A Glimpse of Hell

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.

This is a morality tale of investigating a military cover up. An explosion aboard an aging battleship is covered up to save face for the Navy. Captain Fred Moosally(James Caan) agrees with his superiors that the fatal explosion that killed 47 is to be blamed on a homosexual rift between two sailors. LTJG Dan Meyer(Robert Sean Leonard)struggles to convince his captain that faulty equipment an gunpowder on board was the real cause of the tragedy. Meyer was considered disloyal until a congressional hearing forced the Navy to revise its findings.

Well scripted and kudos to director Mikael Salomon. This true life drama packs a punch. Special effects were a bit gruesome, but very essential focal point for the story.

Also in the cast are: Andrew MacVicar, James Bulliard and Jamie Harrold.

Its bad enough when young men die in battle but when they die in peacetime training accidents that could have been easily prevented and when the military tries to cover it up, it makes it infinitely worse. This is a fine film that tells of the horrible tragedy of the Iowa. Its sad that most people remember this ship only for this incident, it had a very fine record in three wars it seems. A lot of people will have a hard time understanding the naval jargon they use in the film. This is my only real complaint about it. James Caan is great as the conscience-stricken captain who does the right thing in the end at the cost of his career. The reenactment of the explosion of turrent 2 is chilling and there are some really gruesome special effects where it shows all the burned to a crisp bodies. There is one thing in the end of the film where an officer calls a sailor a little faggot. That sort of dated it because that is prohibited in the military today. The montage of photos they show at the end of all the innocent victims really makes you pause. I feel Clayton Hardwig really was innocent and that he and the forty six others need to be honored as brave men who died in their countries service.

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')

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.