Amazon.com

In this 1993 Disney adventure, Reese Witherspoon and Ethan Embry are two young survivors of an African massacre. She is the daughter of a game warden; he is a sulky teen visiting his dad. When poachers do in the adults, the kids hotfoot it across the Kalahari Desert, aided by Witherspoon's young bushman pal (Sarel Bok). They have to cross about 1,000 miles of forbidding territory, all the while chased by nogoodnik Jack Thompson. The kids face down danger, have a few excessively cute escapades, and learn about their capacity for survival--and goodness. The highlights of the film are the lush cinematography and exotic locales of Zimbabwe and Namibia. Though this is a Disney production, it is too violent and intense for young children. It is based on the books A Story Like the Wind and A Far Off Place, by Laurens Van der Post. --Rochelle O'Gorman ... Read more

Reviews (43)

A Gem In All Respects
Mikael Salomon's "A Far Off Place" is a marvelous example of how skilled direction and production can turn a good story into a great film. Performances in the major roles are all excellent, and Ethan Embry's portrayal of the disgruntled, fish-out-of-water city boy forced into the wilds of Africa walks a delicate line (between authentic teenage muddle-headedness and just plain obnoxiousness) beautifully.

Critics may claim the film is a little two-dimensional, and in fairness, they are right. But by not trying to make the film too grand through obvious artifice, the good performances and great scenery let this film become memorable in a simple, direct way that's very much in harmony with the essence of the story: we don't always get to choose our circumstances, and how we react in those times may literally become a matter of life and death.

Two other minor themes help make this a favorite: the Reese Witherspoon character is a great role model for any young girl - sensitive and feminine without being a wimpy or dependent ingrate; and a rare and even-handed portrayal of the firearm as a tool - no better or worse than the purpose to which it is put by a human master.

Story of Courage, Hope and Love
A Far Off Place is the sequel to the bestseller by Laurens Van der Post, 'A Story Like The Wind'. Hunters Drift is a farm in Matabeleland (today part of Zimbabwe)

It is the home of Pierre Paul Joubert known affectionately by all who live there as 'Ouwa', where European, Matabele and Bushmen live in harmony with each other , and with the great flora and fauna of Africa.
This is before the forces of destruction and death, Marxist terrorists, massacre the whole population of Hunter's Drift , as they carve a path of blood through Southern Africa.
The only survivors are Ouwa's teenage son, Francois, Nonnie, the young daughter of a colonial governor and his Portuguese wife, both murdered by the terrorists and Francois' beloved hunting dog, Hintza. They are joined by a young Bushman, Xhabbo, and his wife, Nuin Tarra.

The four young people and brave dog , must pass through bush and desert , to safety , while pursued by the cold-blooded killers.

'A Far Off Place' is a heartwarming story of love hope and courage, and of survival against overwhelming odds. It is about the fine balance between all living creatures.
Not least it highlights the death and suffering caused so many times by those forces of evil that hide behind the slogans of revolution and 'Liberation'.

I loved this movie, it was great. And am thrilled . . .
I loved this movies and am thrilled about its release on dvd. Unfortunatley, as I have been noticing a lot lately, the cover advertises this as an "early" Reese Witherspoon film. Give me a break! All I see lately are DVDs being advertised for the people who star in them, as opposed to the film themsleves. An actor is important, but so is content, and in this case, so are the other two leads in this film, Sarel Bok and Ethan Randall/Embry. Being an early Reese film should not give her automatic top billing because she has become so popular lately. The original cover for the video release years ago was much better. Anyways, I've whined enough, the cover is just anoying, but the film is quite good and one of my favorites. Although reading some other reviews, it is sorely lacking from other perspectives. I bought the books for my neice, and I guess will have to get them for myself so i can draw a proper comparison between the two mediums. Good film, good acting, lack of reality not withstanding.

