The Hunt for Red October (1990)

 Was pleasantly surprised by this one.

Based on Tom Clancy's novel with the same name. This movie had my eyes glued to the screen; they managed to make a movie about submarines that engaging!

It is also filled with your typical military/naval jargon, that I have come to be familiar with after playing the best submarine game: Cold Waters (2017). Words like: baffles, screws, towed sonar array and many more. 

The movie is starred by:

The Los Angeles class submarine

The DSRV 'Mystic'

The Alfa class submarine

And the largest submarine ever constructed:

The Typhoon class submarine

This movie's establishing shot made me do the Leonardo DiCaprio's pointing meme in real life. As I saw that the movie has chosen the Jane's (an open-source intelligence company) Fighting Ships 1977-78 book. Sine I already have a copy of Jane's Fighting Ships of World War II on my shelf! 

As I can't really recommend this particular edition since I don't really have it. I would recommend you flip through the World War II edition of Jane's.

Overall a fun and must-watch for any navy/military nerd.

Links:

• Letterboxd - The Hunt for Red October
• Steam - Cold Waters
• Wikipedia - Los Angeles class submarine
• Wikipedia - DSRV-1 Mystic
• Wikipedia - Alfa class submarine
• Wikipedia - Typhoon class submarine
• Wikipedia - Janes Information Services
• Internet Archive - Jane's fighting ships, 1976-1977
• Internet Archive - Jane's fighting ships of World War II

HS Kimon's Welcome Party

 The latest addition to the Hellenic navy.

HS Kimon is a multipurpose FDI (Defense and Intervention Frigate). This French-made vessel—named after a famed Athenian general who fought the Persian Empire during the Battle of Salamis in 480 BC— is the new flagship of Greece's navy. 

I don't follow the news that closely however, when I saw how the Hellenic navy welcomed the Kimon; by sailing two of their most iconic ships side by side, creating one of the best naval images in recent history, I had to post about it. Enter Olympias a restored trireme (also commissioned by the navy):

Secondly, the Italian-built armored cruiser/battlecruiser from 1910 (now a museum ship), Georgios Averof:

Now, enjoy the trio that spans more than two millennia:

Links:

• Wikipedia - Kimon-class frigate
• The National Interest - Greece’s Navy Just Got Its Newest Flagship
• Wikipedia - Trireme
• Wikipedia - Greek cruiser Georgios Averof
• YouTube - Φρεγάτα Belh@rra «Κίμων» | Νέα εποχή ισχύος για το Πολεμικό Ναυτικό και τις Ένοπλες Δυνάμεις
• Tovima - Greece Welcomes Advanced Frigate “Kimon” to Its Navy
• Twitter - @kerutya

Return of the Obra Dinn (2018)

Lost at Sea, 1803 ~ The good ship "Obra Dinn".

Actually made my jaw drop by the immersive presentation. 

A must-play for anyone who loves the 'age of sail' theme and stories or neat puzzles in general. Everything about this is Peak. Love the setting, the diverse crew and, the music! Absolute masterpiece. However, the puzzles turn into a guessing game near the end, but I had a lot of fun though!

I absolutely love the sketches in this game!

The soundtrack was hitting all the right notes, simply divine while playing *chef's kiss*.

My favorite tracks are:

1. Escape B 
2. Soldiers of the Sea A 
3. The End B 
4. Murder B

Links:

• Steam - Return of the Obra Dinn
• YouTube - The Return of the Obra Dinn - OST

H.M.S. Defiant (1962)

 

Also Known as "Damn the Defiant!" in the U.S.

I'm back to my shenanigans of watching classic naval war films, after a long hiatus. I don't have much to say though; it is a film based on the 1958 Mutiny novel, not to be confused with the Mutiny on the Bounty's real incident, and films of 1935, and 1962. 

While reading the Wikipedia page for the film– I came across this passage, and wanted to shed a light on it.

" In a contemporary review for The New York Times, critic Bosley Crowther wrote: "The perennially popular topic of wooden ships and iron men, of eighteenth-century square-riggers, naval martinets and mutineers is handled with the kind of graphic splendor that should set a million boyish hearts aflame ... [Y]ou will know that you've sat through a picture that does not make much psychological sense but has the rich and rosy luster of a blood-drenched seafaring romance. ... So, if you're for naval roistering, here is your cup of rum."

This film had a couple of nice frigates and a ship of the line. As usual, I'll share my favorite screenshots.

Links:

• Letterboxd - H.M.S. Defiant
• Wikipedia - Mutiny on the Bounty
• Letterboxd - Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
• Letterboxd - Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
• Wikipedia - H.M.S. Defiant

The Battle of the River Plate (1956)

 

The Battle of the River Plate or The Pursuit of the Graf Spee, is a film about the first naval battle of WW2. I found this British war film to be surprisingly very respectful of both sides in the battle and didn't go the usual route of dehumanizing the enemy. Also has a melancholic ending, helped by my ignorance of the fate of the Graf Spee. If you don't know the fate of the Pocket-battleship the Graf Spee, I urge you to go and watch this film without clicking any of the links or looking her up. Don't worry about the screenshots, I purposefully didn't upload what became of her.

I only wish that this film could be remade with authentic CG ship models.

Heavy cruiser USS Salem, playing the rule of Graf Spee. 

And now the dumping of screenshots:

 

Foreshadowing...

Further topics of interest and the links I used in this post:

• Letterboxd entry - Battle of the River Plate
  
• Wikipedia - Battle of the River Plate 
• Wikipedia - German cruiser Admiral Graf Spee
  
• Wikipedia - Ships used in the film
  
• Wikipedia - Altmark incident