Gregorso

As much as I like Fred Ward and David Warner and the noir detective genre, this film is just a bit too silly. Filled with references to the writings of H.P. Lovecraft, this film seems to be satirizing Lovecraft's work rather than paying homage to it. The ending is way too predictable.

There are lots of interesting concepts (zombie henchmen, etc.), but they just seem like individual characters/gimmicks made for a Role Playing Game.

Producer Gale Anne Hurd hooked up with Fred Ward after she split from James Cameron (who hooked up with Linda Hamilton after making Terminator 2). They worked together on films like "Tremors"which have credits for 4- Ward Productions, so I wonder if that's a company she created in honor of Fred Ward.

I saw this when it originally aired as a 2-part TV movie. I really enjoyed the premise of people forming their own society while trapped in a sunken ocean liner for a generation. The moral theme about society despising the Nazis but still becoming fascist is also good. Christopher Lee and Frank Gorshin play very intriguing characters. Alex Cord, Jean Marsh, John Carradine and Eddie Albert make great supporting actors as well. Mark Harmon is okay as the hero. (Ironically, he appeared in another sunken ship film: Beyond the Poseidon Adventure.) The film also has one of Duncan Regehr's early roles, before he went on to roles in "Wizards & Warriors" and "V". Emma Samms is charming as a girl who grew up in the ship. http://tinyurl.com/cwcqarv She would later gain fame as Fallon Colby on "Dynasty".

The first half of the story explains the history of the ship and how it is found. There's a really shocking scene where the first diver enters the old sunken ship and we see barely see through his foggy diving mask that there are living people on board! The hauntingly iconic image of a diver seeing the lovely Emma Thompson's face through a watery porthole was used in the commercials for the movie and when the movie itself cut to commercial breaks.

The second half of the film deals with the cultural and political implications for this isolated society which has been stuck in 1930s culture. They have adapted their lifestyle and morals to survive. Do they want to be rescued?

After many years of searching for a video release, I was able to catch film on TV again, but it was HORRIBLY edited to make it 60 minutes shorter. The film was obviously sped up and many lines and dramatic pauses had been removed, which totally messed up the acting and script. It's hardly worth seeing if it's not the full 3 hour version.

Peter O'Toole (who starred in another great desert epic, Lawrence of Arabia) is wonderful as the general who knows peaceful negotiation is better than war, but is forced by political wrangling above and below his rank to try to crush the Jewish resistance group. The Romans learn that it is one thing to conquer a country, but it's altogether another thing to occupy it. And don't we still see that to the current day? In another telling analogy, if it considered valiant to kill yourself (& family) just to defy your enemy, what does that say about modern suicide bombers? I recall a bit of controversy when this film came out. Some critics worried that the mass suicide at Masada was too evocative of Jim Jones' cult suicide in Guyana.

There's lots of interesting historical detail about ancient social classes, technology, military strategy - even an example of early political satire shows! This is not just "Hollywood spectacle". The characters are realistically portrayed going through real human struggles. As I recall, the sole historical account of Masada comes from Josephus, a Jew serving Emperor Vespacian. Josephus supposedly got the inside story from one of the few Jews who didn't commit suicide. Therefore, 80% of the film and most of the characters are probably fictional, created to add drama. Even so, everything supports the main story and brings the event to life. The only bit that is too exaggerated is the opening credits in the first part, set in the present day, which comes across like nothing less than an advertisement for the Israeli army.

Oh, and the musical score is fabulous! I remember faith-healer and Christian evangelist Maurice Cerullo had a massive fund-raising campaign to help produce this film. For an adequate donation you got a commemorative bronze movie medallion.