Final Countdown..movie

[RobertScorpio]

Just watched this tonight on a local channel, IN HI DEF!. Anyway, I always liked this movie even though it chickens out at the end by not letting them battle the entire Japanese navy!!!....

I think they should remake this movie. And this time let them smash the Japanese navy, then return to an altered time line...and leave it there for a sequel...

Anyway, good movie and I actually had an uncle who was on that ship for the filming. He didn't make on screen, which is fine with me. Before he went on deployement he took my entire JLA collection at the time so as to read on the ship..rat bastard!!!!

Rob

 

[TGTheodore]

In HI DEF? The original was so grainy it looked like it was shot on Polavision. How could it possibly look in HI DEF if it wasn't retouched?

--Ted

 

[RobertScorpio]

In HI DEF? The original was so grainy it looked like it was shot on Polavision. How could it possibly look in HI DEF if it wasn't retouched?

--Ted

Not sure..maybe it wasn't but the print looked real good because you're right..my current DVD version is very grainy too..

Rob

 

[Forbin]

Saw it in the theater originally.

I remember a huge smile forming on my face when Kirk Douglas said "Splash the Zeroes."

I bet that Sidewinder cost more than the Zero it hit.

 

[Mistral]

I wanted them to go snuff the Japanese Fleet. If you like the premise, try the John Birmingham "Weapons" trilogy-a UN Fleet from 2020 or something like that(2035?) gets transported to the Battle of Midway. Its a hell of a ride, a great series.

 

[Mr Light]

When I was a kid this was my favorite movie of all time for some reason and I would rent it over and over again. Having recently seen it again, I'm shocked I could sit through it over and over and it's kinda slow. I guess I just loved seeing the aircraft carrier interiors It is disappointing we don't see a modern day carrier tear up the Japanese navy... kinda goes against the theme of the story but I wouldn't mind seeing that with modern day effects

 

[JoeZhang]

In HI DEF? The original was so grainy it looked like it was shot on Polavision. How could it possibly look in HI DEF if it wasn't retouched?

--Ted

Not sure..maybe it wasn't but the print looked real good because you're right..my current DVD version is very grainy too..

Rob

Well it's been touched up at some stage...

A grainy texture is thankfully still visible throughout, with the weight of the film grain varying substantially depending on the scene. The scope image isn't dazzlingly crisp or detailed, but even with just a casual glance, this is noticeably a high definition presentation.

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/35190/final-countdown-the/

 

[Plecostomus]

Hell I'd love to see a "modernized" Iowa-class toe to toe with the Yamato.

"Guns? We don't need no steeenking guns. Arm the nuclear-tipped anti-ship missiles."

 

[Mistral]

Hell I'd love to see a "modernized" Iowa-class toe to toe with the Yamato.

"Guns? We don't need no steeenking guns. Arm the nuclear-tipped anti-ship missiles."

Once again, the Birmingham books...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Birmingham

Here you go...

 

[Shawnster]

I liked it the first time I saw it. Upon later viewings I was disappointed. It felt like there wasn't much of a plot. It's all set-up. Where's the climax? Nothing happens except the twist ending which is just there.

I guess I was wanting more, which seems to be the case with the John Birmingham series of books. I'm going to have to check it out.

 

[butch101]

I saw it couple years ago for the first time. My buddies told me Kirk Douglas was in this flick, so I gave it a try. The story was pretty good, but... I don't know. I thought it was a giant publicity for "Join the Navy, see what your country can do TODAY!!!" Douglas and Sheen were wasted in this movie. too bad, I had high hopes.

Butch

 

[Lookingglassman]

It was a pretty good moive, but I was mad when they didnt get to shoot down the japanese planes at the end.

The question I had was how was the CAG present in the same timeline he was an old dude? If he was left behind then he shouldnt have been present on the ship as a young guy.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

The question I had was how was the CAG present in the same timeline he was an old dude? If he was left behind then he shouldnt have been present on the ship as a young guy.

It's a predestination paradox. A closed loop. His older self existed because the younger version would eventually go back and become him. It always happened.

 

[BigFoot]

In HI DEF? The original was so grainy it looked like it was shot on Polavision. How could it possibly look in HI DEF if it wasn't retouched?