Warning! Spoiler: The irony of the Disney world view
Disney does it again! They manage to turn two beautiful, compelling books into a story of squabbling American adolescents. I find it supremely ironic that Disney felt it necessary to turn a murderous troop of Marxist guerrillas into a murderous, greedy mining agent - this from one of the most devouring, money-hungry corporations in the history of capitalism! Did they perhaps believe that depicting a troop of black soldiers ruthlessly slaughtering the boy's family wouldn't be as politically correct (or as comprehensible to a pre-teen or early teen audience) as showing a greedy white mining agent ruthlessly slaughtering the boy's family? Of course, Francois Joubert simply has to be transformed into the obnoxious Harry Winslow (to make the movie more appealing to an American audience). And must every story involving young people of opposite sexes be turned into a "Girls are stupid! - Boys are stupider! - I love you! - I love you too!" tale of teenage battle of the sexes turned to love? It's been many years since I read the novels, but I don't remember that particular twist to the story, perhaps because Van der Post wasn't necessarily writing for the 11-14-year-old American market. If you're at all disenchanted with the world as Mickey sees (and sanitizes) it, skip the movie and read the books ("A Story Like the Wind" and "A Far Off Place").

A great family film
I saw this movie about two years ago! it captured my heart and kept my attention the hole time! the characters are well made and you gotta love the little dog... i had never thought about looking here for this movie... "A far off place" is a must see for all! ... Read more

Reviews (9)

COMMENDABLE MOVIE
It's ironic that in this 1999 film. the Twin Towers remain standing after the devastating earthquake that tumbles the powerful city to its feet. A t.v. movie originally aired on NVC, AFTERSHOCK is directed well by Mikail Solomon and has a fine cast. The script is typical vignettes of several people and how they deal with the quake, but it is well written and performed, and adds the requisite human touch to the film. The overall acting is very good: Tom Selleck as the disgruntled fire chief who is having an ongoing political battle with Mayor Charles S. Dutton; Jennifer Garner as a ballet wannabe who meets up with a Russian cabby; Sharon Lawrence is very good as a mother whose carelessness rendered her little boy an invalid; Lisa Nicole Carson as an up and coming lawyer who gets an alleged murderer off the hook only to doubt his innocence; Cicely Tyson as the feisty mayor's mother who turns a street kid into a young man; and many actors whose names I can't recall who did a fine job in the storyline.
The earthquake sequence is devastating and very convincing. The movie is one of those "feel good" movies, that works.
Not your average made for TV fare.

The Big Apple can have the big shake
If you are in any doubt as to how good this film is, then ask yourself the question "why are people discussing the scientific fact behind the storyline?" The special effects are more than convincing and you really do get the feeling that you could be watching an earthquake in progress. If anyone out there questions the possibility of earthquakes in Manhattan, then maybe you should refer to the following ...I live in the United Kingdom, where earthquakes can not happen, tornados never happen and the possibility of hurricanes is "laughable" as one 1987 forecaster said. In 1987, we had a hurricane, in 1998 we had tornadoes and this year, we suffered a minor earthquake. Never say never.

Earthquakes will get you!!!
Okay so my title sounds like some kind of horror movie but who cares. As many people have writen in their previews that earthquakes don't happen in New York. Survey Says... ERRRRRRRRR!
Earthquakes can happen anywhere! Okay so manhatten hasn't had an earthquake for a while that doesn't mean that there's a switch to turn earthquakes on or off in New York. So Earthquakes happen in California more often. It's because they lie on a huge fault line. Earthquakes have happened in North Carolina and Missouri that doesn't mean New York is safe. And although September 11 was bad that doesn't mean that god will suddenly protect New York from Earthquakes because of Two Towers Collapsing. Earthquakes can hit New York and they will. Same with Canada last year Toronto had a 5.2 Earthquake! Anyway this movie is great and the special effects are A W E S O M E! (P.S i'm not some science geek). Defintaley worth 5 stars

Twin Towers Rock Before 9-11
As an avid sci-fi/action genre maven who likes special effects, I was very surprised that a low budget movie did so well in cinematography. A well written and acted script,and very good special effects lends some credibility to having a powerful earthquake in a relatively low risk zone. It was eerie seeing the Trade Center again (as so many movies do), suffer damage other than terrorist driven. The main complaint about the DVD is that it is not widescreen. Being a TV movie, one would not expect widescreen, but the jewelcase description says "formatted to fit your TV", thus it leads one to believe that a widescreen exists. Still, I enjoyed the film and actually believe the special effects to be better than in "Earthquake".

