Hostile Waters (film)
Encyclopedia
Hostile Waters is a British
1997
television film
about the loss of the K-219, a Yankee I class nuclear ballistic missile sub. The film stars Rutger Hauer as the commander of K-219 and claims to be based on the true story. The film was produced by World Productions
for the BBC
and HBO, in association with Invision Productions and UFA Filmproduktions
. It was written by Troy Kennedy Martin
and directed by David Drury
, and was first transmitted on BBC One
on 26 July 1997.
performs a Crazy Ivan, and USS Aurora (a thinly-disguised renaming of USS Augusta (SSN-710)
) collides with her, causing a rupture of the seal on one of its ballistic missile tubes. The leaking seawater causes a corrosive reaction which floods the sub with toxic gas. The corrosive reaction starts a fire that floods the sub with more toxic gas, and smoke.
The captain surfaces the boat and moves the crew out to the deck, and attempts to vent the sub. The chief engineer informs the captain that the fire may cook off the nukes and cause a nuclear explosion. The launch doors are opened on the sub to vent smoke.
Aurora ascertains that a fire is aboard K-219, and informs the Pentagon. The Pentagon, fearing radiological contamination of the Eastern Seaboard, orders Aurora to prepare to sink K-219. The fact that the launch doors are open on the SLBMs causes consternation in Washington DC, with calls for the immediate sinking of the sub, should it appear to be preparing to launch.
The captain of K-219 prepares a bold plan to dive with the launch doors open, to flood the missile bay and quench the fires. As the captain dives the sub, Aurora prepares to fire, assuming K-219 is setting about to launch its missiles. After a brief but heated argument the U.S. commander is convinced to wait before launching and realises that the Soviet sub is diving, rather than launching its SLBMs.
K-219s tactic works, and the sub resurfaces with the fires out.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
1997
1997 in film
-Events:* The original Star Wars trilogy's Special Editions are released.* Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace.* Titanic becomes the first film to gross US$1,000,000,000 at the box office making it the highest grossing film in history until Avatar broke the record in 2010.*...
television film
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
about the loss of the K-219, a Yankee I class nuclear ballistic missile sub. The film stars Rutger Hauer as the commander of K-219 and claims to be based on the true story. The film was produced by World Productions
World Productions
World Productions is a British television production company, founded in the early 1990s by acclaimed producer Tony Garnett. The company's first major series was the police drama Between The Lines , and throughout the decade they went on to produce a succession of highly successful drama series...
for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and HBO, in association with Invision Productions and UFA Filmproduktions
Universum Film AG
Universum Film AG, better known as UFA or Ufa, is a film company that was the principal film studio in Germany, home of the German film industry during the Weimar Republic and through World War II, and a major force in world cinema from 1917 to 1945...
. It was written by Troy Kennedy Martin
Troy Kennedy Martin
Troy Kennedy Martin was a Scottish-born film and television screenwriter best known for creating the long running BBC TV police series Z-Cars, and for the award-winning 1985 anti-nuclear drama Edge of Darkness...
and directed by David Drury
David Drury
David Brian Drury is a former English cricketer. He was a left-handed batsman and wicket-keeper who played for Cumberland.Drury made his debut for Cumberland in the Minor Counties Championship on 28 May 1985, playing as a specialist batsman at number seven...
, and was first transmitted on BBC One
BBC One
BBC One is the flagship television channel of the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It was launched on 2 November 1936 as the BBC Television Service, and was the world's first regular television service with a high level of image resolution...
on 26 July 1997.
Cast
- Rutger Hauer as Capt. BritanovIgor BritanovCaptain Second Rank Igor Anatolievich Britanov, Soviet Navy was the captain of the Soviet missile submarine K-219 when it sank off the coast of Bermuda on October 3, 1986.-The incident on K-219:...
- Martin SheenMartin SheenRamón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
as Aurora Skipper - Max von SydowMax von SydowMax von Sydow is a Swedish actor. He has also held French citizenship since 2002. He has starred in many films and had supporting roles in dozens more...
as Admiral Chernavin - Colm FeoreColm FeoreColm Feore is an American-born Canadian stage, film and television actor.-Early life:Feore was born in Boston, Massachusetts to Irish parents who lived in Ireland for several years during Feore's early life. The family subsequently moved to Windsor, Ontario, where Feore grew up.After graduating...
as Pshenishny - Rob CampbellRob CampbellRob Campbell is an actor with experience in the stage, television and films.A graduate of Wesleyan University and the Yale School of Drama, Campbell performed in numerous Yale Repertory Theatre productions. On Broadway, he appeared as Lvov in Ivanov and as Manus in Translations...
as Sergei Preminin - Harris YulinHarris YulinHarris Yulin is an American actor who has appeared in dozens of Hollywood and television films.-Life and career:Yulin was born in...
as Admiral Quinn - Regina TaylorRegina TaylorRegina Taylor is an American actress and playwright. She has won several awards throughout her career, including a Golden Globe Award and NAACP Image Award.-Biography:...