--Ted

Well, either the previous master (the one you saw) was screwed up and they did a new one, or they DNRed (digital noise reduction) the thing to death for HD which actually looks really good to a lot of people (I'm in the "natural grain is good, noise is bad" camp).

EDIT: I checked a Blu-ray site that I frequent; it seems the Blu-ray of The Final Countdown is also pretty grainy.

 

[WendellM]

I also enjoyed The Final Countdown years back and was similarly dismayed at the lack of satisfying, lay-the-smack-down combat.

the John Birmingham "Weapons" trilogy

Sounds interesting, thanks.

I have two books from Peter Albano's Seventh Carrier series with a reverse premise: the seventh Japanese carrier that was to take part in the Pearl Harbor strike was stuck in ice for four decades. When she emerges in 1983, she heads for Hawaii to carry out the attack. In the sequels, Chinese orbital weapons disable modern equipment, so that low-tech vehicles have the upper hand. There were eventually eleven books published in the series, but two were enough for me.

Somewhat related is Daniel da Cruz's novel, The Ayes of Texas, in which the WW I/II battleship Texas is refitted with supermodern weapons and goes against a Russian fleet alone (I bought it for that "Space Battleship Yamato" aspect ). It ended up being the first in a trilogy.

Victory Games' solitaire wargame, Carrier, covers WW II naval actions in the southwest Pacific but also includes a scenario where the Nimitz is able to take on a Japanese carrier fleet:

 

[Alpha_Geek]

Ah yes, The Final Countdown!

Fun movie! ....and yes, the "Splash the Zeroes!" line is one of those "YEAHHHH!" moments.

Wendel, agreed! The Ayes of Texas is an amusing romp in alternate history also. I especially enjoyed the method Texans voted with, and how quickly dissenting votes (those willing to go under the Russian yoke) were dealth with... Texas style! I can still conjure up mental images of that initial engagement in the Battle of Galveston Bay, with the Texas riding on the... Well... Don't wanna give too many spoilers...

Go git that there book, y'all!!

 

[Forbin]

There's a recent Japanese anime series called "Zipang," whering the final Countdown premise is turned around. A modern Japanese guided missile cruiser (Ticonderoga class?) goes thru the same kind of storm the Nimitz did, and pops into the middle of the Battle of Midway.

They're torn, because we're allies in the 21st century, but it's torturous to watch Japanese men and ships being ravaged. Ultimately they decide the best thing is to get the hell out of there and try to hide in the Pacific rather than interfere.

But when a US dive bomber squadron finds them, it does NOT go well for the Dauntlesses against CIWS and Sea Sparrows. It was way cool seeing a Phalanx take out a bomb on its way down.

 

[Mike Winters]

It was a pretty good moive, but I was mad when they didnt get to shoot down the japanese planes at the end.

The question I had was how was the CAG present in the same timeline he was an old dude? If he was left behind then he shouldnt have been present on the ship as a young guy.

He was present on the ship because he was born and raised as anyone else. When the ship went back in time and he was left behind, no action that he undertook beginning in 1941 until the ships voyage undid anything that happened when he was younger. There was no paradox, just a time loop.

Mike

 

[Mistral]

WendellM-read the Texas series, have the first Seventh Carrier book(kinda hokey but fun) and highly suggest the Texas-Israeli War or Dean Ing's Texas trilogy if you liked the Ayes of Texas. But the Birmingham novels are the closest you will find to Final Countdown.

 

[N-121973]

It was a pretty good moive, but I was mad when they didnt get to shoot down the japanese planes at the end.

The question I had was how was the CAG present in the same timeline he was an old dude? If he was left behind then he shouldnt have been present on the ship as a young guy.

He was present on the ship because he was born and raised as anyone else. When the ship went back in time and he was left behind, no action that he undertook beginning in 1941 until the ships voyage undid anything that happened when he was younger. There was no paradox, just a time loop.

Mike

Remember at the start of the film he rode around everywhere in a limo with blacked-out windows and when Martin Sheen goes to talk to him he's prevented from doing so. Also early in the film there's reference to the fact that the CAG's older self is a mystery man, I suppose a recluse like Howard Hughes.
Martin cadin wrote a novelisation at the time which you may wish to get. Its probably still one of my ten favourite films and I watch it without fail at least once every year. As for the John Birmingham books I've been debating buying them given the premise, but are they any good?