AFTERSHOCK - thoroughly enjoyed -- great surprise!
I enjoyed the VHS version and was greatly surprised - and pleasantly so - when I discovered the DVD had a more complete version of the movie -- I really liked the interaction between Tom Skerritt and Charles Dutton's characters -- Action was nicely paced and the characters were great to follow in their individual story lines - a great blending of characters -- loved the ending -- really need to see it. ... Read more

Amazon.com

It may not be a disaster movie, per se, but this terminally silly thriller is certainly disastrous, and would be pointless without the novelty of its setting in a flooding Midwestern town during a torrential rainfall. Physically impressive but idiotic in every other respect, the movie pits an armored truck courier (Christian Slater) against a smart leader of thieves (Morgan Freeman) and a corruptible town sheriff (Randy Quaid) who are vying for possession of $3 million in cash. A waterlogged game of cat and mouse, the plot is so contrived that even the most impressive action sequences--such as a jet-ski chase through flooded high-school corridors--are robbed of their already tenuous credibility. Before long you'll be yawning as incompetent accomplices are systematically dispatched by their own stupidity, in the kind of movie where the use of power boats inevitably leads to at least one death by outboard motor. What's impressive here is the physical production itself--the effect of flooding was created by building a huge replica of downtown Huntington, Indiana, in a huge, watertight aircraft hangar in Palmdale, California! --Jeff Shannon ... Read more

Reviews (47)

Ace Action
This movie made me drool at the cinema. The action scenes are incredible and this movie is very well made. The bouncing, shaking, wobbling camera was very impressive on the big screen. And the music was just totally awesome too. Randy Quaid and Morgan Freeman were very good in this film although I don't think Minnie Driver was good at an American accent.

Don't be to hard on this film. It wasn't made to move CITIZEN KANE off its throne. Christopher Young's score is hugely action packed and very loud throughout the film.

The film was originally called THE FLOOD and had numerous other characters in it and had many daylight scenes. But because of an abundance of disaster movies at the time it was reshot as an action movie that was set totally at night. And practically in real time too.

The DVD is in Dolby 5.1 and is letterboxed at 2.30:1.

Twisted plot, but still a good movie
Hard Rain might have a twisted plot, pitting an armored truck guard against some robbers who are trying to steal 3 million dollars, but that doesn't really make it a bad movie. All the while, they're surrounded by a massive flood as their main obstacle. Hard Rain has some of the best actors such as Morgan Freeman and Randy Quaid playing the leading roles and they all do great jobs. Hard Rain also has some good action sequences and a lot of suspense throughout the film. It's like a wet and wild goosechase with everybody trying to catch Christian Slater in order to get the money. The special effects with all the water and rain couldn't have been done much better. Hard Rain is just another usual action movie until Morgan Freeman joins Christian Slater and they both team up and try to survive against the other robbers. That's when this movie gets a lot better with all the suspense and action.

If you like good action movies with some suspense added in, you will probably like Hard Rain. The only drawback is the twisted plot, sometimes you might wonder what the movie is really about. But watch it and you'll figure it out without a problem.

Quite Entertaining Nonsense
It's set, entirely at night, in the small Indiana town of Huntingburg which is being evacuated as a serious flood develops. But there are a few folk still around: Christian Slater and Edward Asner, the drivers of an armoured truck with $3M in the back; Morgan Freeman, the leader of a small gang of thieves with their sights set on the same 3M, Randy Quaid, a sheriff with some unappealing character traits; Minnie Driver, a churchwarden who has lingered rashly to protect her beloved stained glass windows; Richard Dysart and Betty White, an elderly couple stubbornly refusing to leave for fear of looters, thrown in for comic relief. Slater escapes from Freeman and his pals with the money which he hides in a cemetery. They pursue him on jet skis... Everyone gets very wet. Explosions. Gunfights. Hair's breadth escapes by lead characters trapped in rising floodwater. General mayhem. Credulity strained to breaking point. Significantly above average American action movie. More original than most. Quite good fun. Nothing special. But worth a look if you like this sort of thing.

TERRIBLE
Absolutely awful. Poor script, plot and acting was stagey. It looked more like a Jr. High School play rather than a full length feature film. Christian and Morgan are two great actors but you couldn't tell in this chaotic mess. Skip it and save your money.

a wet ride
begins good put the end with Quaid is sorta a letdown but all throughtout its a hell of a ride with Slater running back and forth being chased by Freeman and his 3 henchmen after his uncle got killed(Edward Asner) and then he has to deal with Driver's safety and then Quaid and his pals and they all want the same thing. the bags full of money. the flood sequences are the best with all the rising water and the fires and the gunplay. Solomon directs a nice flood thriller. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A total waste of time....
If I could give this movie a -1 star rating I would emphatically do so.

