Directed by: Tony Scott
Starring: Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, Viggo Mortensen, George Dzundza, Matt Craven
Factual error: Several times during the movie, we can see the radio operator with the screen contents "printed" on his face. As everyone knows, that just doesn't happen in real life. (00:25:00)
Continuity mistake: As the Alabama dives for the first time you will notice that the periscope and antennae masts protruding from her conning tower keep switching from up to down, indicating that the film crew used footage from two different sub dives to achieve that sequence. (00:18:50)
Factual error: Throughout the movie, all sorts of messages are passed over the 1MC (ship's intercom) when the boat is supposed to be stealthy. They've set "Ultra Quiet" to avoid the enemy sub but no-one was any quieter, and everyone was still using the 1MC. Worse, people are shouting commands and status updates, both in person, and over the intercom! No wonder that Akula found them. The only thing protecting this ship was plot armor! In real life, messages would be passed quietly using sound powered phones (which we also see), rather than blasting the info loudly to the entire crew, because sonar will literally pick up the sounds of loudspeakers and people shouting. Let's not even mention classified target data being passed to the entire ship's crew on the 1MC. (00:49:00)
Capt. Ramsey: I expect and demand your very best. Anything less, you should have joined the Air Force.
Trivia: In the beginning of the movie, where it shows a rather scenic footage of the sub about to dive, the exact shot was also used in G.I. Jane. Note that Crimson Tide was directed by Tony Scott and GI Jane by brother Ridley. A bit of sibling teamwork?
Question: The disagreement between Hunter and Ramsey centers on the interpretation of the message that got cut off - Hunter says it might be a recall order so it has to be verified before they launch missiles; Ramsey says it is meaningless because it got cut off, so they should proceed with their original orders. I do understand that the captain was working within a scary time limit (one hour till the Russians could fire their missiles), but I don't understand how anyone could justify not spending part of that hour trying to confirm the cut-off message. Naval command would hardly have radioed them again to say "Yes, we really want you to fire your missiles, we're just telling you again for emphasis," so that means it was not just possible but extremely likely that the cut-off message was a recall order. Given that, how could anyone in their right mind want to cause a nuclear holocaust without first trying to find out what the cut-off message really said?
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Answer: In a war situation, the Captain is absolutely NOT allowed to try and contact anyone, lest it gives their position away, which is why he was unable to question or confirm the order.
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