Gray Lady Down (1978)

What a waste of my time!!!

Dreadfully Boring

This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Despite some pretty big names for the time, acting in general was bad and just some general "goofyness" in the story/ representation of the military, Navy in this case. Too distracting so I didn't finish it. Don't set expectations your too high.

Gray Lady Down is directed by David Greene and collectively adapted to screenplay by James Whittaker, Howard Sackler and Frank P. Rosenberg from the novel Event 1000 written by David Lavallee. It stars Charlton Heston, David Carradine, Stacy Keach, Ned Beatty, Stephen McHattie and Ronny Cox. Music is by Jerry Fielding and cinematography by Stevan Larner. Hanging onto the coat tails of the Disaster Movie boom of the 70s, Gray Lady Down is pretty much routine. Plot basically finds a nuclear submarine struck by a boat and sunk to the depths of the treacherous ocean floor. The crew, Captained by a bearded and gruff Heston, are naturally also teetering on the edge of doom unless the Navy can pull off a miracle salvage operation and save the day. Enter Carradine and Beatty in a new Thunderbird like device that although untried in reality, may just be up for the job?Thus from this plot onwards is a role call of robotic characterisations and adherence to the genre's formula. Men in the sub either sweat and be stoic, or crack and be sacrificed, while up above the waves the hierarchy think they know best while Carradine's unconventional Captain Gates knows otherwise. It's all very muscular, even if some of the dialogue came out of a cheese sandwich, and undeniably the effects work is decent and the suspense is pumped up for maximum impact. Yet if you have seen any other Disaster Movie from the 70s you are likely to be jaded with this "Join The Navy" advertisement. 6/10

Used to watch this one stretched out on the deck on the Mess Decks at #%@$%& feet down and hiding from the Russ..... when it first came out. Not the Russ...., the flick. Pretty good. Recommend it. Almost gave it a 9! Pretty good plot, good set. Almost, almost realistic. But it IS a flick. Don't expect too much realism or too little space. The choice of cast is almost as entertaining as the story itself. Just can't get Charleston to stay ON TOP of the water. Walked through it at Sinai on dry ground. Lays on ocean floor UNDER it on continental shelf. Enough tension to keep one's attention but not so much that it makes a joke of "real life" with "Steely Eyed Killers Of The Deep." Better all around flick than Ice Station Zebra or Red Dawn. And no, the reactor does not glow purple or red! Good plot, good acting, and credible effects makes this one a winner.

I remember seeing this movie in the theater when it came out and the review in Time magazine. OK I remember one part of what was a positive review. It said that the movie avoids the bane of the disaster genre, the subplot. The best sentence in the review that I think describes the movie perfectly is," It is a job-oriented movie about job-oriented men." I can't think of a better way to describe it. The actors give there best professional naval officer performances (well maybe not Carradine...good performance...not sure about the naval officer part) and the movie sticks its subject, the rescue. An entertaining movie that delivers a straightforward story and there is nothing wrong with that.