With a poorly written script, mediocre acting (not the least of which is James Caan doggedly referring to sailors as "soldiers"), inacurate uniform details and an amazingly incompetent misportrayal of both Clayton Hartwig and Kendall Truitt this is easily the worst movie I have ever seen.

I have often watched "real life dramas" made into movies and wondered how much is true and how much is "Hollywood". Well - I can say with absolute certainty and first hand experience that this movie is 99% Hollywood and 1% Truth.

If you really want to know about what happened aboard the USS Iowa and why it may have happened you are much better off reading the book, "A Glimpse of Hell" (which still has its faults and problems, of course) and forgetting about this farce of a movie.

Who am I? I am GMG3 Kendall Truitt's ex-wife and I lived this movie. Take my word for it - this movie stinks!

Very Good
A very good movie overall. An outstanding view of men standing up for what they believe in the face of those that would oppose them and ruin their careers.

James Caan turns in a fine performance as the Captain of the USS Iowa and Robert Sean Leonard another fine performance as the ensign that sometimes opposes the Captain and questions the Navy, even though his father is a Navy legend. These two strong personalities clash over the explosion on the Iowa and its causes.

The men of the Iowa have their own ideas of how to impress the Captain, who is on a career upswing, possibly the next Admiral and they hope to ride his coat tails. The mixture of their ideas and the Captains seeming aloofsness to his men make for a disaster when while trying to stretch the limit of the machinery a gun turret explodes. Many men die but the Navy seems content to brush it under the rug.

But the question remains, was it a horrible accident or a dereliction of duty. The facts presented here weigh in on both sides of the argument. What is the final choice? What happens when the brass get involved? Will they find a scapegoat? Will they hold someone accountable? Or will they use the faulty machinery excuse? Was there a cover-up? A whitewash? Or does the Navy tell you the truth?

Watch this excellent movie to find out.

A dramatization of the mysterious explosion on the USS Iowa
Told from the point of view of a young ensign on the ship, it attempts to show that the Iowa was a dilapidated ship whose command structure was ignorant of anything except self-promotion. Fearing that newer high-tech gadgets would make its own guns obsolete, the gunners take increasing risks in an effort to come up with more spectacular results. Possibly they took one risk to many or possibly there was a mechanical failure but something went tragically wrong and killed 47 people. To this day there are many unanswered questions about the incident.

I did not find this movie to have any spirit, nor did it succeed in showing any new plausible theory about how the accident happened or why the Navy would think that a cover-up would be in its best interests.

There were no special features on the DVD of note. ... Read more

Reviews (47)

Ace Action
This movie made me drool at the cinema. The action scenes are incredible and this movie is very well made. The bouncing, shaking, wobbling camera was very impressive on the big screen. And the music was just totally awesome too. Randy Quaid and Morgan Freeman were very good in this film although I don't think Minnie Driver was good at an American accent.

Don't be to hard on this film. It wasn't made to move CITIZEN KANE off its throne. Christopher Young's score is hugely action packed and very loud throughout the film.

The film was originally called THE FLOOD and had numerous other characters in it and had many daylight scenes. But because of an abundance of disaster movies at the time it was reshot as an action movie that was set totally at night. And practically in real time too.

The DVD is in Dolby 5.1 and is letterboxed at 2.30:1.

Twisted plot, but still a good movie
Hard Rain might have a twisted plot, pitting an armored truck guard against some robbers who are trying to steal 3 million dollars, but that doesn't really make it a bad movie. All the while, they're surrounded by a massive flood as their main obstacle. Hard Rain has some of the best actors such as Morgan Freeman and Randy Quaid playing the leading roles and they all do great jobs. Hard Rain also has some good action sequences and a lot of suspense throughout the film. It's like a wet and wild goosechase with everybody trying to catch Christian Slater in order to get the money. The special effects with all the water and rain couldn't have been done much better. Hard Rain is just another usual action movie until Morgan Freeman joins Christian Slater and they both team up and try to survive against the other robbers. That's when this movie gets a lot better with all the suspense and action.

If you like good action movies with some suspense added in, you will probably like Hard Rain. The only drawback is the twisted plot, sometimes you might wonder what the movie is really about. But watch it and you'll figure it out without a problem.