as Lieutenant Curtis - John RothmanJohn RothmanJohn Mahr Rothman is an American film, television, and stage actor.Rothman was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Elizabeth D. and Donald N. Rothman, a lawyer. He is the brother of film executive Tom Rothman. Rothman is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the Yale School of Drama...
as Aurora Exec. Officer - Michael AttwellMichael AttwellMichael John Attwell was an English actor.He is possibly best known for his role as Kenny Beale in the television soap opera EastEnders....
as Kuzmenko - Dominic MonaghanDominic MonaghanDominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan is an English actor. He has received international attention from playing Merry in Peter Jackson's adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings and for his role as Charlie Pace on the television show Lost....
as Sasha - Peter GuinnessPeter Guinness (actor)Peter Guinness is a British film, television and theatre actor.-Career:He has appeared in over fifty television productions and over ten films...
as Vladimirov - James E. Kerr as Aznabaev
- Alexis DenisofAlexis DenisofAlexis Denisof is an American actor who is known for playing Wesley Wyndam-Pryce in the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and its spin-off Angel.-Early life:...
as John Baker - Seamus McQuade as Helmsman
- Paul BirchardPaul BirchardPaul Birchard is an American actor living in Scotland and working worldwide. In 1986 he wrote and recorded the song "Diamonds Rap ", promoting the Glasgow Diamonds American football team...
as Torpedo Chief - Oliver Marlo as Doctor
- Mark Drewry as Petrachkov
- Denzil Kilvington as Volnigbirov
- Garry Cooper as Gennady
- Frank BakerFrank BakerJohn Franklin "Home Run" Baker was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball from 1908 to 1922, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955. As a member of the famed $100,000 infield, Baker helped the Philadelphia Athletics win the 1910, 1911 and 1913 World Series...
as Pumps - Richard GrahamRichard GrahamRichard Graham is a Brazilian/American historian specializing in nineteenth-century Brazil. He was formerly Professor of History, University of Texas at Austin, and is now professor emeritus there.-Works:...
as Belikov - Joachim Paul Assböck as Tigran Gasparian
- Alexander Wachholz as Martinov
- David KingDavid KingDavid or Dave King may refer to:In sports:*David King , Australian rules footballer for the Kangaroos Football Club*Dave King , Scottish businessman, Rangers F.C...
as Admiral 2nd Class - Todd BoyceTodd BoyceTodd Boyce was born in December 1960 in Columbus, Ohio.He was raised in upstate New York, Germany, Chicago and Brazil. At age 16 Todd moved with his family to Australia where he finished his schooling at Sydney Church of England Grammar School and promptly joined the Australian soap opera The...
as Larry Brock - Michael ShannonMichael Shannon (actor)Michael Corbett Shannon is an American stage, film, and television actor. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Revolutionary Road...
as Admiral - Sanja Spengler as Britanov's Wife
- Philip Martin BrownPhilip Martin BrownPhilip Martin Brown is an English actor, born in Manchester. He has starred in many TV shows and movies in a career that has spanned nearly four decades...
as Cook - J.J. Gordon as Officer 4
- Lawrence Elman as Officer
- Erik Hansen as Naval Marshall
- William MarshWilliam MarshWilliam Marsh was a British priest in the Church of England and a writer of theological publications, in the 19th century.-Early years:...
as Acoustics Officer - Rainer Sellien as Technician
- Norbert Tefelski as Admiral / Engineer
- Felix zu Knyphausen as Sonar Operator
- Frank Witter as Russian submarine soldier (uncredited)
Plot
K-219Soviet submarine K-219
K-219 was a Navaga-class ballistic missile submarine of the Soviet Navy. She carried 16 SS-N-6 liquid-fuel missiles powered by UDMH with IRFNA, equipped with an estimated 34 nuclear warheads....
performs a Crazy Ivan, and USS Aurora (a thinly-disguised renaming of USS Augusta (SSN-710)
USS Augusta (SSN-710)
USS Augusta , a Los Angeles-class submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for Augusta, Maine....
) collides with her, causing a rupture of the seal on one of its ballistic missile tubes. The leaking seawater causes a corrosive reaction which floods the sub with toxic gas. The corrosive reaction starts a fire that floods the sub with more toxic gas, and smoke.
The captain surfaces the boat and moves the crew out to the deck, and attempts to vent the sub. The chief engineer informs the captain that the fire may cook off the nukes and cause a nuclear explosion. The launch doors are opened on the sub to vent smoke.
Aurora ascertains that a fire is aboard K-219, and informs the Pentagon. The Pentagon, fearing radiological contamination of the Eastern Seaboard, orders Aurora to prepare to sink K-219. The fact that the launch doors are open on the SLBMs causes consternation in Washington DC, with calls for the immediate sinking of the sub, should it appear to be preparing to launch.
The captain of K-219 prepares a bold plan to dive with the launch doors open, to flood the missile bay and quench the fires. As the captain dives the sub, Aurora prepares to fire, assuming K-219 is setting about to launch its missiles. After a brief but heated argument the U.S. commander is convinced to wait before launching and realises that the Soviet sub is diving, rather than launching its SLBMs.
K-219s tactic works, and the sub resurfaces with the fires out.