thegulls1 Here's a modern take on this 1968 epic: fantastic! Just got the BluRay release and it runs like an old David Lean epic with a title screen & music before the movie starts and, again, at Intermission. Performances are excellent all around, and the fX, all done prior to CGI, are remarkable. Suspense builds as Rock Hudson's nuclear sub streams North with spymaster Patrick McGoohan in tow, soon joined by a Russian defector, Ernest Borgnine, and a serious swat team led by James Brown (ex-NFL).Progress to the North Pole is slow and the sub is hindered by sabotage. The process of finally surfacing & crashing through the polar ice reminds me of similar scenes to come in Firefox a few years later. But our heroes are on a quest to rescue a cannister of spy film shot by a surreptitious satellite. To do so will be no picnic: watch for a great scene where a few Americans tumble into an ice crevice, which begins to slide shut. Ouch. Edge of yer seat... Horrible way to die: stuck & frozen in ice.Terrific story & cinematography. Based on the Allistair MacLean story. Highly recommended.

JohnHowardReid Copyright 2 July 1968 by Filmways, Inc. Distributed by Metro- Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc. New York opening at the Cinerama Theatre: 20 December 1968. U.S. release: 23 October 1968. U.K. release: 9 November 1969. Australian release: 3 April 1969. Sydney opening at the Plaza (as in New York, London and other major roadshow engagements, the 70mm Super Panavision anamorphic print unsqueezed through a single projector on to the theater's Cinerama screen).Running times: 150 minutes (US and Aust), 145 minutes (UK). The DVD is available on Warner Home Video. Rating 10/10.SYNOPSIS: U.S. Navy Commander James Ferraday, stationed in Scotland, receives orders from Admiral Garvey to take his nuclear submarine to a British North Pole weather station called Ice Station Zebra. Ferraday's mission, which he does not yet know, is to recover a capsule from a grounded Russian space satellite containing reconnaissance photographs of all U.S. and Russian missile sites. Also aboard the sub are two British agents, David Jones and Boris Vaslov, the latter a communist defector, and two U.S. Marine officers, Lieutenant Russell Walker and Capt. Leslie Anders. En route, the vessel is sabotaged and almost exceeds its implosion depth before the crew can repair the damage and regain normal depth. Ferraday's suspicions that Vaslov is responsible are rejected by Jones, who vouches for his associate's loyalty and, instead, accuses Anders of sabotage. NOTES: Daniel L. Fapp was nominated for a prestigious Hollywood award for his Cinematography, losing to Pasquilino De Santiis for "Romeo and Juliet". Millar and Johnson were nominated for the same year's prestigious award for Special Visual Effects, losing to "2001: A Space Odyssey".Initial U.S.-Canadian film rentals gross: a disappointing $4,655,000 (just a mere $5,000 more than the initial domestic rentals for M-G- M's 1950 "Annie Get Your Gun"). As the distributor, M-G-M would have made money on this deal, but Ransohoff and Filmways would have been lucky to break even.COMMENT: We've been in submarines and journeyed to the North Pole before via movies, but not to the pole in Cinerama via nuclear submarine. Not that audiences noticed much difference between this one and Fox's 1954 CinemaScope thriller, "Hell and High Water". Nonetheless, it's he-man adventure, this race to the pole by Americans and Russians, with spies and double crosses and gunpoint confrontations once we finally get there. If you're not too bright, you may not tumble to the identity of the spy on board the sub but this, if anything, adds zest to the last phase. If you're not sure who the baddies or goodies or doubtful characters are, there's more suspense and surprise ahead amid the ice floes. John Sturges has ably directed it all with his usual competence.OTHER VIEWS: The most exciting movie ever made. - Howard Hughes.

vostf Gowd, this is close to awful. Sometimes people lament "They don't make them like this anymore" but hopefully they won't make them any longer like Ice Station Zebra! From the start the movie is slow, tepid and it progresses sluggishly to cruise by 3-4 key scenes (tops), none of which deserves a spot in an anthology of movie-making. I had to peel my eyes open and still it took me 2 seatings to complete the ordeal. Even if you could reduce this junk to under 90 minutes it would only be marginally better since the script is so dull, it just drifts away from a 60s TV series episode.Some smart people must have thought the McGuffin by Alistair MacLean was the story so they didn't care about creating a real movie around it.

Ed-Shullivan This a lovely and classic film that all family members will enjoy in spite of the film being made almost 50 years ago. It abounds with mystery in unfamiliar territory for multiple reasons. Not many of the viewing audience can say that they understand the life of living in tight quarters under the sea on a submarine. Making the film even more isolating is the fact that the crew is not sure what their mission is only that they are heading to the North Pole to pick up some scientists who appear to be stranded and communications have been lost.There are four main stars in the film who come from diverse and cultural backgrounds. First we have Commander James Ferraday played by then Hollywood idol Rock Hudson. On a side note, he was probably relieved to hear that there would be no heroine in this film just the guys living in cramped cold quarters. Next we have a British specialist named David Jones (played by Patrick McGoohan) who Commander Ferraday has received his written instructions to blindly follow David Jones directions. David Jones is happily and unexpectedly reunited with an old Russian friend Boris Vaslov, played by the venerable Oscar and Golden Globe winning actor Ernest Borgnine who apparently has deep knowledge of the North Pole and nuclear reactors. Lastly we have the all time NFL leading rusher (in 1968 and up to 1977) turned movie action hero Jim Brown who plays hard ass Captain Leslie Anders assigned to deal with whatever awaits them when they get to their destination, the North Pole.The cinematography, screen color, script and acting were all top notch. Well, maybe Mr. Borgnine was a bit less than impressive with his broken Russian accent but I will forgive him. There was continued suspense throughout the film, spy versus spy, and we really didn't know how the film would end once we are made aware of what is at stake. Rather than give away the story I suggest you get a copy of the Blu Ray version of this film for the high quality color and sound (you will feel like you are actually on the submarine) and enjoy one of directors John Sturges best films ever. I loved the film as it kept me captivated with both the crisp and colorful picture quality as well as for the remote film locations and storyline and I will be sure to watch it a few more times in my lifetime. It is a true classic film with bona fide stars.9/10 (I shaved off a point due to Ernest Bornine's sloppy Russian accent)