The Final Countdown (film)

The Final Countdown is a 1980 American alternate-history science-fiction war film about a modern nuclear-powered super-aircraft carrier that travels through time to the day before the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor. Produced by Peter Vincent Douglas and Lloyd Kaufman (founder of Troma Entertainment) and directed by Don Taylor, the film contains an ensemble cast starring Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, James Farentino, Katharine Ross and Charles Durning.

For the Europe song, see The Final Countdown (song). For the Europe album, see The Final Countdown (album).
The Final Countdown
Theatrical release poster
Directed byDon Taylor
Produced by
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Thomas Hunter
  • Peter Powell
  • David Ambrose
Starring
Music byJohn Scott
CinematographyVictor J. Kemper
Edited byRobert K. Lambert
Production
company
Distributed byUnited Artists
Release date
  • August 1, 1980 (1980-08-01)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Japanese
Budget$12.5 million[1]
Box office$16.6 million[2]

This was the final film by Don Taylor. Kaufman also served as an associate producer and had a minor acting role.

The film was produced with the full cooperation of the United States Navy's naval aviation branch and the United States Department of Defense. It was set and filmed on board USS Nimitz (CVN-68), capturing actual operations of the then-modern nuclear warship, which had been launched in the late 1970s. The Final Countdown was a moderate success at the box office.

Plot

In 1980, the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz is departing Naval Station Pearl Harbor for naval exercises in the mid-Pacific Ocean. The ship takes on a civilian observer — Warren Lasky (Martin Sheen) a Systems Analyst for Tideman Industries working as an efficiency expert for the U.S. Defense Department — on the orders of his reclusive employer, Mr. Tideman, whose secretive major defense contractor company designed and built the nuclear-powered warship.

Once at sea, the Nimitz encounters a mysterious electrically-charged storm-like vortex. While the ship passes through it, radar and other equipment become unresponsive and everyone aboard falls into agony. Initially unsure of what has happened to them, and having lost radio contact with U.S. Pacific Fleet Command at Pearl Harbor, Captain Yelland (Kirk Douglas), commander of the aircraft carrier, fears that there may have been a nuclear strike on Hawaii or the continental United States. He orders general quarters and launches an RF-8 Crusader reconnaissance aircraft. The aircraft returns after photographing Hawaii but the images appear to date from 1941, showing an intact row of U.S. Pacific fleet battleships moored on "Battleship Row" at Pearl Harbor, a sight which has not existed for four decades.[Note 1]

When a surface contact is spotted on the radar, Yelland launches the ready alert, with two Grumman F-14 Tomcat fighter jets from VF-84, to intercept. The patrol witnesses a civilian wooden yacht, Gatsby, being strafed and destroyed by two Imperial Japanese Navy Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighters, killing three of the crew members. The F-14s are ordered to drive off the Zeros without firing, but when the Zeros inadvertently head towards the Nimitz, Yelland gives clearance to shoot them down. The Nimitz rescues survivors from the yacht: prominent U.S. Senator Samuel Chapman (Charles Durning), his aide Laurel Scott (Katherine Ross), her dog Charlie, and one of the two downed Zero pilots (Soon-Tek Oh). Commander Owens (James Farentino), an amateur historian, recognizes Chapman as a politician who could have been Franklin D. Roosevelt's running mate (and his potential successor) during his final re-election bid, had Chapman not disappeared shortly before the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

When a Grumman E-2 Hawkeye scouting craft discovers the Japanese fleet task force further north in unpatrolled waters, poised to launch its attack on Pearl Harbor, the Nimitz crew realize that they have been transported back in time to the day before the attack. Yelland has to decide whether to destroy the Japanese fleet and alter the course of history or to stand by and allow history to proceed as they know it. The American civilians and the Zero pilot are kept isolated, but while being questioned, the Japanese pilot obtains a rifle, kills two Marine guards, and takes Laurel, Owens, and Lasky hostage. He threatens to kill them unless he is given access to a radio to warn the Japanese fleet about the Nimitz. Lasky tells Commander Owens to recite and describe the secret plans for the Japanese attack, and the Japanese pilot lowers his guard and is overcome and shot by Marines. Laurel and Owens develop an attraction for each other.

