Movie Sub Genre

I've long enjoyed movies that take place deep below the waves of the ocean. There's something about the often darkened, narrow passages on a submarine - that claustrophobic, tense atmosphere that I like. The setting alone creates such a strong mood for these films that the sub becomes the main character, its human occupants almost secondary. 

As a kid I enjoyed the 1954 Disney version of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, with Captain Nemo hammering away on his confounded organ (an unlikely apparatus to be found on a submarine). I also saw Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, an Irwin Allen (the master of disaster movies) film that sort of put me out of my depth.... not bad but not exciting enough for a youngster. If anything, I was more enamored with Fantastic Voyage, about a sub that is shrunken down to transport miniaturized doctors into the body of a dying man. Now that was a colourful and dramatic story - thanks in part to screen siren Raquel Welch. Oh, and I can't forget the animated Yellow Submarine, starring The Beatles (their characters, but not their voices). Blue Meanies and holes in pockets are key forces in this trip through Pepperland. 

My first visit to the cinema without a parent (with friends instead) was memorable because it was to see the 1977 James Bond film The Spy Who Loved Me. This exceptional Roger Moore/Bond flick tells of an evil villain who is arming himself with stolen nuclear missile-equipped submarines.... to destroy the world's surface - and to then live under the sea. Easy as 1-2-3, right?

James Bond's Lotus Esprit converts nicely into

a submersible in The Spy Who Loved Me

Some sub movies were set during wartime, such as Das Boot, an excellent if long German film that dominates the genre. Others  that packed some oomph were Run Silent, Run Deep (one of my favourites), Torpedo Run, and U-571. The Enemy Below, a 1957 war sub picture, got a lot of attention, but I still need to give it a look. It's on my "to watch list". 

There were several submarine stories, some of which were adapted from books, that focused more on spies and espionage outside of wartime... some during the Cold War. The Hunt for Red October and Crimson Tide were chock full of tension, the first thanks to author Tom Clancy's typewriter, and the second thanks to action movie director Tony Scott.

Ice Station Zebra, based on a novel by Alistair Maclean, paled in comparison to its literary source, but was still engaging enough, especially with its all-star cast (including Rock Hudson and Ernest Borgnine). 

The Abyss proved that a sub story could be effective without military engagement. Instead, the protagonists investigate and discover a mysterious new species in the depths of the Caribbean. An oddly captivating sci-fi tale. 

Down periscope! (no reference whatsoever to what I thought was a very weak Kelsey Grammer comedy)