The Final Countdown (1980)

Director:

Don Taylor

Writers:

Thomas Hunter (story) &
Peter Powell (story) ...

Release Date:

1 August 1980 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Adventure | Sci-Fi | War

Tagline:

"...This is the USS Nimitz. Where The Hell Are We...?" - Trapped inside the boundaries of time and space... 102 aircraft... 6,000 men... all missing.

Plot:

A modern aircraft carrier is thrown back in time to 1941 near Hawaii, just hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour.

Plot Keywords:

Jap Zero | Uss Arizona | Predestinination | Uss Nimitz | Aerial Refueling

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Kirk Douglas	...	Capt. Matthew Yelland
Martin Sheen	...	Warren Lasky
Katharine Ross	...	Laurel Scott
James Farentino	...	Wing Commander Richard T. Owens / Mr Richard Tideman
Ron O'Neal	...	Commander Dan Thurman
Charles Durning	...	Senator Samuel Chapman
Victor Mohica	...	Black Cloud
James C. Lawrence	...	Lt. Perry
Soon-Tek Oh	...	Simura, Captured Japanese Pilot (as Soon-Teck Oh)
Joe Lowry	...	Commander Damon
Alvin Ing	...	Kajima
Mark Thomas	...	Marine Cpl. Kullman
Harold Bergman	...	Bellman
Dan Fitzgerald	...	Navy Doctor
Lloyd Kaufman	...	Lt. Cmdr. Kaufman

Also Known As:

U.S.S. Nimitz: Lost in the Pacific (Europe: English title) (DVD box title)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Color (TVC)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:PG | Finland:K-12 | Norway:12 (re-rating) (1982) (cut) | Norway:15 (DVD rating) | Norway:16 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | UK:PG | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG

Filming Locations:

Naval Air Station, Key West, Florida Keys, Florida, USA

Company:

Bryna Productions

Trivia:

First theatrical trailer from the Blue Underground DVD includes more dialogue between Yelland and Lasky about the consequences of turning back the planes.

Goofs:

Continuity: When the helicopter that brings Mr. Lasky aboard circles the ship, there are aircraft parked at the rear of the ship obscuring the landing area, yet once the helicopter lifts off after dropping Mr. Lasky off on the ship, the captain orders the air boss to "continue fixed-wing recovery". This would not have been possible with those parked planes in the way, and there's too short a time between when the chopper gets clear and when Commander Owens' plane lands to move the planes on the deck. Furthermore, if they had been in the process of landing planes when Lasky arrived, those planes would have already been out of the way to begin with.

Quotes:

[first lines]
F-14 Pilot: [voice over radio] Pearl Tower, Tomcat two-zero-zero. requesting clearance for departure runway zero-nine. Over.
Pearl Harbor Tower: [voice over radio] Two-zero-zero, Pearl Harbor Tower. You are cleared runway oh-niner. Winds zero-four-five at eight. SH-three approaching from the right. Have a nice day.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Tomcat Angels (1991)

Great fantasy war drama

I love this movie. Every time I hit it channel-surfing I think I'll watch it for just a minute and I end up watching the whole damn thing. Some of the best movies take one or two freak things and then play them out absolutely straight (e.g., Big, Back to the Future, Groundhog Day). Modern aircraft carrier encounters bizarre storm and finds itself between the Japanese fleet and Pearl Harbor a day before the infamous attack. What to do, what to do... What happens (which isn't actually much) takes a back seat to 1) an Oscar-caliber performance by Kirk Douglas as ship captain, and also fine performances by Sheen, Durning and others; and 2) the wonder of tactical operations on a modern carrier. For war buffs just the idea of the U.S.S. Nimitz prowling near the Jap fleet with Douglas at the helm is enough. Enchanting musical score and satisfying wrap. 10 out of 10