Movies - K-19: The Widowmaker

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	Movies - K-19: The Widowmaker

K-19: The Widowmaker is a movie released July 19, 2002, about the first of many disasters that befell the Soviet submarine K-19. The movie was directed by Kathryn Bigelow; the screenplay was written by Christopher Kyle, based on a story by Louis Nowra.

The movie cost $100,000,000 but only grossed $35,000,000 in the US, qualifying it as a box-office bomb. The film was not financed by a major studio, making it one of the most expensive independent films to date.

The Hotel class submarine K-19 was played by the Juliett class submarine K-77, which was significantly modified for the role.

Klaus Badelt wrote the film's militaristic score.

Controversy about the script

The movie's script aroused considerable ire when it was read by the original crew of K-19. Two open (freely reprintable) letters were sent to the actors and production team, one from several officers and crew members, the other from the boat's captain. Many complaints centered on the incorrect and stereotypical portrayal of the Soviet crew sailors as disorderly, drunken, illiterate and rebellious.

The producers made significant changes to the script and the revised portrayal of the Soviet crew was more respectful. Several scenes were cut and the names of the crew were changed at the request of the crewmembers and their families. When the film was premiered in Russia in October, 2002, 52 veterans of the K-19 submarine were flown in to the St. Petersburg premier. Despite many technical and historical issues that remained (caused by the need to appease the general theatre-going audience), the film and Ford's performance in particular received high marks from them.

In particular, the attempted mutiny that is shown in the movie never took place, and is still considered an insult to the patriotism of the K-19 crew. Also, the submarine was never actually spotted or contacted by the US Navy.

Cast

Harrison Ford
: Cpt. Alexis Vostrikov
Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson: Viktor Gorelov
Joss Ackland: Marshal Zelentsov
George Anton: Konstantin Poliansky
Shaun Benson
: Leonid Pashinski
Christian Camargo: Pavel Loktev
Dmitry Chepovetsky: Sergei Maximov
Steve Cumyn: Oleg Falichev
Svetlana Efremova: Elena
JJ Feild: Andrei Pritoola
James Ginty: Anatoly Starkov
Michael J.X. Gladis: Yevgeny Borzenkov
Kristen Holden-Reid: Anton Malahov
Ravil Issyanov: Igor Suslov
Mark Antony Krupa: Georgi
Liam Neeson
: Capt. Polenin
Steve Nicolson: Yuri Demichev
Peter Oldring: Vanya Belov
Sam Redford: Vasily Mishin
Christopher Routh: Oleg Argunov
Tygh Runyan
: Maxim Portenko
Peter Sarsgaard
: Vadim Radtchenko
John Shrapnel: Kornilov
Lex Shrapnel: Mikhail Kornilov
Sam Spruell: Dimitri Nevsky
Austin Strugnell: Yakov Rakitin
Donald Sumpter: Dr. Savran
Gerrit Vooren: Dmitri Voslensky
Tim Woodward: Partonov

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