When Crimson Tide kicked off the Blockbuster Summer of 1995 it was looked at as the slick, less serious submarine compared to The Hunt For Red October, which opened a few years earlier. Over time, Tide’s high rewatchability has helped it to overtake Red October’s prestigious bloat. For a film considered lower quality, it has an incredible pedigree. The drama centers on two acting heavyweights engaging in epic verbal battles, and they’re both so good that there is no absolute hero and villain. Surrounding them is a stacked supporting cast, including Viggo Mortensen and James Gandolfini, both of whom had their signature work still to come. Which means going back to this film only increases its prestige.
Supporting them is Tony Scott coming off of True Romance and right before he started to get experimental (annoying?) with camera technique. Photography is by Dariusz Wolski (Pirates of the Caribbean) and the composer is Hans Zimmer. No crew is a fan of working in the rain, but the film crew set up a very impressive rain scene, with sparks coming down from above, when Hackman addresses his crew before everyone boards the sub. If I’m going to work nights in the rain, it helps a lot if the results look like this.
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