K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
Coming Out at 19 July 2002 in theaters.
Drama, History, Thriller
K-19: The Widowmaker is historical submarine film directed and produced by Kathryn Bigelow, and produced by Edward S. Feldman, Sigurjon Sighvatsson, Christine Whitaker and Matthias Deyle with screenplay by Christopher Kyle. An international production of the US, UK, Germany and Canada, the film takes place in 1961 and focuses its story on the Soviet K-19 submarine.
The film stars Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson alongside Peter Sarsgaard, Donald Sumpter, Christian Camargo, Michael Gladis and John Shrapnel in supporting roles.
K-19: The Widowmaker was released by Paramount Pictures on July 19, 2002 in the United States while on September 5, 2002 in Germany and October 25, 2002 in the United Kingdom. Upon release, the film received generally mixed reviews from critics, which particularly praised the performances and the dramatic atmosphere but criticized the screenwriting. In addition to criticial disappointment, the film became a box office failure grossing $65 million against a production budget of $90 million.
In 1961, the Soviet Union launches its first ballistic missile nuclear submarine, the K-19, commanded by Captain Alexei Vostrikov (Harrison Ford), with executive officer Mikhail Polenin (Liam Neeson), the crew’s original captain. Vostrikov is alleged to have been appointed through his wife’s political connections, as well as Polenin’s tendency to put crew morale and safety before Soviet pride. Discovering the reactor officer drunk and asleep on duty, Vostrikov fires him, receiving a replacement, Vadim Radtchenko (Peter Sarsgaard), fresh from the academy. Bad luck surrounds the launch; the medical officer is killed by a truck and replaced by command’s foremost medical officer, who has never been out to sea, and the inaugural bottle of champagne fails to break on the bow.
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Writers: Louis Nowra, Christopher Kyle
Stars: Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Peter Sarsgaard, Donald Sumpter, Christian Camargo, Michael Gladis, John Shrapnel
Cast:
| Sam Spruell | … | Dmitri |
| Peter Stebbings | … | Kuryshev |
| Christian Camargo | … | Pavel |
| Roman Podhora | … | Lapinsh |
| Sam Redford | … | Vasily |
| Steve Nicolson | … | Demichev |
| Liam Neeson | … | Capt. Mikhail Polenin |
| Ravil Isyanov | … | Suslov |
| Tim Woodward | … | Partonov |
| Lex Shrapnel | … | Kornilov |
| Shaun Benson | … | Leonid |
| Kris Holden-Ried | … | Anton |
| Dmitry Chepovetsky | … | Sergei |
| Christopher Redman | … | Kiklidze |
| Tygh Runyan | … | Maxim |
| Joss Ackland | … | Marshal Zelentsov |
| Harrison Ford | … | Capt. Alexei Vostrikov |
| John Shrapnel | … | Admiral Bratyeev |
| George Anton | … | Konstantin |
| James Francis Ginty | … | Anatoly |
| Peter Graham | … | Lt. Danya Yashin |
| Peter Sarsgaard | … | Lt. Vadim Radtchinko |
| Shawn Mathieson | … | Stepan |
| Jacob Pitts | … | Grigori |
| Christopher Routh | … | Oleg |
| Lubomir Mykytiuk | … | Dr. Gavril |
| Michael Gladis | … | Yevgeny Borzenkov |
| Donald Sumpter | … | Dr. Gennadi Savran |
| Natalya Vintilova | … | Katya |
| Steve Cumyn | … | Arseni |
| Austin Strugnell | … | Yakov Rakitin |
| Arsenty Sydelnykov | … | Seymon ‘Syoma’ Dydik |
| JJ Feild | … | Andrei |
| Peter Oldring | … | Vanya |
| Joshua Close | … | Viktor |
| Ingvar Sigurdsson | … | Chief Engineer Gorelov |
| Gerrit Vooren | … | Voslensky |
| Joey Purpura | … | Georgi |
| Lev Prygunov | … | Ivan Vershinin |
| Jeremy Akerman | … | Fyodor Tsetkov |
| Lee J. Campbell | … | Judge |
| James Clayton | … | Russian Officer |
| Toby Cockerell | … | Russian Sailor |
| Charles T. Conrad | … | Russian Sailor |
| Mark Day | … | Russian Sailor |
| Mark Antony Krupa | … | Georgi |
| William Lucas | … | Yuzef Mankevich |
| Ryan McDonell | … | Russian Officer |
| Pat Nixon | … | Self (with Richard) (archive footage) |
| Richard Nixon | … | Self (with Pat) (archive footage) |
| Nick Smyth | … | Russian Officer |
Sources: imdb & wikipedia