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| | Label: New Films International
Salesrank: 156037
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| Our Price: $4.99 |
| Used Price: $0.63 |
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MPAA Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Based on an incident that was officially suppressed for 28 years, K-19: The Widowmaker is a fine addition to the "sub-genre" of submarine thrillers. The first major American film about Russian cold war heroes, it re-creates the nightmare endured in 1961 by the crew of the Soviet nuclear submarine K-19, when an exposed reactor core nearly resulted in a nuclear catastrophe. Several crewmen died, and K-19's captain (played by Harrison Ford) had to assert his command when near-mutiny favored his executive officer (Liam Neeson). This escalating tension gives the film its potent dramatic thrust, and both Ford and Neeson deliver intense performances while director Kathryn Bigelow (Near Dark, Strange Days) ably controls a sub full of seething testosterone. It's not as viscerally thrilling as the classic Das Boot or U-571, and some K-19 survivors protested the inclusion of inauthentic drinking scenes, but the movie benefits from grand-scale production values, seamless computer graphics, and a compelling real-life twist. --Jeff Shannon
K-19: The Widowmaker Reviews:
A Worthy Submarine Film Among Few Others 
2009-10-09 - Let's start off this review with the following acknowledgment: many of the 'facts' in this movie are actually exaggerations. Yes, the basics of the events happened, but the drama surrounding them is largely enhanced for the viewer. This is not all that different than many other fact-based films, and it certainly in no way takes away from the quality of the film given that the most important event, the nuclear accident, is true. For me, all of the other events pale to this one, and I think it is handled brilliantly. What sets this film apart, in my eyes, from many others is that it delivers the claustrophobic terror of radiation in maddeningly effective way. The fabricated mutiny, the exaggerated differences of opinions between the captains...to focus on these things is to miss the point. If you're looking for cold hard fact enjoy the History Channel instead. This is a film, and part of what makes a good movie is entertainment.
Putting aside the fact checks, you're left with a gripping look at what a nuclear accident on a submarine is like. The cast is almost universally good, although at times it can be hard to ignore certain...breaks in accent, shall we say. Still, the performances hold and luckily the burden is shared across many capable shoulders. The crew feels like a crew, the interplay between the men coming off as natural and authentic. The captains, feuding as they are, come off as men of authority. In particular, I thought Liam Neeson projected a true sense of a fatherly affection for his men. Beyond the actors, the unfolding of the nuclear accident, and specifically the repair work, is some of the most tense and savagely dramatic work you'll see anywhere. With little ability to rely on the actors faces in their repair suits, the music and tight direction carries the invisible danger surrounding the failing reactor. Though it can be tough to watch, I admire the graphic depiction of the impact of radiation on a human being. It is jarring to see how quickly and easily one of our greatest discoveries can break us down.
In summary, if you are a submarine film fan, as I am, there's much to like here. While it's never a movie you expect to win as Oscar, it's still a highly enjoyable piece of film that has a unique p[lace in cinema as depicting the Soviet Navy as heroes rather than sinister Cold War villains. Highly recommended.
Could have been a lot better 
2009-09-11 - 1. I'm not an expert into the actual historical events that took place but via the various reviews on this movie, this movie is another in a long list of Hollywood movies in which the "based on a true story" idea is extended beyond reality.
2. With the above being said, I can accept the semi-fictional account and just sit down for a good movie, but the problem with this film is that it's just not that good of a movie in the first place. Ultimately, Harrison Ford's portrayal of the Capt of the sub is just lousy and unconvincing.
3. Anyway, it's decent enough to rent, but nothing beyond that. For a good sub movie that actually written and acted well--> go for the classic Hunt for Red Oct.
K-19: The Widowmaker 
2009-06-10 - If you enjoy this genre of movies, underseas Cold War action drama, "K-19 The Wodowmaker" is one of the best, much like "Hostile Waters". Great movie! Harriosn Ford and Liam Neesom at their best.
I really enjoyed this movie
2009-04-08 - I'm a big fan of "Hunt of Red October" and evaluate "K19-Widow Maker" equal in value.
Polenin lose command of the K-19 after a failed simulation caused by incorrect amperage components. Captain Vostrikov assumes command of the submarine. Vostrikovs discovers the reactor officer drunk and fires him. A new reactor officer arrives and Vostrikov realizes he has no active experience.
Vostrikov decides to test the crew and submarine and orders the K-19 submerged near crush depth. Crush depth is 300 m below the surface. The crew is nervous but the submarine prevails. Vostrikov orders a rapid ascent to the surface piercing through one meter thick ice cap. Polenin retreats to his cabin beliefing death is eminient. Vostrikov strategy works and he launches a test rocket. Vostrikov is cheered and recognized as a historical hero of the Soviet Union. Polenin tells him that he was lucky.
A reactor coolant leak starts a core melt down. The critical temperature is 1000 degrees and then a thermo nuclear chain reaction starts with the force of the Hiroshima bomb. 30 tons of drinking water is rerouted too the reactor; four sets of men expose themselves to fatal levels of radiation to weld pipes to the damaged coolent injection component. The temperature starts to drop.
Polenin protects Vostrikov from an insurrection.
The weld does not hold. The reactor officer enters the reactor and begins to weld the component. Vostrikov declares that tensions between East and West are strong and they must not allow an explosion. An American destroyer offers assistence, but offer is denied. Radiation levels on the submarine are rising. The men move to the surface of the submarine, in shifts. Vostrikov receives a voluntary consent from the men to move the submarine deeper. The reactor coolant breach is fixed. The submarine surfaces and another Russian sub arrives. Vostrikov is acquitted of all charges by Command but does not Captain another submarine. 20 years later the men of the K-19 gather and provide a toast to their fallen comrades.
Memorable For The Radiation Scenes
2009-03-03 -
This was a pretty solid supposed true story of a Russian submarine and its captains during the early 1960s. It's memorable, story-wise, for the radiation victims among the crew members. There are some really dramatic scenes involving that horrific event. Otherwise, it's a story of the sub's problems and the conflict between two captains.
The story starts slowly so you have to stick with it as it gets better and better as it goes on and rewarding enough to make you glad you hung in there for the whole 137 minutes.
Profanity is minor and the Russian accents are handled well by the lead actors, led by Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson and Peter Sarsgaard.
It's not a great film, but it's good and interesting enough to recommend a rental, but not something I'd watch numerous times. Those radiation scenes would be a little too grim to watch numerous times.
