Summer of ‘95: Crimson Tide

Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman rock the boat

Every summer for the past few years, I’ve done a flashback series looking at the films from 30 years prior¹. The timeframe isn’t random; I was a teenager in the mid-nineties and this is when my movie love exploded into obsession. It was an era of my life when every theatrical experience was one to remember.

The summer of 1995 was particularly big because it was the first summer in which my dad allowed me to see R-rated movies in the theaters. My parents weren’t overly stringent on what we viewed at this time but they did hesitate when it came to R-rated fare, usually only letting us see them on VHS if they had no nudity, explicit gore or rampant F-bombs. By this point I’d seen Speed, Die Hard and a few other R-rated movies, but all on our TV. This summer was the first in which going to see more adult fare with my father became a regular occurrence.

And the first R-rated movie I saw in a theater? Crimson Tide, the Tony Scott-directed submarine thriller starring Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman.

It might seem odd that a 15-year-old kid (I’d turn 16 that July) would be interested in a talky thriller about competing military philosophies and the threat of nuclear war. But by this age, I was already carrying around hefty Tom Clancy novels at school² and I knew the movie starred Hackman and Washington, two actors my dad liked, meaning I could probably sway him into letting me see this. But I was also already an avid reader of movie magazines and film reviews, and I knew this was getting good traction; our local critic gave it four stars. And it was the start of the summer movie season – at that point, I already considered this time of year to be my favorite because I’d spend most of it in the multiplex.

So, my Dad, a family friend and I went to see it one weeknight. And I was riveted. I think I held my breath for the majority of the film’s final hour. It’s also one of the rare films from that time that I return to every few years; it keeps getting better. It’s one of the best Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer productions, and Tony Scott’s finest hour. It’s one of the great ‘90s thrillers.

Legends face off

Crimson Tide imagines a scenario in which a Russian rebel takes control of a nuclear installation and threatens to unleash hell if anyone tries to stop him. Lt. Commander Hunter (Washington) is called away from his daughter’s birthday party to serve as the new XO for CO Cpt. Ramsey (Hackman) after his current XO falls ill. They set off in the USS Alabama, ready to respond should the unthinkable happen.

Ramsey and Hunter initially have a friendly rapport, although Ramsey carries the brusqueness you’d expect of a Hackman character. He’s old-school; he follows orders and expects his crew to do the same without question. He knows this makes him a dinosaur. During a conversation with Hunter and the rest of the officers, Ramsey acknowledges this, telling his new XO the Navy “expects you to know why” while also poking fun at the younger man’s more academic and philosophical approach to war.

This creates tension right off the bat when Ramsey calls an emergency drill after a fire breaks out in the vessel’s galley; one of the crewmen dies of a heart attack after. Hunter firmly suggests that it might have been wiser to wait until the threat has passed. Ramsey pushes back that, in war, there’s no time for a breather and the men must be ready at all times. Their differences take on new gravity when they receive orders to launch their nuclear payloads at Russia. A second message is cut off when the ship is attacked. Without knowing what that second message said, the two are at odds – do they launch the missiles and follow their orders as protocol suggests and Ramsey intends? Or do they wait until they can re-establish communication and confirm that second set of orders, like Hunter suggests – an action which could prevent nuclear catastrophe if the orders are, indeed, to stand down but could mean unfathomable disaster if they hesitate.

Crimson Tide’s origins are found in a tour by Scott, Simpson and Bruckheimer, and the film’s screenwriter took of the USS Florida at the approval of the Navy, which was originally going to support the production in much the same way they’d supported Scott’s Top Gun. The Navy believed that the story would be “The Hunt for Red October meets 2001: A Space Odyssey,” featuring the sub’s commander trying to stop his on-ship computer from launching a missile. The story shifted to center the conflict between the two leaders and include a mutiny led by Hunter after the crew received detailed looks at the launch procedures. The Navy, not appreciating this depiction of conflict aboard a nuclear sub, withdrew their participation in the film.

But it’s the much better dramatic choice. A rogue computer threatening nuclear war could make for a solid thriller – to be honest, it’s very possible this story was eventually told. But Crimson Tide works because it removes the idea of a villain and instead invests us in competing philosophies. Old school vs. new school. Neither Ramsey nor Hunter are wrong; they also don’t always do the correct thing, either. And while Michael Schiffer’s screenplay tosses the typical submarine movie incidents in, the true tension comes from the way Ramsey and Hunter argue their cases and the fact that, if one of them is wrong, the fate of the world is at stake.

I’m not going to say that Crimson Tide is the pinnacle of either actor’s career. Hackman was approaching the final act of his storied career – watching the movie has new poignancy a few months after his death – and Washington had already won an Oscar and been nominated for two others by this point. But both are in pure movie star mode, and if these aren’t their best performances, they’re definitely among their most watchable. And because both men are so good and so beloved, it makes it harder to see one as a villain and the other the hero, although the film’s sympathies lie with Hunter.

