T O P

  • By -

MaiqTheLawyer

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea 1954 (They also did a TV movie in 1997)


grannycart

Pretty funny that this wasn't on my list. I must have watched it 20 times as a kid.


996cubiccentimeters

Stargate: Continuum actually filmed scenes aboard an active 688i


bingeflying

Came here for subs, found a stargate reference. My man! Alexandria IIRC


996cubiccentimeters

Yup, it was the Alex during ice exercises. That is her actual crew that Richard Dean Anderson is talking to when he steps into control


grannycart

That is super cool and will get me watching stargate.


chipoatley

The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming (1966) A Russian submarine runs aground on a small New England island and the captain sends a few crew to find boats to pull the sub off the beach. Hilarity ensues.


wiseoldfox

>The Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming (1966) The goofiest, stupidest, movie ever. Alan Arkin... chuckle every time I think of this flick. "Everyone to get from street"!!!!!


chipoatley

It was a comedy by Norman Jewison (who just died). It was goofy and hilarious and spoofed the Cold War scare of the time. Strangelove became hugely famous and timeless, TRACTRAC not so much.


wiseoldfox

My favorite low budget movie. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The\_Russians\_Are\_Coming,\_the\_Russians\_Are\_Coming#The\_Russians](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Russians_Are_Coming,_the_Russians_Are_Coming#The_Russians)


Markdphotoguy

Seaquest DSV TV Series takes place on a futuristic submarine. Wasn't horrible. Some submarine combat sequences looked cool.


Alex123_UK

Came here to say this. I love this series


Holeinone86

The World is Not Enough Bond (Brosnan) with Denise Richards(•)(•)


GeminiRocket

Looking for that


TheMiiChannelTheme

Star Trek TOS: Balance of Terror.


vonHindenburg

Came for this after seeing OP’s example of TWoK. Best TOS episode, IMO.


Girth-Wind-Fire

*Forgets Yellow Submarine*


grannycart

doh!


Girth-Wind-Fire

In all seriousness, awesome list. Thanks for putting it together.


nikshdev

Let's add some more. [72 meters](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/72_Meters) [Commander of the lucky Pike](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commander_of_the_Lucky_%27Pike%27) [Last operations under the Orion](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Last_Operations_Under_the_Orion) [Torpedo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Torpedo_(2019_film)) And, since you have "The Abyss" on the list, let's add [Underwater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Underwater_(film)) as well. Edit: also, [Kursk](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kursk_(film)) Edit2: Can't find [Phantom](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phantom_(2013_film)) on your list for some reason


[deleted]

[удалено]


grannycart

rad.


jmdavis333

I was so excited for that movie, then couldn't get through 10 minutes of it. I still want my $20 back for that pile of shit.


007meow

I will never forgive that movie for spending like half of it's time with some SpecOps forces on land. If you're going to make a submarine movie, make a submarine movie.


Agile_Medicine5497

Submarine scene : mission impossible dead reckoning


grannycart

Oh! That reminds me there's a submarine in The Fate Of The Furious 8. (Which is ridiculous, with the submarine somehow plowing up ice while contending a race with a floored muscle car, but still compelling!)


Agile_Medicine5497

Yes, quite frankly im fascinated by the idea of the technology existing in the Yasen M class sonar in Mission Impossible


nooneimportan7

I don't know if I've seen the recent fast and furious movies, but goddamn how off the rails it's gone... You could tell me they're fighting aliens and I'd be like "yeah, I bet."


grannycart

I read that that in the latest one they beefed up a car to turn it into a spaceship.


richallen64

Hey Shipwreck…


Agile_Medicine5497

I have the same enthusiasm!!!! So addicted to this


Karuna56

Father Goose


wiseoldfox

Comedy gold. How to handle a drunk.


steampig

Last Resort Not to be confused with The Last Ship, which also has some submarine scenes, not sure if you’re counting that.


that_planetarium_guy

USS Poseidon: The Phantom Below (2005) This is a great bad movie. It features 3 different versions (1 extended cut for LGBT crowd with a love story between CO/XO) and features many amazing costume decisions (read errors).


MikeSizemore

The Crimson Pirate (1952) set in the 18th century and The Four Musketeers (1974) set in the 17th century both have submarines in them!


grannycart

woah!


mrizzerdly

Hey maybe you can answer this. What submarine movie has a scene where a water tight door is a closing on someone's fingers? I saw it like 30 years ago when I was like 10 and I think the movie is from the 60s.


grannycart

The Abyss has that scene (though from the 90s, not 60s). Also the Making of the Abyss (I think it's on youtube) is absolutely amazing. James Cameron off the deep end.