Quite Entertaining Nonsense
It's set, entirely at night, in the small Indiana town of Huntingburg which is being evacuated as a serious flood develops. But there are a few folk still around: Christian Slater and Edward Asner, the drivers of an armoured truck with $3M in the back; Morgan Freeman, the leader of a small gang of thieves with their sights set on the same 3M, Randy Quaid, a sheriff with some unappealing character traits; Minnie Driver, a churchwarden who has lingered rashly to protect her beloved stained glass windows; Richard Dysart and Betty White, an elderly couple stubbornly refusing to leave for fear of looters, thrown in for comic relief. Slater escapes from Freeman and his pals with the money which he hides in a cemetery. They pursue him on jet skis... Everyone gets very wet. Explosions. Gunfights. Hair's breadth escapes by lead characters trapped in rising floodwater. General mayhem. Credulity strained to breaking point. Significantly above average American action movie. More original than most. Quite good fun. Nothing special. But worth a look if you like this sort of thing.

TERRIBLE
Absolutely awful. Poor script, plot and acting was stagey. It looked more like a Jr. High School play rather than a full length feature film. Christian and Morgan are two great actors but you couldn't tell in this chaotic mess. Skip it and save your money.

a wet ride
begins good put the end with Quaid is sorta a letdown but all throughtout its a hell of a ride with Slater running back and forth being chased by Freeman and his 3 henchmen after his uncle got killed(Edward Asner) and then he has to deal with Driver's safety and then Quaid and his pals and they all want the same thing. the bags full of money. the flood sequences are the best with all the rising water and the fires and the gunplay. Solomon directs a nice flood thriller. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A total waste of time....
If I could give this movie a -1 star rating I would emphatically do so.

With a poorly written script, mediocre acting (not the least of which is James Caan doggedly referring to sailors as "soldiers"), inacurate uniform details and an amazingly incompetent misportrayal of both Clayton Hartwig and Kendall Truitt this is easily the worst movie I have ever seen.

I have often watched "real life dramas" made into movies and wondered how much is true and how much is "Hollywood". Well - I can say with absolute certainty and first hand experience that this movie is 99% Hollywood and 1% Truth.

If you really want to know about what happened aboard the USS Iowa and why it may have happened you are much better off reading the book, "A Glimpse of Hell" (which still has its faults and problems, of course) and forgetting about this farce of a movie.

Who am I? I am GMG3 Kendall Truitt's ex-wife and I lived this movie. Take my word for it - this movie stinks!

Very Good
A very good movie overall. An outstanding view of men standing up for what they believe in the face of those that would oppose them and ruin their careers.

James Caan turns in a fine performance as the Captain of the USS Iowa and Robert Sean Leonard another fine performance as the ensign that sometimes opposes the Captain and questions the Navy, even though his father is a Navy legend. These two strong personalities clash over the explosion on the Iowa and its causes.

The men of the Iowa have their own ideas of how to impress the Captain, who is on a career upswing, possibly the next Admiral and they hope to ride his coat tails. The mixture of their ideas and the Captains seeming aloofsness to his men make for a disaster when while trying to stretch the limit of the machinery a gun turret explodes. Many men die but the Navy seems content to brush it under the rug.

But the question remains, was it a horrible accident or a dereliction of duty. The facts presented here weigh in on both sides of the argument. What is the final choice? What happens when the brass get involved? Will they find a scapegoat? Will they hold someone accountable? Or will they use the faulty machinery excuse? Was there a cover-up? A whitewash? Or does the Navy tell you the truth?

Watch this excellent movie to find out.

A dramatization of the mysterious explosion on the USS Iowa
Told from the point of view of a young ensign on the ship, it attempts to show that the Iowa was a dilapidated ship whose command structure was ignorant of anything except self-promotion. Fearing that newer high-tech gadgets would make its own guns obsolete, the gunners take increasing risks in an effort to come up with more spectacular results. Possibly they took one risk to many or possibly there was a mechanical failure but something went tragically wrong and killed 47 people. To this day there are many unanswered questions about the incident.

I did not find this movie to have any spirit, nor did it succeed in showing any new plausible theory about how the accident happened or why the Navy would think that a cover-up would be in its best interests.