The two have fantastic anti-chemistry, with Washington’s calm reserve and charisma clashing with Hackman’s old-school passive aggressive jocularity. At first, their combustible relationship is lively and there’s the sense each man enjoys engaging in their thought exercises. But when the situation turns from philosophy to real life, the screws tighten and they dig in. Watching the two clash over protocol and fight for command of the ship is riveting, and the film’s climactic moment – as they wait for the comms to be restored and reveal the truth about their orders – is still a nail-biter after several viewings. Yes, at times the script flirts with absurdity or tips its hand too much – having Ramsey punch Hunter at one point and make not-so-subtle racial comments could be a bit too far – but the film keeps its stakes clear at all times, making it easy to forgive the theatrics.

It’s easy to like Hunter. He’s played by Denzel Washington, he has opinions about the Silver Surfer, and he’s on the side desperately trying to stop nuclear war. With anyone other than Hackman, it might be hard to find any common ground with Ramsey. Hackman is intimidating but also never loses that spark that was always in his eye – giving him a dog as his companion is a humanizing touch³. And the film is wise enough not to make Ramsey a monster. He doesn’t want to start nuclear war; he does want to protect his country and he does believe his job is to follow orders without question. The look on Hackman’s face when the orders are finally revealed – spoiler, but would you believe this movie doesn’t end with nuclear holocaust? – shows just how aware Ramsey is of the disaster that would have occurred had Hunter not pressed his case. The movie wisely provides an epilogue in which the two men have found a truce, with Ramsey retiring and recommending Hunter for promotion. Hackman’s line “you were right and I was wrong” is both a great moment of humility that the actor then undercuts by saying he’s referring to an argument the two were having about horses; but we know that’s not the case.

Hackman and Washington’s faces are on the poster and they’re the film’s leads. But I’d forgotten what a strong ensemble Crimson Tide boasts. A pre-Sopranos James Gandolfini shows up as one of Ramsey’s crewmen and Gandolfini gives great intimidation as one of the crew willing to follow his commander into war. Viggo Mortensen – a decade into his career by this point but still awhile off from his Lord of the Rings breakthrough – plays Hunter’s buddy and a longtime member of Ramsey’s crew, thrust into an unenviable position when his two commanders war with each other. Steve Zahn, Rick Schroeder and George Dzunda also appear, and all do solid work.

Under pressure

The last few summers, I wrote about the period of John Grisham adaptations like The Firm (also starring Hackman) and The Client, and mourned how we used to dependably get films where great actors shouted the law at each other. There wasn’t a Grisham adaptation in summer 1995 – the next one would be A Time to Kill in 1996 – but the military thriller is another subgenre that’s sadly gone out of vogue that I’d welcome back. There’s just something great about watching great actors bark orders. I’d love less Marvel and more A Few Good Men (a legal/military thriller!)

Schiffer’s screenplay is a tightly wound suspense machine, and his tour of the Florida provided enough knowledge for the film to feel real and immediate. There’s energy and suspense in watching the crew carry out its launch drills – and the film wisely includes these so we know exactly what Hunter’s doing when he breaks protocol and why it’s important. Schiffer also throws in the requisite elements of any submarine thriller – torpedo attacks, claustrophobic fires, loss of propulsion and the threat of being crushed. And the dialogue – with an assist from an uncredited Tarantino – is crackling and funny (I’m not sure, but I have to imagine the film’s constant pop culture references are courtesy of QT, including the aforementioned Silver Surfer argument and moment where Hunter references Star Trek to encourage his radio operator).

There’s a debate I’ve had with my critic friends about who was the better director – Ridley or Tony Scott. I think Ridley is the more dependable artist, the one who’s made legitimate masterpieces like Alien, Blade Runner and others. But while Tony Scott had his shares of hits and misses, I think he was more consistent even if he never hit the same heights. His films might have been empty – find me anything of substance in Top Gun or Days of Thunder – but they were compulsively watchable, and he hit his stride in the 1990s with films like The Last Boy Scout, True Romance and Enemy of the State. Crimson Tide might be his best, moving with the energy and flair Scott was known for but tamping down the hyperactive editing that would make his films of the aughts incoherent.

And, of course, the Bruckheimer/Simpson gloss elevates the film. Hans Zimmer’s score is a bombastic, beautiful thing and Dariusz Wolski’s cinematography makes the most of the reds and blues that fill the frame in the film’s most intense moments. In many ways, Crimson Tide is a talky and philosophical movie; a different director could move it into art film territory. But the combination of Scott/Simpson/Bruckheimer knows how to package it in a way that makes it thrilling and tense without sacrificing its brains. This used to be what summer movies did. We used to be a proper nation.

1. I actually started this in 2021 looking at films from 25 years prior, which means I have to figure out what to do next summer.

2. I was not popular.

3. As the owner of a Jack Russell/Boston Terrier mix, I appreciate that Ramsey understands that Jack Russells are the “world’s smartest dog.”