K-19: The Widowmaker

Pros: Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Supporting Cast, Cinematography
Cons: Could be edited down to make it move along better

I’m caught in a trap - I can’t walk out - Elvis Presley May you live in interesting times. ancient Chinese curse I’m a sucker for submarine movies and this is a good one. I’m dedicating this one to my old pal Gungia ...

Pros: Certainly catches the mood of being in a submarine.
Cons: Ford is just wooden in this, and there's little to catch the viewer's interest.

Some weeks ago, I was trolling about on the tv, looking for something to watch, when I caught Dutch star Rutger Hauer in a tv-film about this very same subject. The film wasn't too bad, and shows a man caught between fate, luck and a very big...

Pros: interesting historical insight
Cons: its a submarine movie...predictable

It’s the era of the cold war, 1961. Nuclear weapon escalation, the belief that more weapons means more power, and the knowledge that those same weapons will destroy the world many times over if they are actually deployed. Based on true events, K-19:...

Pros: Most submarine sequences are realistically presented. It is a commercial film, not a documentary
Cons: Most Soviet submariners were true professionals and valiant adversaries. The onboard drinking dishonors them.

I thought that I could go and enjoy this film as any other viewer. I was mistaken. As a career submariner, K-19: The Widowmaker touched nerves that I thought I had long since suppressed.


THE FILM AND CHARACTERS
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Pros: Super story Line and Actors that now how to take a risk
Cons: None

K-19 The Widow maker is a phenomenal film. Why?

The Acting

I cannot say enough about the quality of acting this film has drawn from the acting staff. I truly was never really impressed by the acting of Harrison Ford. He never...

Pros: excellent performances, compelling story, more interesting and original than most submarine flicks
Cons: not a true submarine flick, as that term is understood

I'm not a big fan of submarine films. The premise is often too limiting. I can click off all the major plot points before the lights even dim. Before the movie is done, we're going to see the captain address the crew, the sub go "dive, dive, dive," ...

Pros: Details an interesting bit of history
Cons: Boring, no action

Have you ever seen one of those 'Based on actual events' movies that made you wish it had taken some fictional liberties to spice up the story? I have never liked the kind of war movies where the whole thing is about preventing a fight and it ends with ...

Pros: Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Peter Sarsgaard, direction, cinematography, the musical score
Cons: run time of 215 minutes, requiring some concentration. Too much obsessive detail?

This movie, directed by Kathryn Bigelow, is a based on a true story. While it is ancient history for some, there are those among us who can remember all too well when nuclear war was more than just an idle threat, and more than a matter of mere...

Pros: After 138 minutes, it actually ends.
Cons: Ford, Neeson, Sets, Special effects...

K-19: The Widowmaker proves that even the trusty submarine movie can’t prevail against a weak script, poor acting, and loose filmmaking. Despite its slight insight into an actual Cold War submarine disaster, K-19 is $100m worth of embarrassment for...

Pros: All the solemnity and good production values that one would expect of the russian navy.
Cons: The believability gets somewhat stretched by the end of the movie... strong hints of overkill.

Perhaps I'm becoming too superficial. Too world-weary. Too fussy and self-satisfied. Too prone to wonder "why the hell was this film made in the first place?"... I must be getting cynical in my old age.

I'm probably just biased because I...

Pros: Some tense sequences.
Cons: Forced sentimentality; anticlimactic.

K-19 the Widowmaker may have a nuclear submarine at its center, action icon Harrison Ford above the title, and slam-bang action director Kathryn Bigelow behind the camera, but one name in the credits counteracts any explosive expectations one may...

Pros: Based on a true story, devastatingly addictive
Cons: Horribly depressing

Introduction I usually stay well clear of anything that involves nuclear power or war when it comes to films. But sometimes I have to let my boyfriend choose what we watch and this time it was his turn. I got a book ready, not really expecting to want ...

Pros: suspense, historical fiction well done, Harrison Ford
Cons: hearing Americans (ourselves) referred to as enemies a lot

Wow! My husband picked this one out last night when we wanted something "different" to watch. I like historical fiction, and this is what he got. I hadn't heard of it before (we live in the middle of rural OK).

This is a story based on a...

Pros: Ford's and Neeson's fine performances coupled with Bigelow's direction.
Cons: predictable storylines can be overcome by fine actors.

Before the Russian state of the art (chuckle, snort, chuckle) submarine K-19 was launched in 1961, the very height of the cold war, it had been dubbed the Widowmaker not by some overbearing macho Navy bureaucrat, but by its crew. 10 people died as a...

Pros: tension, Ford and Neeson
Cons: disturbing images

( WARNING: MAY CONTAIN SOME SPOILERS ) Based upon a true story of a Russian nuclear submarine, director Kathryn Bigelow heads this wonderful hit as she retells the stories of the surviving men on board the K-19 submarine. With very small spaces ...