Ice Station Zebra (1968)
A top-secret Soviet spy satellite -- using stolen Western technology -- malfunctions and then goes into a descent that lands it near an isolated Arctic research encampment called Ice Station Zebra, belonging to the British, which starts sending out distress signals before falling silent. The atomic submarine Tigerfish, commanded by Cmdr. James Ferraday (Rock Hudson), is dispatched to save them.
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You won't be disappointed!
the audience applauded
One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.
what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.
Man, this is Bad. By 1968 the Culture was in Sure-Flux, the Times weren't "A Changin", the Times had Changed. MGM (and other big Studios), seemed Clueless, and went on Producing Clunkers like this. Dumping Big Money on Certified Turkeys, Unaware in some sort of Cultural Time Warp. The Big Cast and the Bloated Production could Not Save the Overrated Director from Delivering a Dud. The SFX are Embarrassing and the Movie looks like it was all Filmed completely on a Soundstage (and it was). The Sets are Cringe Worthy.The enormous Running Time contains a couple Scenes of Submarine Tension, and a couple Scenes of Submarine Action, but Oh Boy 90% of the Film is just Stiff, Dull, and the Ending is just Awful. The Musical Score is OK (Yipee), but the Movie is a Loser from the Opening Scene. Only Recommended for the Sub-Genre Submarine Fanatics and Cold War Masochists. This Insufferable Film Fails on just about Every Level, including Below Sea Level.
A satellite capsule parachutes onto the frozen Arctic. American submarine captain Commander James Ferraday (Rock Hudson) of the USS Tigerfish is ordered up north for a secret mission under the cover of rescuing a British civilian weather station, Ice Station Zebra. He is joined by British agent Mr. Jones, Soviet defector Boris Vaslov (Ernest Borgnine), and Captain Anders (Jim Brown) and his marines.The dialog, the acting, and the camera work are all very static and stiff. There may be a couple of interesting technical aspects. The submarine diving and surfacing looks good. The underwater stuff looks good for a model. It has the rolling submarine deck. On the other hand, the Arctic exterior looks too fake. The movie lacks tension or energy. The first exciting action is breaking through the ice at the end of the first half. There is simply not enough exciting stuff going on.
I don't know how I missed this film for 40 years, but I corrected that mistake.Not a blockbuster, with the only outstanding features being the cinematography and special effects, it is nevertheless a taut cold war thriller.The interplay between Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine. Patrick McGoohan, and to a lesser extent, Jim Brown made this a film where you are constantly focused on who is the good guy, and who is the bad.Long at 148 minutes, it never lags. There is a very good reason why Alistair MacLean novels make good pictures,
Based on Alistair MacLean's novel, and starring Rock Hudson as a submarine commander assigned to a top secret mission to the North Pole, where he carries passengers; a mysterious British civilian(played by Patrick McGoohan, on a break from filming his classic series "The Prisoner") a Russian(played by Ernest Borgnine) and also stars Jim Brown as a platoon leader. All of them converge on Ice Station Zebra, a weather tracking station that finds itself at the heart of an international incident.Mediocre adventure yarn is too long, and unconvincingly tries to pass off the frozen Antarctic outdoors on an indoor set! Good cast and score, but that's all in disappointing film.