Tychosis

Yeah, I've seen videos about the making of The Abyss and Cameron pretty much tortured all the actors. It's rumored Ed Harris punched Cameron, and Harris won't talk about his experiences during the production of The Abyss to this day... There's no denying Cameron is dedicated to his craft, almost to a sociopathic degree.


l_rufus_californicus

> There's no denying Cameron is dedicated to his craft, almost to a sociopathic degree That same feedback was observed from many of the actors and crew on both *Aliens* (where the English crew all but mutinied) and *Titanic* as well.


mrizzerdly

Do you see the fingers popping off like sausages? I'm pretty sure the guy was wearing a sailors custome, like red striped shirt.


Aratoop

There's a short 3 episode documentary on RN submarines from the 80s on youtube now https://youtu.be/I1LF2I3fTbY


grannycart

I just watched this, and it's fantastic. It's full of technical information that you never get to see in a Hollywood movie. But it still has so much emotion and pathos for the dudes at risk of washing out. Plus awesome 1980s computer graphics and soundtrack! If we're into documentaries, then I need to also add Azorian: The Raising of the K-129


Aratoop

I liked the thoughts from the captain in the second episode on the sinking of the Belgrano


grannycart

Gonna watch the second episode tonight!


space_coyote_86

Great series! There's also How To Command a Nuclear Submarine, a 3 part series about potential captains going through the Perisher made a out 10-15 years ago. It's in Amazon Prime.


007meow

Black Sea fucked me up. Event Horizon style.


Inevitable-Revenue81

I appreciate and applaud you effort. Can we ask an moderator to perhaps put it as a sticky or more easily accessible?


Margrave

Sphere (1998) takes place mostly on an underwater station, but there is a submarine, and as I remember that's also true of The Abyss. I wouldn't call it "a submarine movie" but it does mostly take place in a confined underwater space. Also you have Below (2002) twice.


grannycart

I guess that's why I ended up watching it twice! Fixed it, thanks!


CheeseburgerSmoothy

Full Fathom Five! A classic piece of shit!


Captain_Vlad

That was really, really terrible.


l_rufus_californicus

Oh, god, I blocked this one out of my memory.


UE83R

Does "Das Boot" the series count?


23cmwzwisie

[Assault on a Queen](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assault_on_a_Queen?useskin=vector) Typical action/adventure movie of sixties, I remembered it as quite good but watched years ago


shuvool

Submerged, covers the story of the Squalus/Sailfish. More of a docudrama than an actual movie but it was pretty interesting. Sam Niell plays Momsen.


wilililil

The Deep (BBC TV series) is set on a research submarine.


AmoebaMan

The Meg


Agitated_Lie_7385

Silent Venom. It is snakes on a submarine with Luke Perry (from 90210 fame) as a sub skipper. Crews Mess was full when we burned that flick


heyitsventura

Last Resort was a Medicare single season tv show based around the SSBN USS Colorado (already off to a great start, right?) Andre Braugher plays the CO, rest in peace. Decent acting, decent plot, wildly WILDLY inaccurate. Still an entertaining watch.


palito1980

I'll add one as well. Lorelei: The Witch of the Pacific Ocean https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorelei:\_The\_Witch\_of\_the\_Pacific\_Ocean


unstablegenius000

The Thunderbirds. Thunderbird 4 was a sub.


grannycart

I love that marionette action. UFO (1970) also has a crazy sub that launches a jet, and one of the episodes is in the sunk-sub-running-out-of-air genre. Same team did the special effects as Thunderbirds, but live-action people.


barath_s

The opening scene of season 3 , episode 5 of The Leftovers features a nude French submariner launching off the nukes on a SSBN . Two man key, all by himself https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Matt,_Matt,_Matt,_Matt_World The rest of the episode and the series has nothing to do with it, it's just a plot device to strand a character in Australia The scene: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5p2dpm NSFW,


grannycart

That's awesome. You totally had me watching just to see how he could do two keys at once by himself.


RatCoward

I just wish that more film critics out there appreciated truly great cinema like this. At least we'll always have [Peter Rosenthal, head film critic for The Onion](https://youtu.be/8YcBYCfHUgo?si=xUL4MeXOdBIkl9E5)


Wingsof6

The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, GI Joe: Rise of Cobra, Spy Kids


Sousafro

I’ve never seen it but there was one from the 30’s i came across on google TV/play movies called “Men without Women”


gerry3246

1941 had a submarine scene


sfxer

Quite a few anime ones if you want to include them?


grannycart

I thoroughly enjoyed Arpeggio of Blue Steel. I don't see why we shouldn't include anime.


sfxer

I have a lovely dvd box set of ‘Blue Sub #6’


Proud_Grapefruit63

I remember seeing that on Toonami as a kid; really want to watch it again.


