“That’s strange, Jim. I never even thought of failing.” — Commander Richardson
There’s barely enough room to turn around aboard the submarine in Run Silent, Run Deep, but two enormous egos manage to squeeze inside. Robert Wise’s 1958 war film puts Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster in close quarters and lets their competing ideas about leadership drive the action. Enemy ships supply the immediate danger, but the real hook is watching two capable officers work together when neither fully trusts the other. It’s a gripping movie about control, especially what happens when a captain’s personal ambitions start steering a military mission. The confined setting gives their disagreement an edge: nobody can walk away.
Gable plays Commander Richardson, who returns to sea after losing his previous submarine to a Japanese destroyer. His new command, the USS Nerka, comes with a complication: executive officer Jim Bledsoe, played by Lancaster, expected the promotion himself. Bledsoe knows the crew and has their confidence; Richardson brings seniority and unfinished business. The captain orders exhausting drills while keeping his intentions to himself. Before long, Bledsoe suspects that Richardson is preparing not simply for combat but for another encounter with the enemy responsible for his earlier defeat. What looks like demanding leadership begins to resemble a personal campaign.
Richardson works as a character because he isn’t an obvious fool. Gable gives him authority and convincing tactical confidence, making it easy to understand why the crew would follow him. That competence also makes his obsession harder to challenge. His troubling decisions come wrapped in the assurance of a man who usually knows what he’s doing. Gable communicates the danger through impatience, secrecy, and stubbornness rather than theatrical outbursts. Richardson doesn’t suddenly become incapable of command. Instead, he starts confusing what he wants with what his command needs, and the distinction becomes harder for everyone around him to ignore.
Lancaster makes Bledsoe an effective counterweight without turning him into an uncomplicated voice of reason. His concerns are legitimate, but his disappointment over losing command complicates every objection. Is he protecting the crew, defending his pride, or doing both? Lancaster allows those motives to overlap without making Bledsoe seem petty. He remains dependable, yet his frustration gives that professionalism an edge. You can feel the effort involved in showing respect to a superior whose decisions he distrusts. He also understands that challenging Richardson could damage the discipline he wants to preserve.
The scenes between them work because neither actor needs to dominate every exchange. Gable can make an order sound final while Lancaster’s reaction quietly keeps the argument alive. Their different kinds of authority are part of the appeal: Richardson expects obedience because he holds command, while Bledsoe draws strength from his connection to the crew. Those positions aren’t necessarily incompatible, but wounded pride makes cooperation difficult. The movie gives both men enough credibility that their disagreement remains uncomfortable. It’s much more interesting than watching an obviously reckless captain get corrected by an obviously sensible subordinate.
Wise folds that conflict into the submarine’s daily work. Drills, preparations, and clipped orders show how leadership becomes action: Richardson makes a decision, and everyone else must execute it. The procedural detail does more than establish a naval setting. It shows how completely these men depend on one another, making their divided loyalties dangerous. Some exercises become repetitive, but that repetition has a purpose. Richardson wants coordinated movement to become instinctive, and the film makes us appreciate how little margin for error the crew has. When combat tests that preparation, the earlier emphasis on timing pays off.
The black-and-white photography strengthens the enclosed atmosphere. Narrow passages and crowded equipment leave little room for privacy, much less escape from a strained relationship. Wise doesn’t need to make every shot claustrophobic; the arrangement of bodies within the boat already suggests how closely everyone lives and works. A disagreement between officers can affect men who aren’t participating in it but still have to carry out the consequences. The submarine becomes more than a backdrop. It’s a shared space where uncertainty spreads quickly and even a small loss of confidence can become difficult to contain.
Outside the hull, the enemy remains difficult to locate and anticipate. Wise builds suspense around decisions—when to move, when to wait, when to attack—rather than relying entirely on destruction. Faces listening for information can be as compelling as weapons firing. There’s a tension between the crew’s disciplined movements and how little they can know about what awaits them. The action is exciting because it tests judgment as much as nerve. Richardson’s determination might produce a tactical advantage, but that doesn’t automatically settle whether pursuing it was responsible. Success and sound leadership aren’t quite the same thing.
Later submarine films would revisit that captain-and-executive-officer friction. Crimson Tide (1995) turns it into a showdown between Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington over a nuclear launch, while U-571 (2000) echoes Bledsoe’s frustration through Matthew McConaughey’s resentment of a captain who questions his readiness for command. Neither relationship duplicates Gable and Lancaster’s, but all three films draw suspense from the divide between obedience and independent judgment. They also recognize that ambition can complicate a legitimate objection: wanting command doesn’t make a subordinate wrong, but it can make his motives harder to trust. Danger outside the hull becomes more frightening when authority inside it is unsettled.