Chapman is outraged that Yelland knows of the impending Japanese attack but has not told anyone else, and demands to be taken to Pearl Harbor to warn the naval authorities. Yelland instead orders Owens to fly the civilians and sufficient supplies via helicopter to an isolated Hawaiian island, assuming they will eventually be rescued. When they arrive, Chapman realizes he has been tricked and tries to force the pilot to fly to Pearl Harbor, but instead causes an explosion that destroys the craft and kills everyone on board, which strand Laurel and Owens on the island. The Nimitz launches a massive strike force against the incoming Japanese forces, but the time storm returns. After a futile attempt to outrun the storm, Yelland recalls the strike force, and the ship and its aircraft safely return to 1980, leaving the past relatively unchanged. Upon the return of the Nimitz to Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet admirals board the ship to investigate the Nimitz's bizarre disappearance. Meanwhile, Lasky leaves the ship with Laurel's dog, Charlie, and encounters the mysterious Mr. Tideman face-to-face. Tideman is revealed to be a much older Owens, along with his wife, Laurel. Owens says to Lasky that they have a lot to talk about.

Cast
Kirk Douglas as Capt. Matthew Yelland (4th from left).

Production
Filming on the flight deck of the Nimitz.

Peter Douglas was the driving force behind The Final Countdown.[4] With a limited budget and a promising script, he was able to attract interest from the U.S. Navy. Officials from the Department of Defense offered full cooperation after seeing a script, but insisted that for safety and operational readiness, the film schedule would be dependent on the "on location" naval consultant, William Micklos.[5] Principal photography took place at Naval Air Station Key West, Naval Station Norfolk, and off the Florida Keys, over two five-week periods in 1979. Scenes at Pearl Harbor consisted of mainly stock footage with most of The Final Countdown exteriors shot on the Nimitz while at sea, and at drydock for interiors. During operations, an emergency landing took place with the production crew allowed to film the recovery of the aircraft on the Nimitz; the sequence appeared in the final film.[6]

Crew members of the Nimitz were used as extras, a few with speaking parts; a total of 48 of the crew appear as "actors" in the final credits.[7] The difficulties in filming a modern jet fighter were soon apparent when the first setup to record an F-14 takeoff at Naval Station Norfolk, Virginia, resulted in both camera and operator being pitched down a runway.[8][Note 2]

Dissension in the production crew led to major changes during location shooting, with a number of the crew being fired and replaced.[Note 3] Taylor's direction was considered workmanlike, as he had a reputation for bringing projects in on time and on budget, but suggestions from U.S. naval aviators were ultimately incorporated into the shooting schedules with the "B" crew placed in charge of all the aerial sequences that became the primary focus of the film.[6]

In order to film the aerial sequences, Panavision cameras were mounted on naval aircraft while camera-equipped aircraft and helicopters were leased from Tallmantz Aviation, including a Bell 206 Jet Ranger helicopter, a Learjet 35, and a B-25 bomber converted into a camera platform. Three Mitsubishi A6M Zero replicas, originally built for the film Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970), were flown by pilots from the Confederate Air Force, now called the Commemorative Air Force.[10] Two of the replicas were featured in a dogfight with F-14 Tomcats; it was the first time such a dissimilar engagement had appeared in film, with the aircraft's' "totally different speeds...environments and weaponry".[11]

In one scene where an F-14 "thumps" a Zero by flying under and streaking upward in front of the slower aircraft, the resultant "jet blast" of turbulent air was so intense that the yokes of both of the Zeros in the scene were violently wrenched out of the pilots' hands and caused both aircraft to momentarily tumble out of control.[Note 4] The lead pilot's headset, along with his watch, were ripped off and out of the open canopy of his Zero, resulting in a few anxious moments as the F-14 pilots were unable to establish contact.[11] During a scene when a Zero fires on an F-14, in order to get on the "six" of the low and slow Zero, the jet fighter did a low pull up that ended just 100 feet (30 m) above the ocean in a screaming recovery.[11][Note 5]

During the climactic attack on Pearl Harbor, scenes reproduced in monochrome from Tora! Tora! Tora! featured Aichi D3A Val dive bombers, Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighters and Nakajima B5N Kate torpedo bombers.[12][Note 6]

Aircraft appearing in the production
Tomcats from VF-84 with a T-6 converted to resemble a Zero.

