Der letzte Countdown

I was aboard during the making of this movie even had a small part in it (the mess deck scene) we were done with lunch but as we were sitting there they were setting up the cameras and asked who wanted to be in a scene ,if you look all the trays are empty as we had just finished eating and were about to leave. We rehearsed the scene and then they played on a cheap cassette player the sound that was to hurt our ears, as it played we threw our trays and grabbed our heads creating the scene you see in the montages. A few days later while in V4 fuels division I was doing a recirc test while in port of the JP5 fuel system ,this involved pumping fuel to the flight deck and then recirculating it back to the pump room .long story short I opened a valve that was not supposed to be open and ended up spraying fuel all over the camera equipment and other movie related items stored in a semi trailer on the pier and drenching two limo's parked on the pier . In an investigation afterwards it was found that I was not fully at fault because the valve I opened should have been tagged "Do not open in port" my claim to fame LOL I am now retired after 23 years EM2.

In 1980, the assistant of the Department of Defense Warren Lasky (Martin Sheen) is assigned by his mysterious chief Richard Tideman to visit the aircraft carrier USS Nimtz commanded by Capt. Matthew Yelland (Kirk Douglas) as an observer of the routines. Lasky finds that Wing Commander Richard T. Owens (James Farentino) has a great knowledge of history.

Out of the blue, the vessel faces a weird storm and they find that they have traveled back in time to the eve of the attack of Pearl Harbor on 06 December 1941. When the two Japanese Zeros attack the motorboat of Senator Samuel Chapman (Charles Durning), the crew of the Nimitz rescues the senator and his assistant Laurel Scott (Katharine Ross). But sooner Lasky learns that the senator had disappeared on that day and Capt. Matthew Yelland is planning to attack the Japanese. Will these actions create a time paradox?

Today I have seen "The Final Countdown" maybe for the fifth or sixth time, and it is impressive how this good film has not aged after more than thirty years. The story has time paradox but is engaging supported by a magnificent cast. The DVD released on Brazil by New Line distributor is excellent, with audio Dolby 5.1 and DTS 6.1 and a documentary with the unit production manager Lloyd Kaufaman (Troma) in the Extras. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Nimitz - De Volta ao Inferno" ("Nimitz – Back to Hell")

The title of the movie might be that of a super-cheesy song, with that highly catchy chorus by the band Europe in the 80s. Forget it because this came first, nor does it submit to cheese/silliness in what could've been a nonsensical premise. Gladly it doesn't, however for a fantasy / Sci-fi film that's impressively ambitious, and grand in scope. Talk about a cop-out for an ending! Or was it? The novelty of the concept flourishes with intelligence and vision, but it felt like something you would find in an episode of "The Twilight Zone". Maybe it would've been better suited so. The story begins with a freak storm transporting a modern American nuclear-powered aircraft carrier back to 1941, just before the Japanese fleet bombed Pearl Harbour. Now the question is should they get involved, and fear changing the face of history. Tough call. Too bad the film doesn't really take up that challenging stance with much aplomb, and somewhat takes an easy way out.

On an ethical note, the question raised is do we really have the right to change what has already happened. The paradox brings up many interesting possibilities, and drums up unimaginable suspense. It's an anxious waiting game for the decision, and that's what its all about. After deciding, it suddenly changes and leaves you hanging there with what could've been. The final note to me, made it all the forgettable. The material might not have been wholly satisfying, but technically it mainly came off with dazzling results. What was spectacularly done was the work they managed to get while filming on the actual U.S.S Nimitz. It feels, and looks authentic… because it is. They filmed at sea on the boat, at certain intervals. The background features at times seemed to be more interesting, than the actual story. Watching the crew going through their manoeuvres was magnetically displayed. Also the aircraft scenes were remarkably done, and excitingly high powered. The special effects are dated, but managed to be atmospherically eerie and moodily colourful.

Figure heads Kirk Douglas (in a durably solid turn), Martin Sheen and at a lesser extent Charles Dunning give the film some stalwart class. Also showing up in the profound cast were Katherine Ross, James Farentino and Ron O'Neal. John Scott's heavy handed music score, was hit-and-miss, but Victor J. Kemper's expansive cinematography was professionally executed. Don Taylor's direction feels automatic, but breezy.

This boy's own adventure is an enjoyably, attention-grabbing "what if" predicament.

I saw this in the theater when it first came out. I was stationed onboard the USS Enterprise (CVN-65) while it was being overhauled at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton, Wa. I loved every minute of this film.

I know that this will sound trite and maudlin, but I remember going up on the flightdeck one morning after working the night shift, shortly after I saw this film. The USS Bonhomme Richard was at the pier near us- painted with zinc, all closed up, its gunmounts covered, doorways sealed-up, bridge windows shuttered, its flightdeck silent save for the screeching of seagulls. Looking at that old wooden-decked warhorse through the rain and mist, I felt a new appreciation for it and the other vessels in mothballs.

I felt as if I were looking through time itself.

The film is overall excellent. Good candid image of carrier life at the time. Much footage shot onboard. On the other hand, many details are wrong, most obvious is the wrong base on the wrong side of the U.S. The time travel paradox WRT Tideman is pretty interesting. I disagree with an earlier reviewer WRT this. Quantum theory allows for Tideman to exist in two states at one time since he is not observed at the beginning. The image of carrier life is especially good. I had several close friends who were officers on the Nimitz at the time it was filmed. Much better than most Hollywood movies such as "Top Gun." An interesting aside is that several Navy people got fried because of this film. This was before the "Top Gun" mentality, and Navy Brass were not too thrilled about the level of access given for this film. It was claimed that mid level officers gave approval for use of the Nimitz for this film without proper authority. This was before the Navy woke up to the recruiting potential of such films, so use of the Nimitz was regarded as fraud, waste and abuse. Acting is tacky in many cases...the ship and the aviators are the stars. Most of the effects were shot using real aircraft, again a controversial issue at the time. One of my best friends was a pilot in the "Black Panther" A-6 squadron shown. It really makes one think how average people would react if thrust into a similar situation. In short, there will likely never be a movie like this made again. It's kind of analogous to Frankenheimer's "Grand Prix" where the filmers were permitted to enter their own cars into the races. The staggering expense of producing such films makes them rare. It's too bad that some people suffered professional punishment for making Navy resources available to make this film when the Navy rewarded people involved in "Top Gun," in many ways a much less realistic film.