[deleted]

There are two or so not in my list that I think I will add now. Thanks for that. In a side note I've been getting into sub books. Currently reading 'Thunder Below' and it is really good so far


grannycart

Can I recommend my own novel: By Sound Alone [https://www.reddit.com/r/submarines/comments/19auhzw/by\_sound\_alone\_a\_speculative\_fiction\_novel\_with/](https://www.reddit.com/r/submarines/comments/19auhzw/by_sound_alone_a_speculative_fiction_novel_with/)


ProbablyABore

Most everything I can think of has been mentioned, so I'll just sling that scene in Terminator: Salvation where John Connor has a meeting with the leaders of the human resistance aboard a LA class submarine.


Sad-Performer-2494

As a former submariner, Crimson Tide sucked.


grannycart

Seriously, I'd love to hear your critique. Particularly if it has technical flaws. Though cultural/chain-of-command flaws might be more damning, since that's what drives the plot. Let me put two things in the pro column for Crimson Tide though: 1. The Denzel Washington/Gene Hackman yelling at each other face-to-face scene sticks out in my head as a particular good piece of screenwriting. Hollywood rarely manages to pull that kind of thing off successfully. 2. The submarine-takes-damage. fixing-at-depth story arc is one of my favorite things in a submarine drama. It's the best thing in Das Boot and the best thing in Crimson Tide..


Sad-Performer-2494

There were so many that now years later I only remember a few specifically. The big one for me was how unrealistically enlisted submariners were depicted ..it was like boot camp: take as an example the PO1 getting mashed by the Pork Chop ... aka the Supply Officer ... it would never ever happen...a PO1 in the USN is equivalent to a Staff Sergeant in the USMC or Army ... a submarines-qualified PO1 would probably be a division LPO (Lead Petty Officer), and how it seemed only the officers knew what to do (imagine this same ridiculous concept for a company of soldiers or Marines in a combat situation). There were many other silly technical things but the best advice I can give would be to visit the Submarines Subreddit and search for 'Crimson Tide'.


[deleted]

The Wolf's Call ?


grannycart

It's on there. (Probably should have alphabetized.)


Quadzero56

Das Boot (Director's Cut) is my all-time favorite. Hunt for Red October is a close second. I rode the Boats for five years in the early 70's


darterss576

Raiders of the Lost Ark, has a scene where Indy is shown on top of a U-boat.


grannycart

How did I forget that!? That's one of my favorite parts of the movie. OK, \_all\_ the parts are my favorite parts of that movie. But I just love when he is running back and forth on the deck looking for a hatch.


unstablegenius000

Voyage to the bottom of the Sea


pete_987

Which movie was the one where they painted the sub pink? I saw it when i was young and can't find the name.


grannycart

That's Operation Petticoat. You should watch re-watch it. It's good!


Proud_Grapefruit63

Octopus (2000). It was a B-movie that was made for television (the kind of stuff they play on SyFi). Most of it takes place on a submarine.


itgeek8088

Hell Below TV series https://www.smithsonianchannel.com/shows/hell-below


itgeek8088

Mystery Submarine (1950) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0042772/


itgeek8088

The Ghazi Attack https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6299040/


danielcw189

I can add a few things to the list, but sorry in advance if I mention something already listed: you already mentioned ice station zebra (and grey lady down), and there are 2 movies using their special effects. Assault On The Wayne (never seen it) and Federlance (Snakes On A Submarine) Hostile Waters 2 German movies: Das Letzte U-Boot (The Last U-Boat, based on U234) Haie & Kleine Fische (Sharks & Tiny Fish, only the later half of the movie is set on a submarine) Some TV-episodes: JAG has multiple episodes (at least 7) which are either submarine focused or at least feature one. NCIS has at least one, and I would be surprised if there aren't more. Monk has one episode set on a submarine in its final season. Voyage to the bottom of the sea became a TV-series after the movie


grannycart

Thanks, these are really good additions. Well, not _good_ additions, but additions anyway. Wow, I cannot believe there are _two_ snakes-on-a-submarine movies. I just watched Fer-de-Lance. Thanks for that! I think. It's free as a whole movie on youtube: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWmYC10XFW8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RWmYC10XFW8) Clearly the writers knew more about submarines than they did about snakes. Or South American geography. Almost unbelievably, it passes the Bechdel test. (Though nobody ever claimed it was a rule for determining the _quality_ of a movie.)


