Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster

This made for TV movie/semi-documentary is a good depiction of what happened and what went wrong with the Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound,Alaska. How the people of Alaska reacted to the spill which was the largest crude oil spill in the history of the United States. It shows how the captain was not on the bridge that night and in such a pristine Alaska sound he should have been until they reached open water. It also made a good argument for super tankers being required to have double hulls in the future and how a gigantic oil spill effects the wildlife and natural beauty of "The Last Frontier". A must see for people concerned with environmental issues.

One surprising thing about this film, originally produced for HBO, was the gamble that the casting director used in using two actors usually relegated to the supporting cast - John Heard and Christopher Lloyd - for the starring roles. The gamble paid off magnificently - I don't think I've seen better performances from either of these two men; they really are the real-life people that they play: Heard as local Alaska wildlife officer Dan Lawn, and Lloyd as Exxon executive Frank Iarossi. The film avoids the usual glossy made-for-TV movie-of-the-week style to become a much more incisive film with a big-budget feel about the subtle business and political maneuvering that follow a tragedy such as the Exxon tanker crash in Valdez, Alaska. Kudos to the excellent cinematography of Alaska. I also appreciated the fact that this film was fair in portraying a business executive as a human and sympathetic character rather than the swiny caricature common in so many other films. The filmmakers deserve a congratulations for doing their homework to make each aspect of the film ring true.

The oil spill into Prince William Sound by the Exxon Valdez is imprinted into my mind when I was a kid and remembered seeing horrible and sad images of whales, dolphins, seals, fishes, birds, and other mammals that was affected by this horrible disaster. The movie depicts from the moment the Valdez hit the reef to when the first phase of the clean up started. Sure there are some well known actors in this film, but this movie isn't for entertainment but a reminder of when man does not respect nature, and nature in turn, makes it hard for us to be able to live and this is what happened. The movie sadly looks like is a fiction disaster but happened in real life.

Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster is a realistic dramatisation of the massive 1989 oil spill, but is also much more, deep and compelling with beautifully developed characters and stunning Alaskan/British Columbia cinematography, going along with one of the best sets of opening credits in recent history.

Expertly directed by Paul Seed aided by a perfect score by David Ferguson, 'Dead Ahead' is one of the best made-for-tv flicks ever. The cast is dead on, especially the underrated Heard in the lead, and the film has the look and feel of a big budget Hollywood studio piece.

9/10