There were no special features on the DVD of note. ... Read more

Description

He was perhaps the finest commander in the Continental Army, but hewill always be remembered as a traitor who turned his back on America in its hour ofneed.This original film from A&E Network Studios tells the true story of Benedict Arnold.After winning important victories for the breakaway colonies, Arnold is driven to resignby an ungrateful Congress. Coaxed back into service by his old friend GeorgeWashington, he is soon enmeshed in the divisive politics of Revolutionary Philadelphia.And when his love for a loyalist woman leads to scandal--and the Colonial leaders fail tosupport him--the stage is set for his fateful decision.Directed by Mikael Salomon (Bandof Brothers, The Agency) BENEDICT ARNOLD stars Aidan Quinn (Legends of the Fall,Songcatcher) as the infamous turncoat and Kelsey Grammer (Cheers, Frasier) as GeorgeWashington. ... Read more

Reviews (4)

Harlequin Romance masquerading as History...
Good lord, but this was awful. Normally A&E makes a mean costume drama, but /Benedict Arnold/ stank like rotting poultry. The dialogue was stilted and incredibly unrealistic, the battle scenes were rendered in clunky slo-mo to cover up the lack of extras, and the costumes appeared to have been rented from a cheap Halloween shop (with the exception of the military uniforms, especially the Continentals', which were accurate). Aidan Quinn chewed the scenery into pulp and used "historical voice" (the lame semi-British accent affected by actors in costume drama). Kelsey Grammer was pretty darn good as Washington, but his lines were horrid, horrid stuff ripped from the pages of a grade-school history text. Worst of all were the simpering John Andre and Peggy Arnold, whose rose-garden courtship scene was laughably bad. In short, don't even bother to rent this. It's an hour and a half of your life that would be better spent cleaning the house or napping.

Very Good Movie
I have to say that my rating was graded on a curve. I'd say this movie is some where between a high 3 and a low 4. Basically the equivalent of a C+ or B-. My disappointments with the movie was that I felt that it could have been 30 minutes longer and better edited. The story line seemed to jump around a tad. As for Grammer & Quinn? I thought that they both did a great job portraying Washington & Arnold.

I would recommend this DVD for those curious about Arnold. This movie sparked my interest in Arnold when it was first televised and convinced me that Benedict Arnold's treason was more tragic then anything. The DVD also has the A&E Biography of Arnold and is well worth the money.

A Messy Version of Arnold
A@E normally produces pretty good stuff. For some reason they never really got it together on this one. The subject matter is certainly good, but the chronology of the story seems confused. For one, this should have been a longer story. At least another hour could have included and clarified many aspects of Arnold's complex career in the Revolution. As it stands here many important events are left out, including the battle of Freeman's Farm, as well as his clever deception of the Indians which fouled Berry St. Leger's drive down from Oswego. These were important aspects of Arnold's career, which should have been included. The excessive romance scenes with Peggy could have been cut down to make room. Jeff Daniels would have been better to have as Washington. He was so good in "The Crossing" which was a much better film. The relationship with Major Andre is grossly over-stated. Aidrian Quinn does an adequate job playing Arnold, but his work is not made easiler by an overall weak support cast, and poor editing. What is good about the DVD version is that you get the true story of Arnold's life from the A&E Biography thats included. An overall attractive production with unfortunate short-comings.

COULD'VE BEEN WORSE!
"Benedict Arnold: A Question of Honor" is a good film. Even though the editing is a bit messy, and I really wasn't 100% convinced of Kelsey Grammar's portrayal of Washington (Jeff Daniels was better in "The Crossing"), it had some good battle scenes and decent storytelling. I also wasn't 100% happy with Aidan Quinn as Arnold. But it is worth a look or two! Grade: B- ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A total waste of time....
If I could give this movie a -1 star rating I would emphatically do so.

With a poorly written script, mediocre acting (not the least of which is James Caan doggedly referring to sailors as "soldiers"), inacurate uniform details and an amazingly incompetent misportrayal of both Clayton Hartwig and Kendall Truitt this is easily the worst movie I have ever seen.

I have often watched "real life dramas" made into movies and wondered how much is true and how much is "Hollywood". Well - I can say with absolute certainty and first hand experience that this movie is 99% Hollywood and 1% Truth.

If you really want to know about what happened aboard the USS Iowa and why it may have happened you are much better off reading the book, "A Glimpse of Hell" (which still has its faults and problems, of course) and forgetting about this farce of a movie.

Who am I? I am GMG3 Kendall Truitt's ex-wife and I lived this movie. Take my word for it - this movie stinks!

