K-19: The Widowmaker

emotionally compelling
This exceptional film is inspired by tragic historical events. The screenplay is a composite, based equally on two separate Soviet naval disasters. The first, obviously, is the 1961 "cursed" maiden mission of K-19, Russia's pioneer nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine. The second is a narrowly-averted catastrophe of 1986, involving the decrepit "Yankee-class" boomer, K-219. Ironically, the movie was also nearly scuttled -- before it even began production. The rough draft contained every Slavophobic stereotype and Cold War cliche', and was bitterly protested by K-19's surviving officers. They wtote a series of open letters to the producers and actors, inviting them to Russia to hear their real story. When director Katheryn Bigalow met these aging veterans and the widow of their recently-deceased Captain, she resolved to film a tribute to their courage. Much of the film's reference material comes from two superb books written by Capt. Peter Huchthausen USN-ASW (ret.):...

A dramatic tale of an important, hidden chapter of history
After scanning some reviews I've decided to add my 2 cents, since I just got the DVD & saw the movie for the first time. To those who say it has very similar elements already visited in films such as "Crimson Tide," "U-571", etc., my reaction to that is, yes, you're right. The first half hour of this movie I was a bit concerned about where it was going. It had the "been here, done that" feel to it in regards to other "sub movies." I didn't buy Ford's accent at first (why? Because I know him from other movies, whereas if some unknown actor played the role, I wouldn't have questioned the authenticity or even the accent delivery at all), but as time passed, I didn't notice it as much and thought it was fine. In regards to the why do Americans put accents on in the first place when speaking English, it's really no big mystery, it simply adds to the setting. I suppose if you went the other extreme and gave them all harsh U.S. Southern accents, it would pull you even further away from...

A singularly impressive debut for National Geographic
K19: THE WIDOWMAKER is a most impressive debut for National Geographic Feature Films, one of the movie's principal production partners.

The story is based on a Cold War event kept secret for decades. It's 1961, and the Soviet's first atomic powered ballistic missile submarine, the K-19, is scheduled for an operational shakedown cruise in the North Atlantic. The USSR wants to show the United States that the latter is not the only world power with waterproof big guns, so to speak, seeing as how the U.S. Navy has put Polaris subs within missile-lobbing range of Leningrad and Moscow.

Filmed in Canada and Moscow, this "Hollywood" version of the story has Captain Polenin (Liam Neeson) as commander of the K19 while it's still under construction in Murmansk. In a bad career move, he's vociferously unhappy about the quality of the boat's construction, and outspokenly suggests it's not ready for its first sea trial. Enter Captain Vostrikov (Harrison Ford), an in-law of a Politburo big...

Click to Editorial Reviews