Movies/books

subskipper said:
A lot of people think that "Hunt for Red October" did good things for the submarine force. But most submariners, myself included, thought it was a lousy movie.
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I was a 1/C when that came out. I remember all the hoopla in the USN when it was getting ready to release.

I thought it was pretty good, but as with all Tom Clancy stories, it would have been better suited to a miniseries than a 2-hour movie. The sets of the submarines (especially the RED OCTOBER) were a bit comical.

CRIMSON TIDE, OTOH, was much better, even if it did describe a situation that isn't really possible.
 
I would never really go by anything from a tom clancy movie(patriot games, clear and present danger, the hunt for red october, and the sum of all fears) because they really are not near the plots of the books. Read the books, they are much better... Patriot games really disappointed me when I saw the movie... I was waiting for the end for Jack Ryan to lead the terrorist to the naval academy to get a pounding, but never happened. In fact, Tom Clancy tried to not be associated with Patriot Games because it went so far off from the book. What about the movie U-571?
 
rjcuga said:
What about the movie U-571?
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Excellent flick, though not historically accurate in any way. Also, only reference to USNA is when the guy takes his ring off prior to the operation.

That sequence when they attack the sub and then have to turn and fight it is awesome.

"I CAN'T EQUALIZE THE TUUUUUUBES!!!" Gives me goosebumps... :eek:
 
The Caine Mutiny

For me, the first time I became inerested in USNA was freshman year in high school when our English teacher gave us The Caine Mutiny to read over Christmas Break. We all groaned because it was so huge, but once I started reading it, I couldn't put it down. Nothing to do with the Naval Academy, but a great story about leadership dilemmas that officers have faced in wartime. The play and the movie are also both outstanding.

Other great books for Naval (not USNA) Enthusiasts:

Fiction
The entire "Aubrey/Maturin" series by Patrick O'Brien (Master and Commander, etc.) which is about 20 books in all. The "gold standard" for Naval fiction, IMHO. A little heavy going if you can't master the 19th century style - even though it was written in the 20th century.

Alexander Kent's "Richard Bolitho" series. Same period as Aubrey Maturin and Hornblower. More Royal Navy stories (historical fiction) from the Anglo-French Napoleonic wars.

Hornblower - everyone has heard of these. I've read them all twice.

James Nelson's books on the pirates and privateers during the colonization of America ("The Guardship", et al); Continental Navy, ("By Force of Arms", et al); and the Civil War ("Glory in the Name" and "Thieves of Mercy")

Non fiction

To Rule the Waves, written by an American, it's the story of the mother of all modern navies, the Royal Navy. Absolutely first class account of the development and rise of the RN.

John Paul Jones, written by Evan Thomas. A pretty even handed treatment of the Father of the American Navy.

And so many others...
 
Zaphod said:
I was a 1/C when that came out. I remember all the hoopla in the USN when it was getting ready to release.

I thought it was pretty good, but as with all Tom Clancy stories, it would have been better suited to a miniseries than a 2-hour movie. The sets of the submarines (especially the RED OCTOBER) were a bit comical.

CRIMSON TIDE, OTOH, was much better, even if it did describe a situation that isn't really possible.
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If submariners don't think much of Hunt for Red October, we absolutely despise Crimson Tide. Both movies are laughably unrealistic. I can tell you I never served on a submarine where the CO brought his little doggie to sea. It goes downhill from there.
 
subskipper said:
If submariners don't think much of Hunt for Red October, we absolutely despise Crimson Tide. Both movies are laughably unrealistic. I can tell you I never served on a submarine where the CO brought his little doggie to sea. It goes downhill from there.
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LOL. Yeah, the dog at sea was a howling example of rediculousness. :shake:

I wasn't aboard submarines long enough to have learned any of the details corresponding to the control of nuclear weapons, and even if I had, I wouldn't be discussing them here. However, I DID work for someone who DID serve long enough to know, and when I was an officer I went through the school that dealt with the control and handling of nuclear launch codes. The experience of that school (and subsequent duties) combined with the experience of that old boss (mostly the latter) make me extremely suspicious that such a scenario as that played out in Crimson Tide (i.e. - a mutiny caused by a breakdown in communications) could actually take place. In the words of my old boss, "It's a load of horse****. Trust me, it can't happen."

That said, at least they made the inside of the boat and the procedures being protrayed look at least moderately authentic. The nickel-plated periscope and the family-room-sized control room in HFRO were just comical.

Still, ya gotta hand it to Hollyweird for trying. I thought the vortices behind the Tomcats in Top Gun were the COOLEST thing until someone told me that all they were doig was a fuel dump. And of course, in that ragingly-accurate tribute to life in the Air Farce, "Iron Eagle", it's a total hoot when teenage-punk-turned-hotshot-pilot Doug Masters goes to bomb a refinery but the video is that of a sewage-treatment plant. :yllol:
 
I would suggest these books about the Academy:


1. Becoming A Leader the Annapolis Way

2. Brief Points: An Almanac for Parents and Friends of U.S. Naval Academy Midshipmen

I would suggest that you ignore the movie "Annapolis" at all cost because it is not realistic at all. And was not shot at the actual academy as I did not recognize any of the buildings and I am an alum of the academy.
 
USNA84 said:
For me, the first time I became interested in USNA was freshman year in high school when our English teacher gave us The Caine Mutiny to read
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That was a great book.

I don't know if I should post this, it got mixed reviews. "Annapolis Autumn" by Bruce Fleming struck me as a good read. Some people say it was just an angry professor trying to get back at the academy but I say "Nay!" The only way to find out is to read it.
 
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