Release

The Final Countdown was released to theaters in the United States on August 1, 1980.[15] A novelization by Martin Caidin, based on the screenplay, was released in the same month.[16]

Home video

The film was released on home video, on March 30, 2004. It was later released by Blue Underground on a two-DVD set (with both full-screen and widescreen formats) and a special two-disc limited edition set with a hologram cover.[4] Each DVD edition was accompanied by special featurettes, including a "behind-the-scenes" documentary and a commentary track by the producer and other studio principals.[17] On November 4, 2008, a high-definition two-disc Blu-ray set was released, but lacked some of the earlier background materials.[18]

Reception

Critical reception

The Final Countdown was promoted as a summer blockbuster and received mixed reviews from critics. Vincent Canby of The New York Times considered it more of an interesting, behind-the-scenes tour of Nimitz. "We see planes landing and taking off with beautiful precision and, just to let us know that things don't always run smoothly on Nimitz, we also see one plane, which has lost its landing hook, landing safely anyway because of the ship's emergency gear."[19][Note 7] Roger Ebert commented that "logic doesn't matter in a Star Wars(-like) movie". He went on to clarify: "Unfortunately, the movie makes such a mess of it that the biggest element of interest is the aircraft carrier itself."[20] Later reviews concentrated on the intriguing aspect of the time travel story, again stressing that the military hardware was the real star.[21][22] The U.S. Navy sponsored the film premiere and exploited the film as a recruiting tool to the extent that the theatrical poster appeared in U.S. Navy recruiting offices shortly after the film's release.[19] Ebert and Gene Siskel selected the film as one of their "dogs of the year" in a 1980 episode of Sneak Previews.[23]

Christopher John reviewed The Final Countdown in Ares Magazine #5 and commented that "There is nothing wrong with what is on the screen in Final Countdown; what is on the screen, however, is only half of the film. Maybe someday, like Close Encounters of the Third Kind, someone will go back and put in the missing half-hour of this movie."[24]

Box office

The film grossed $6.1 million in its first 10 days of release from 630 theatres[25] and earned a total of $16.6 million in the United States and Canada.[26]

Awards
  • Nominee, Best Science Fiction Film of Year—Saturn Award (Peter Vincent Douglas)
  • Nominee, Best Actor—Saturn Award (Kirk Douglas)
  • Winner, Golden Screen Award (German box office award)

See also

Notes
  1. During December 1941, the U.S. Navy Pacific fleet was based in Pearl Harbor and consisted mainly of large battleships moored at harbor and smaller/middle-sized naval vessels. Two of the large crucial aircraft carriers normally at Pearl Harbor were at sea on a brief mission.[3]
  2. The first attempt to film a takeoff on the USS Nimitz resulted in a repeat of the earlier incident as the camera and operator were pitched off the deck, caught in a restraining net below decks.[8]
  3. Kaufman as unit production manager was upset that unnecessary costs and unreasonable demands were hampering progress.[6] After problems experienced on The Final Countdown, Kaufman set out as an independent producer, head of the Troma Entertainment film studio.[9]
  4. At the conclusion of the dogfight scene, by sheer chance, the two Zeros spun away from each other, avoiding a midair collision.[11]
  5. In the final edit, the sound of the F-14 was actually punctuated by the scream of the pilot's wife when she saw the daily rushes, interspersed by the sound editor into the high-pitched afterburner whine. This scene has now become part of the urban legend of the film, described as a pilot's "death plunge".[11]
  6. Several later films and TV series relating to World War II in the Pacific have used footage from Tora! Tora! Tora! due to the film's "almost perfect documentary accuracy". These productions include Midway, Pearl (TV miniseries 1978), From Here to Eternity (TV miniseries 1979), the Magnum P. I. episode "Lest We Forget" that aired February 12, 1981 and Australia (2008).[13][14]
  7. When the production crew learned that an emergency landing was imminent, they quickly set up for photography; the A-7 aircraft was safely recovered.[11]