Very Good
A very good movie overall. An outstanding view of men standing up for what they believe in the face of those that would oppose them and ruin their careers.

James Caan turns in a fine performance as the Captain of the USS Iowa and Robert Sean Leonard another fine performance as the ensign that sometimes opposes the Captain and questions the Navy, even though his father is a Navy legend. These two strong personalities clash over the explosion on the Iowa and its causes.

The men of the Iowa have their own ideas of how to impress the Captain, who is on a career upswing, possibly the next Admiral and they hope to ride his coat tails. The mixture of their ideas and the Captains seeming aloofsness to his men make for a disaster when while trying to stretch the limit of the machinery a gun turret explodes. Many men die but the Navy seems content to brush it under the rug.

But the question remains, was it a horrible accident or a dereliction of duty. The facts presented here weigh in on both sides of the argument. What is the final choice? What happens when the brass get involved? Will they find a scapegoat? Will they hold someone accountable? Or will they use the faulty machinery excuse? Was there a cover-up? A whitewash? Or does the Navy tell you the truth?

Watch this excellent movie to find out.

A dramatization of the mysterious explosion on the USS Iowa
Told from the point of view of a young ensign on the ship, it attempts to show that the Iowa was a dilapidated ship whose command structure was ignorant of anything except self-promotion. Fearing that newer high-tech gadgets would make its own guns obsolete, the gunners take increasing risks in an effort to come up with more spectacular results. Possibly they took one risk to many or possibly there was a mechanical failure but something went tragically wrong and killed 47 people. To this day there are many unanswered questions about the incident.

I did not find this movie to have any spirit, nor did it succeed in showing any new plausible theory about how the accident happened or why the Navy would think that a cover-up would be in its best interests.

There were no special features on the DVD of note. ... Read more

Reviews (3)

A total waste of time....
If I could give this movie a -1 star rating I would emphatically do so.

With a poorly written script, mediocre acting (not the least of which is James Caan doggedly referring to sailors as "soldiers"), inacurate uniform details and an amazingly incompetent misportrayal of both Clayton Hartwig and Kendall Truitt this is easily the worst movie I have ever seen.

I have often watched "real life dramas" made into movies and wondered how much is true and how much is "Hollywood". Well - I can say with absolute certainty and first hand experience that this movie is 99% Hollywood and 1% Truth.

If you really want to know about what happened aboard the USS Iowa and why it may have happened you are much better off reading the book, "A Glimpse of Hell" (which still has its faults and problems, of course) and forgetting about this farce of a movie.

Who am I? I am GMG3 Kendall Truitt's ex-wife and I lived this movie. Take my word for it - this movie stinks!

Very Good
A very good movie overall. An outstanding view of men standing up for what they believe in the face of those that would oppose them and ruin their careers.

James Caan turns in a fine performance as the Captain of the USS Iowa and Robert Sean Leonard another fine performance as the ensign that sometimes opposes the Captain and questions the Navy, even though his father is a Navy legend. These two strong personalities clash over the explosion on the Iowa and its causes.

The men of the Iowa have their own ideas of how to impress the Captain, who is on a career upswing, possibly the next Admiral and they hope to ride his coat tails. The mixture of their ideas and the Captains seeming aloofsness to his men make for a disaster when while trying to stretch the limit of the machinery a gun turret explodes. Many men die but the Navy seems content to brush it under the rug.

But the question remains, was it a horrible accident or a dereliction of duty. The facts presented here weigh in on both sides of the argument. What is the final choice? What happens when the brass get involved? Will they find a scapegoat? Will they hold someone accountable? Or will they use the faulty machinery excuse? Was there a cover-up? A whitewash? Or does the Navy tell you the truth?

Watch this excellent movie to find out.

A dramatization of the mysterious explosion on the USS Iowa
Told from the point of view of a young ensign on the ship, it attempts to show that the Iowa was a dilapidated ship whose command structure was ignorant of anything except self-promotion. Fearing that newer high-tech gadgets would make its own guns obsolete, the gunners take increasing risks in an effort to come up with more spectacular results. Possibly they took one risk to many or possibly there was a mechanical failure but something went tragically wrong and killed 47 people. To this day there are many unanswered questions about the incident.

I did not find this movie to have any spirit, nor did it succeed in showing any new plausible theory about how the accident happened or why the Navy would think that a cover-up would be in its best interests.

There were no special features on the DVD of note. ... Read more