A Glimpse of Hell

I was on shore duty at the time of the Iowa disaster and I remember thinking something stank about blaming the turret 2 explosion on an allegedly suicidal, allegedly homosexual gunner's mate. The true cause fell on the shoulders of the Reagan Administration's lust for antiquated platforms (the battleship went out with Burma Shave signs back in the early 50's) while caught up in their irrational enthusiasm for a 600-ship Navy (which never materialized, incidentally). The then recently-elected George Bush would wisely decommission these dinosaurs. The true blame for the turret 2 disaster was old unstable and overloaded powder. The shame the Navy has to live with is the cover-up that followed. A Glimpse of Hell is a superior TV movie that probably deserved to be produced as a major motion picture. The performances are very good (James Caan and Daniel Roebuck are excellent)--- my only minor gripe is the interior shots of the 50-year old Iowa look phony (Roebuck has a stateroom as an E-6? I doubt it guys... and the boat would've been home to cockroaches the size of Buicks) and the ubiquitous sounds of the 1MC I recall are missing. The actual explosion and special effects are well done. Now if only I could only get the A&E Channel to cut back on commercials every 92 seconds...

A very frank account of a true incident, told with no holds barred, with an excellant cast. I can bet that the Top Navy brass didn't like this movie very much. James Caan (as usual) gave an realistic performance as the Captain of the Iowa. I was very surpised at the quality of this movie.

I was on active duty in the US Navy at the time of the tragedy aboard USS Iowa, and can clearly recall the controversy surrounding the incident. Many unanswered questions remain to this day, but this film does a fine job of presenting the story. Outstanding performance by James Caan as CAPT Moosally. The scenes showing the firing sequences of the big guns are alone well worth the purchase price of the movie. There has never been, nor will there ever be a single piece of military armament as awe-inspiring and fear-inducing as the mighty 16-inch/50 caliber gun. The saddest day in naval history was the final decommissioning of the Iowa Class battleships. One small error to point out: during the opening few minutes of the film, a battleship is seen underway(at sea). The hull number of the ship is "63", which was the number of the USS Missouri - the "Mighty Mo" - not the Iowa.

I was stationed on the USS New Jersey (BB-62) sister ship of the IOWA. Not only drinking beer on a Navy ship is prohibited, having it onboard is against the UCMJ.(Uniform Code of Military Justice). Since when does a First Class Petty Officer berth in a stateroom? These are just a couple of items which discredit this movie. I think the producers did well with the plot but know little about Navy life in general.

In 1989, in the USS Iowa, while performing an experimental training, an explosion in tower 2 kills forty-seven militaries. The US Navy looks for a scapegoat, and accuses one officer of being gay and provoking the explosion, trying to commit suicide. Lt. Dan Meyer (Robert Sean Leonard) gives a honest testimony in the investigation, but the truth is hidden by his superiors. In the end, the Capt. Fred Moosally (James Caan) of the USS Iowa cleans his officer's name. Although being made for TV, this is a surprisingly good movie. The direction is sharp and the cast has a great performance. Very recommended, since it hooks the attention of the viewer until the last scene. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): `Vestígio do Inferno' (`Vestige of Hell')