rescue effort. The initial collision is so poorly handled that it threatens to spoil the film (pitiful rear projection and unclear evacuation of the bridge), but thankfully the interior scenes come off more effectively. A terrific rotating set adds to the verisimilitude. Underwater sequences range from good to horrible. Sometimes the use of miniatures is startlingly obvious. As far as acting goes, Heston is solid and has several great solitary moments along with authoritative ones. (One memorable line: "I feel like a one-legged man at an ass-kicking contest!") Carradine and Keach establish a nice antagonism (though Keach is occasionally a little intense, becoming unintentionally funny.) Beatty is an appealing and endearing presence. Eighth-billed Forsyth's role was cut down to almost nothing. She says five words (!) in her one scene. Many of the supporting cast come off like either hunky mannequins, bad ham actors or stuntmen giving acting a try (though there are several familiar faces sprinkled throughout, notably Reeves as Keach's shadow.) The film is at it's best when tension mounts in the sub and among the officers on the surface. This is dissipated ridiculously when sailors who may be experiencing their last hours alive play backgammon and watch the movie "Jaws" on their projector (!) acting as if nothing's wrong! The tedium kicks in when the rescue attempt is shown in a bit too much detail (long tracking shots of the rescue vehicles) and repeated tries are shown over and over! Like "Airport '77", the dry naval scenes dull the human element. Jerry Fielding's music is appropriately dirge-like at times and eerie other times (though certain elements were interpolated into his awful score for "Beyond the Poseidon Adventure".) Probably the best moment occurs when the trapped men have to open an air tank. The film should hold interest for a first time viewer as long as one is prepared for a somewhat technical approach to the drama. (And was there ever another film so preoccupied with the state of the injured when the whole sub could implode or slide off a cliff at any moment?)