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Summary: Moby Dick revisited, by way of Dr. Strangelove
Review: This is quite a movie. It is story of cold war paranoia, and the personal ambition and fanaticism of a modern-day Ahab, without the black humor of Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece. The captain of a U.S. Navy destroyer relentlessly pursues his leviathan, a Soviet submarine, while pushing his own crew beyond human endurance. His fanaticism and rage toward the Soviet sub increases in parallel with the restrictions imposed on him by cautious higher-ranking officers -- the same officers who denied him a promotion into the general ranks. A German former U-boat commander serves as an adviser on the U.S. Navy vessel, but sympathizes with the increasingly desperate men trapped in the submarine below. Compassion for the enemy? The mature ambivalence of an older man, coming to terms with the world war that defined HIS life? Several members of the destroyer's crew, including the medical officer, illustrate the mirroring desperation of the men aboard the U.S.S. Bedford. Portier -- the only civilian present, and less subject to the captain's arbitrary and absolute authority -- serves as the audience's eyes into this little world. This is a dark film; the photography and tension are excellent, reflecting noir influences from 15 years earlier. And the end of the story reflects the growing fear on both sides of the iron curtain after the missiles of October.
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Summary: Cold War Thriller with Great Cast
Review: US cruiser plays a game of cat and mouse with a Russian sub in this intense drama with Widmark and Poitier leading a great cast of actors in a film that has a surprise ending to it.
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Summary: A well cast movie
Review: Very well done. Suspense, suprises, and a really good job of casting. The whole script is well written, but it is the quality acting that makes this movie worth purchasing. Wally Cox is excellent.. A good look at the military perspective.
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Summary: TENSE COLD-WAR ACTION
Review: What a fascinating politically charged thriller! For me, up there with the ilk of "Fail Safe" and "On the Beach" in terms of class, or "Dr. Strangelove" and "Catch 22" in terms of anti-war message. Crisp direction and acting. This DVD should be on any collector's shelf. The tension is maintained through every scene, right unto the explosive climax, one of the best in a film that I have ever seen. Quite noteworthy also that that Sidney Poitier's complexion was never made into an issue either verbally or by implication, something quite remarkable for a movie made over 35 years ago. Get one now if you care for intelligent cinema.
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Summary: Update of Moby Dick
Review: Yes, of course, this is a commentary on the Cold War and is a psychological thriller revolving around the military culture and several "iron-willed" personalities. Above all, however, it is an obvious retelling of Melville's _Moby Dick_. The clues are blatantly clear: 1. The ship is the Bedford, named after the home port of the whaler Pequod. 2. The Russian submarine replaces Moby, Captain Finlander is the latter-day Ahab obsessed with hunting this monster of the deep, and the journalist Munceford is Ishmael, the outsider and narrator who recounts the tale. 3. The hell-bent fixation of the captain leads to the ultimate perdition of the ship and crew. To simply describe "The Bedford Incident" as a Cold War drama is equivalent to reducing Moby Dick to a story about whaling.
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