References
  1. Maloney, Lane (August 13, 1980). "'Countdown' Fight Proves Peter Douglas A Chip Off Kirk's Block". Variety. p. 30.
  2. The Final Countdown at Box Office Mojo
  3. Toland 1991, p. 5.
  4. Kjolseth, Pablo. "Home Video Reviews: The Final Countdown". Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved: September 7, 2012.
  5. Suid 2002, pp. 421–423.
  6. Gregory, David. Interview with Lloyd Kaufman (documentary featurette that accompanies 'The Final Countdown' DVD). Blue Underground, 2004.
  7. "The Final Countdown DVD (end credits)". Blue Underground, 2004.
  8. Gregory, David. "The Final Countdown DVD (overlaid commentary)". Blue Underground, 2004.
  9. Kaufman et al. 2003, p. 62.
  10. Cooper, Gregory. "Zero Pilot Journal". CAF Dispatch, 1979.
  11. Gregory, David. "Starring the Jolly Rogers"—Interviews with the Jolly Rogers F-14 Fighter Squadron (documentary featurette that accompanies 'The Final Countdown' DVD). Blue Underground, 2004.
  12. Muir, John Kenneth. "Cult movie review: The Final Countdown (1980)". Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine John Kenneth Muir's Reflections on Film/TV, August 28, 2008. Retrieved: May 18, 2012.
  13. Dolan 1985, p. 87.
  14. Frietas 2011, p. 333.
  15. The Final Countdown at the American Film Institute Catalog
  16. Caidin 1980, p. versa.
  17. The Final Countdown DVD Archived 2010-10-09 at the Wayback Machine. Blue Underground.
  18. The Final Countdown Blu-ray. Archived 2009-02-19 at the Wayback Machine Blue Underground. Retrieved: September 3, 2012.
  19. Canby, Vincent. " 'The Final Countdown' (1980) - Carrier Nimitz stars in 'Countdown'". The New York Times, August 1, 1980.
  20. Ebert, Roger. "The Final Countdown". Archived 2013-03-11 at the Wayback Machine Chicago Sun Times, August 5, 1980. Retrieved: May 7, 2012.
  21. "The Final Countdown (1980, USA)". Archived 2014-04-13 at the Wayback Machine Black Hole Reviews, April 2, 2009. Retrieved: May 7, 2012.
  22. Carrazzoa, Vince. "The Final Countdown (1980)". Archived 2012-06-02 at the Wayback Machine DVDnet. Retrieved: May 7, 2012.
  23. http://clip-bucket.com/arslan-hassan, Modified by Richi from Juapo2Services & Developer by Arslan Hassan -. "Siskel & Ebert org - Worst of 1980". Archived from the original on 2018-01-08. Retrieved 2015-02-01.
  24. John, Christopher (November 1980). "Books". Ares Magazine. Simulations Publications, Inc. (5): 33-34.
  25. "'Countdown' In 630 Houses Hits $6,100,000 In 10 Days". Variety. August 13, 1980. p. 4.
  26. The Final Countdown at Box Office Mojo

Sources
  • Caidin, Martin. The Final Countdown. New York: Bantam, 1980. ISBN 0-553-12155-3.
  • Dolan, Edward F. Jr. Hollywood Goes to War. London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-229-7.
  • Frietas, Gary A. War Movies: The Belle & Blade Guide to Classic War Videos. Bandon, Oregon: Robert D. Reed Publishers, 2011. ISBN 978-1-931741-38-5.
  • Kaufman, Lloyd, Trent Haaga, and Adam Jahnke. Make Your Own Damn Movie!: Secrets of a Renegade Director. Los Angeles: L.A. Weekly Books, 2003. ISBN 978-0-312288-648.
  • Suid, Lawrence H. Guts & Glory: The Making of the American Military Image in Film. Lexington, Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 2002. ISBN 978-0-8131-9018-1.
  • Toland, John. Infamy: Pearl Harbor and its Aftermath. New York: Berkley, 1991. ISBN 978-0-42509-040-4.
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