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The Hunley (CSS Hunley)

Threat advisory: Guarded - General risk of entertaining activities

Movie propaganda

In the war-ravaged southern USA of 1864, a secret weapon - the first submersible vessel - is the last hope for the confederates stranded within the Union's blockade. Numerous attempts to use the submarine have failed, resulting in the death of 20 men, including its inventor, Horace L Hunley. The experiment seems doomed to failure until a brave Lieutenant steps forward to command the hunley and strike a blow against the Union blockade.

Armand Assante plays Lieutenant George Dixon, leader of a team of dedicated men who have volunteered their services to enter a realm of warfare few in the 19th century knew much about. Dixon, taking orders from General Pierre Beauregard (Donald Sutherland), will stop at nothing to prove that he and his crew of men will make this underwater vessel a success in the south's campaign to save war-torn Charleston, South Carolina. After losing two crews in the Hunley, Beauregard has grave reservations about the submarine, but the self confident Dixon takes command of the mission. On the night of 17 February 1864, the Hunley becomes the world's first submarine to sink an enemy ship, though tragically taking with it the lives of the courageous men who made it a success.

Theatrical propaganda posters

Target demographic movie keyword propaganda

Film true war drama submarine USA Civil War Charleston

Persons of interest

Armand Assante .... Lieutenant George Dixon
Donald Sutherland .... General Pierre GT Beauregard
Alex Jennings .... Alexander
Chris Bauer .... Simkins
Gerry Becker .... Captain Pickering
Michael Dolan .... Becker
Sebastian Roché .... Collins
Michael Stuhlbarg .... Wicks
Jeff Mandon .... Miller
Frank Vogt .... Ronald White
Jack Baun .... Ridgeway
Kevin Robertson .... Carlson
Cal Johnson .... Captain Hunley
John Fasano .... Storywriter
John Gray .... Screenwriter
John Gray .... Director

Cinematic intelligence sources

The Hunley official movie site
Hunley historical site

Intelligence analyst

Special Agent Matti

Theatrical report

Six months in a leaky boat.

You'd have to be nuts to go out in a tub like this one: it leaks before you put it in the water. The bilge tanks are open to the cabin which is only one and a half metres high, just enough to sit uncomfortably in. Not to mention the fact that it's already sunk twice during trials. Yeehar.

The Hunley is a made-for-cable film, part war-adventure, part historical-drama. A lot of research went into the script and they made damned sure that it was noticed on screen. This sense of cleverness on the part of the filmmakers is sometimes way too obvious. The scene where the Hunley's rag-tag crew sit together in brothel and bond over woman, whiskey and belting the bejeebers out of some passing sailor is none too subtle in getting its point across. Even in trashy Hollywood terms the script is underdone: it looks like a second draft rather than a finished film.

I am famously forgiving of stories that include submarines, probably because of some deeply submerged psychosis (pun intended), but The Hunley pushes even my ability to forgive and forget to the limit. It has a few pretensions of being a real feature film, such as hand-held black and white fuzzy flashbacks, but was never intended to make the leap from cable to... well, whatever. It's cheap, it's rough, but it does have a heap of redemption when it comes to the historical factor. Submarine movies are, in the public parlance, a WW II sub-genre, right up there with aircraft carriers, bomber planes, prisoners of war and the South Pacific. What this movie does is expand the range to include its very roots.

I like roots.

So, if you don't expect anything great of this film it will fill in yet another wintry Friday night cuddled up on the couch with the significant other and a couple of pizzas. If you're a submarine movie buff it has it's interesting points but you'll do better with Das boot (they have just as many shots of unshaven men looking worriedly at the ceiling). If you're a USA Civil War buff this will give you a new insight into how it was fought and won (or lost if you're pro-independence) and you will also be able to point out the historically correct bits to anyone who will listen.

The Hunley is not a great movie nor even a good one, but it does the best it can.