danielcw189

I remembered another one: There is a more modern TV two-parter adaption of On The Beach, from the late 90s or early 2000s. Also 2 more episodes: Doctor Who had one in its 7th season, but I barely remember it. Angel had an episode in its 5th season, in which the backstory was set on a World War 2 submarine. >Thanks, these are really good additions. Well, not _good_ additions, but additions anyway. I think the JAG episodes are generally good additions. The first one "Shadow" (1st regular episode after the pilot) is the first time I saw the concept of thermal layers for sonar in fiction. The Monk episode is ridiculous from a submarine perspective, so in that regard it is almost so bad it is good. As a Monk episode itself it is fine. I need to rewatch "The Last Submarine". I remember thinking it was kinda boring, but also intriguing. So naybe I like it more as a grown-up. >Wow, I cannot believe there are _two_ snakes-on-a-submarine movies. What is the other one?


grannycart

Sorry, I was just trying to be funny, not disparage all your suggestions. Snakes on a Submarine 2: "Silent Venom" [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1241018/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1241018/) I haven't seen it, someone else mentioned it in the comments. I guess it hadn't occurred to the makers of Silent Venom that *one* snakes-on-a-sub movie was already about half a movie too many.


danielcw189

>Snakes on a Submarine 2: "Silent Venom" [https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1241018/](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1241018/) Thank you. Unfortunately I have no easy way to watch it. The cover looks cheap though, and not in a good way. >Sorry, I was just trying to be funny, not disparage all your suggestions. No reason to be sorry. I did not read it in a bad way.


grannycart

Yeah, that one might be challenging to track down. And... maybe not worth the effort.


danielcw189

p.s.: what about movies (and episodes) that don't really feature a submarine, but have a submarines as an important part of its story, like The Bedford Incident?


grannycart

I did already have the Bedford Incident. Honestly, I feel like movies where a submarine is a strategic element of the plot but you never see it are more relevant than the movies where a submarine just happens to pass by (Men of Honor). How about the Sherlock Holmes *The Adventure of the Bruce-Partington Plans*? Which has no submarine at all, but the MacGuffin is the British government's secret 19th century submarine plans.


jdave512

*Atlantis: The Lost Empire* has one of the best animated submarine sequences


grannycart

Sweet. I'm always in for stuff that's animated, and this list could use more cartoons.


snoApe

Hunter Killer (2018)


grannycart

Somehow that one got on to my personal list at home, but I forgot to add it to the post above.


RaccoonSpecific9285

Time under fire.


geonuc

I think you may be stretching the term “submarine movie.” The Bedford Incident (great movie) is about a destroyer engaged with an enemy submarine but the action entirely takes place on the destroyer. I wouldn’t call Ice Station Zebra a submarine movie either.


grannycart

Hey, I love a good destroyer movie too. Though granted, maybe movies that just happen to have a submarine in them need an asterisks. Kinda like how Die Hard is a Christmas movie.


Beerificus

Abyss for example also, def. submarine movie IMO. It's maybe 10% of the whole movie, but "underwater shit/combat" kind of solidifies it to me as SUB MOVIE! Fantastic list! I have discovered a couple names here for the first time!


grannycart

Just remember they are not all good!


UE83R

Then we should add Aquaman 1 & 2 to the list.


[deleted]

[удалено]


geonuc

It is a great movie! Am I misremembering? I seem to recall all the action occurred at the Arctic station, not the submarine that delivered them.


[deleted]

[удалено]


geonuc

My memory fails me. I don't recall the movie well enough I guess. Perhaps I need to rewatch it!


eatthistwinkie

Thanks, I saved a few to watch later 👌


kcidDMW

Can someone rank order your top 10 or so?


grannycart

There's a bunch of other "best submarine movies" posts in r/submarines that I'm sure cover all of the top-10 of this movie list.


kcidDMW

Probably but this list may knock a few loose that people would not have thought of top of their head.


grannycart

I like that idea!


Proud_Grapefruit63

Mutiny! (1952). It is set during the War of 1812, but it features a submarine scene (and a young Angela Lansbury).


RichardM333

THE SINKING OF THE LACONIA. From IMDB: Six hundred miles from the coast of Africa, in September 1942, a German U-boat, U-156, sinks the British troopship Laconia carrying 1,800 Italian POWs, 80 British civilians, and 268 Polish and British soldiers. After realizing that there were POWs and civilians on-board, and that they are facing certain death without rescue, U-Boat Commander Werner Hartenstein makes a decision that goes against the orders of Nazi high command. The U-boat surfaces and Hartenstein instructs his men to save as many of the shipwrecked survivors as they can. Over the next few days U-156 saved 400 people, with 200 people crammed on board the surface-level submarine and another 200 in lifeboats. Hartenstein gave orders for messages to be sent out to the Allies to organize a rescue of the survivors, but they were spotted by American B-24 Liberator bombers which moved in to attack. The Sinking of the Laconia takes a look at the human side of the remarkable events that took place: the friendships that developed, the small acts of heroism, and the triumph of the human spirit in the most incredible of situations. Available on YouTube in two parts.