Wise’s film has limitations. The supporting sailors register mostly through quick impressions, and some dialogue carries the familiar snap of an older Hollywood service picture. Its focus on the two officers leaves less room for the crew as individuals. Still, Gable and Lancaster give the central conflict enough weight to make that narrow focus worthwhile. Command emerges as a burden, not merely a promotion, and confidence alone doesn’t justify the decisions made in its name. The submarine warfare delivers, but the lasting suspense comes from a harder question: when does loyalty require an officer to stop following and push back?
On this date, 112 years ago, filmmaker Robert Wise was born in Winchester, Indiana. He started his career as an editor (and was Oscar-nominated for his work on Citizen Kane) and then eventually branched out into directing. From the mid-forties to the year 2000, Wise directed every genre of film. He won two Oscars for Best Director, one for West Side Story and one for The Sound of Music. He was also the first director to helm a Stark Trek film with 1979’s Stark Trek — The Motion Picture.
Today’s scene that I love comes from Wise’s 1951 masterpiece, The Day The Earth Stood Still. In this scene, America watches as a UFO darts across the sky and eventually lands in Washington D.C. Though it’s a simple scene, it deftly captures the wonder of the moment.
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
59 years ago, Star Trek had its American television premiere. (It had premiered a few days earlier in Canada.) Today, we celebrate Star Trek Day!
4 Shots From 4 Star Treks
Star Trek — “When No Man Who Has Gone Before” (1966, directed by James Goldstone)
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979, directed by Robert Wise)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982, directed by Nicholas Meyer)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986, directed by Leonard Nimoy)
On this date, 111 years ago, filmmaker Robert Wise was born in Winchester, Indiana. He started his career as an editor (and was Oscar-nominated for his work on Citizen Kane) and then eventually branched out into directing. From the mid-forties to the year 2000, Wise directed every genre of film. He won two Oscars for Best Director, one for West Side Story and one for The Sound of Music. He was also the first director to helm a Stark Trek film with 1979’s Stark Trek — The Motion Picture.
Today’s scene that I love comes from Wise’s 1951 masterpiece, The Day The Earth Stood Still. In this scene, America watched as a UFO darts across the sky and eventually lands in Washington D.C. Though it’s a simple scene, it deftly captures the wonder of the moment.
59 years ago today, the first episode of Star Trek aired in America.
There’s been a lot of different StarTrek shows and crews over the decades. I have to admit that I’ve always preferred the Original Series, with Kirk sleeping with every alien he met, McCoy and Spock bickering about logic, and Scotty warning that the engines can’t take much more. The Next Generation was strong as well, especially in the later seasons. The subsequent series have been hit-and-miss for me.
I was born long after the Original Series went off the air so, like a lot of people, my real introduction to Star Trek came through watching the films. This weekend, I sat down and watched all fourteen of the Star Trek films in order, from The Motion Picture to Section 31. Here are my thoughts.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979, directed by Robert Wise)
In the first Star Trek film, Voyager returns to Earth, now known as V’ger. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) returns to the Enterprise with his old crew and takes command from Decker (Stephen Collins). Spock (Leonard Nimoy) returns from Vulcan is not happy about it.
Directed by Robert Wise, the first Star Trek film feels out-of-place amongst the films that followed it. It’s long and slowly paced and it doesn’t have the sense of humor that runs through the best of the films featuring the original cast. The film favors Kirk and Spock, with the rest of the original cast being largely used as bit players. Even the costumes are different from the uniforms worn in the later films, making Star Trek: The Motion Picture feel like an entry from an alternate universe.
Despite mixed review, Star Trek: The Motion Picture made the most money of any of the pre-reboot films at the box office. Because the film itself was so expensive, it was still judged to be a box office disappointment. The Star Trek films would continue but in a new direction.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982, directed by Nicholas Meyer)
Featuring a character-driven script, exciting action, the best villain in the history of the franchise, and an ending that will bring tears to the eyes of the most cynical viewer, The Wrath of Khan is the film that set the standard for the Star Trek films that would follow.
Ricardo Montalban, recreating a character that he originally played in the television series, is a compelling villain as the vengeance-driven Khan. Montalban and William Shatner make for perfect rivals, two sides of the same coin. At the same time, the other members of the original cast all get their moments to shine, especially Walter Koenig as Chekhov. Kirstie Alley is the sexist Vulcan to ever appear in the franchise and even the revelation that Kirk has a son is handled effectively. Kirstie Alley, Bibi Besch, and Merritt Butrick all fit in with the original crew.
But the thing everyone remembers about The Wrath of Khan is the death of Spock. Even though the movie features plenty of hints that Spock will return (including his command of “Remember” to McCoy), it’s impossible not to get emotional when Spock sacrifices himself for the crew. “I have always been your friend.” To quote George Costanza, that was hell of a thing when Spock died. In that scene, Leonard Nimoy shows that he was the (logical) heart of the franchise. Just as Spock brought out the best in the rest of the crew, Nimoy brought out the best in his co-stars. Shatner was never better than when he was mourning Spock.
Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984, directed by Leonard Nimoy)
Spock’s back! It’s not a surprise. I think everyone knew, at the end of Wrath of Khan, that the Genesis Project would bring back Spock. Star Trek III isn’t bad. Christopher Lloyd reminds us of how brutal the Klingons were before their Next Generation makeover. The self-destruction of the Enterprise is a powerful moment. I just wish that a film about Spock being given a new life hadn’t featured so much death. Both the revelation that David Marcus tampered with the Genesis Project and his subsequent death feel like missteps. Robin Curtis takes over the role of Saavik and Kirstie Alley is very much missed. DeForest Kelley playing McCoy possessed by Spock was, for me, the highlight of the film.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986, directed by Leonard Nimoy)
Returning home after rescuing Spock from the Genesis Planet, the Enterprise crew is instead sent back into the past so that they can bring two whales into the future. The Voyage Home might not be the best Star Trek film (that honor belongs to Wrath of Khan) but it is the most likable and the most entertaining. Every member of the cast gets something to do in 20th Century San Francisco. The film is full of classic moments, from Chekhov looking for the “nuclear wessels” to Scotty trying to speak to the computer. The moment with the punk on the bus is a crowd-pleaser. I always laugh at Spock’s “One damn minute, Admiral.” After the violence in The Search for Spock, The Voyage Home‘s humor, gentle sincerity, and emphasis on the efforts of the entire ensemble is a welcome development.
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989, directed by William Shatner)
Leonard Nimoy got his chance to shine as the director of the previous two Star Trek films so William Shatner was allowed to direct The Final Frontier. The Enterprise crew is brainwashed by a religious fanatic (Laurence Luckinbill) who is also, improbably, Spock’s brother. Only Kirk is able to resist and confront the entity claiming to be God. “What does God need with a starship!?” Kirk demands. It’s such an obvious question that I can’t believe the entity didn’t already have an answer worked out.
The Final Frontier gets no respect and it was probably doomed as soon as Shatner was announced as director. Shatner also developed the story and it’s probably not surprising that the main theme is that Kirk was the only person on the Enterprise strong enough to not be brainwashed by the film’s fake God. Laurence Luckinbill gave a good performance as Sybok but this film really does feel like an unfortunate episode of the original television series.
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991, directed by Nicholas Meyer)
Star Trek VI featured the final appearance of the Original Series cast as a group and they get a send-off worthy of their legacy. Having been previously established as the Federation’s greatest enemies, the Klingons finally pursue peace. Just as only Nixon could go to China, only Kirk and the original Enterprise crew can go to the Klingons. This movie is what Star Trek was all about, with enough world-building and continuity for the hardcore fans and a story that was interesting enough to hold the attention of the casual viewers. By featuring the start of the era of peace between the Federation and the Klingons, this film also filled in some of the Next Generation‘s backstory. The Final Frontier was meant to be the final Star Trek film featuring any of the original cast and it would have been the perfect entry for Captain Kirk to go out on. Unfortunately, that didn’t happen.
Star Trek Generations (1994, directed by David Cason)
William Shatner meets Patrick Stewart as one Star Trek crew passes the torch to the new Star Trek crew. Malcolm McDowell is the latest villain with an ill-defined plan. Picard and Kirk team up to stop McDowell’s villain. They succeed but at the cost of Kirk’s life. As opposed to Spock’s death in Wrath of Khan, Kirk’s death feels pointless and tacked on for no reason other than to signify the arrival of The Next Generation to the films. Seeing Shatner and Stewart together is interesting. Stewart may have been the better actor but Shatner still dominates their scenes together. Not giving Kirk a better send-off was one of the franchise’s biggest sins.
Star Trek: First Contact (1996, directed by Jonathan Frakes)
After the disappointing Generations, Picard and his crew finally got a film worthy of them with First Contact. Not only do the Borg return but the crew goes back into their past and experience a key date in the history of the Federation. After being outshone by Shatner in Generations, Patrick Stewart takes control in this film, giving a multi-layered and commanding performance that still gives the rest of the cast room to shine. Director Jonathan Frakes not only handles the action well but he also shows that he understands what makes the characters click. This was, without a doubt, the best of the Next Generation films and one the best of the Star Trek films overall.
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998, directed by Jonathan Frakes)
Entertaining but forgettable, Insurrection features Picard pulling a Kirk and defying orders from from a superior officer (played by Anthony Zerbe) and going out of his way to save Data from being decommissioned. Insurrection feels like an extended episodes of the Next Generation television series and lacks the epic scale of First Contact. Under the direction of Jonathan Frakes, the ensemble is strong and watching them interact feels like spending time with a group of old friends. F. Murray Abraham and Anthony Zerbe make for effective villains.
