Great movie for History & Military buffs

Rating: 9/10 (23 March 2005)

This is an outstanding film - a real 'jewel' which has received much less praise than it deserves. The historical background is fascinating (Cold War tension just ahead of the Cuban crisis) and the performances are very strong. But the real potency lies in the human issue at the centre of the story: the bizarre willingness of men to sacrifice their lives, at short notice and in desperate straits, out of duty to their comrades. (It's impossible to watch K-19 without asking yourself if you could do what they did, to search your own heart.)
The other thing I liked was the brilliantly filmed techno- claustrophobia of the sub itself, which becomes a pressure-cooker world in which you have to sweat it out like the protagonists. Brilliant movie - but don't watch it if you want 'The Hunt for Red October' airport-novel action thriller genre. It's not that.