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002, directed by Stuart Baird)
Just as the Original Series crew sought peace with the Klingons in The Undiscovered Country, the final Next Generation film finds Picard, Riker, and the rest seeking peace with the Romulan Empire. Tom Hardy plays a clone of Picard who is now the leader of the Romulans. Data sacrifices himself in a move that tries too hard to duplicate the death of Spock. Picard retires. Director Stuart Baird emphasizes action over the chemistry of the Next Generation cast and the end result is a disappointing finale that left critics and audiences underwhelmed.
Star Trek (2009, directed by J.J. Abrams)
I think people forget about what a big deal this Star Trek reboot was when it first came out. Today, people focus on things like Kirk being a Beastie Boys fan and they forget how exciting it was to see Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, Anton Yelchin, John Cho, and Zoe Saldana all effortlessly stepping into the roles of the younger versions of the original cast. The storyline is predictable and Eric Bana’s a bland villain but the scenes between Leonard Nimoy and Zachary Quinto were a reminder of how important Spock was and is to Star Trek.
Star Trek wasn’t perfect, of course. In retrospect, I think creating an alternate timeline was a mistake because it created a situation where, even if someone died, it was just an alternate version dying and not the version that audiences knew and cared about. The alternate timeline would also lead to one of the biggest missteps in the history of the franchise.
Star Trek Into The Darkness (2013, directed by J.J. Abrams)
After the surprising success, both critically and commercially, of his Star Trek reboot, J.J. Abrams. Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof wasted most of that good will by messing around with one of the franchise’s most memorable characters.
There are some good things to be said about Star Trek Into The Darkness. I like the action sequences and the climatic battle in the film’s futuristic version of San Francisco. But casting Benedict Cumberbatch, of all people, as Khan is a misstep that can’t be overcome. That the movie brought back Khan instead of exploring “strange new worlds” exposed the weakness of Abrams entire reboot. For all the hype, did the Star Trek reboot actually have anything new or original to offer? The answer here seemed to be no.
Star Trek Beyond (2016, directed by Justin Linn)
The final (for now) Star Trek theatrical film featured a memorable villain in the form of Idris Elba and a plot that felt like it could have just as easily been an episode of the original series. In retrospect, the film is mostly memorable for featuring the announcement of the death of Ambassador Spock. (The film was released a year after the death of Leonard Nimoy.) The death of Spock, this time with no Genesis Project around to bring him back, makes this installment feel like right place to end the films. For many of us, Nimoy was Star Trek.
Stark Trek: Section 31 (2025, directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi)
Though there have been many subsequent televisions shows, there hasn’t been a Star Trek theatrical release since 2016. The next installment has been in pre-production limbo for nearly ten years. (Quentin Tarantino was supposedly attached at one time.) Instead of coming to theaters, the latest Star Trek movie came to Paramount Plus.
I debated whether or not to include Section 31 in this list, both because it was a “made-for-TV” movie and also because it was so bad that I think most Star Trek fans would rather forget about it. A mediocre heist film that wastes star Michelle Yeoh and which doesn’t feel like it belongs in the Star Trek universe, Section31 may still represent the way forward for the franchise. With theaters having never recovered from the COVID shut-downs and more and more people preferring to stream their entertainment at home, the future of the Star Trek films could very well be a collection of assembly line Paramount Plus movies.
Finally, Case turned me onto this short film:
765874: Unification (2024, directed by Carlos Baena)
A collaboration between Otoy, a VFX company, and The Roddenberry Archive, with support from Paramount, 765874: Unification is a 10-minute short film that imagines Kirk meeting Spock in the afterlife. Shatner returns as Kirk, de-aged with CGI. Just as Kirk and Spock were friends in the film, the same was true of Shatner and Nimoy in real life. (You only have to compare Nimoy’s comments about Shatner with George Takei’s endlessly bitter takes to see what true class actually is.) This short film gives both characters the finale that they deserved.
It’s possible that we may never see another true Star Trek film. Most of the original cast is gone now. Patrick Stewart will always be Picard but even he is now approaching 90. But whatever the future may hold, I’m happy for the films that Star Trek gave us.
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
59 years ago, Star Trek had its American television premiere. (It had premiered a few days earlier in Canada.) Today, we celebrate Star Trek Day!
4 Shots From 4 Films
Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979, directed by Robert Wise)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982, directed by Nicholas Meyer)
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986, directed by Nicholas Meyer)
8 Shots From 8 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 8 Shots From 8 Films lets the visuals do the talking!
My list of my favorite Best Picture winners is a fluid one. There are a few — like All About Eve, It Happened One Night, the two Godfathers — that are always on the list. I love these four films with all my heart. Then there are films like No Country For Old Men that I think about and say, “Of course that’s going on the list!” There are other films that have snuck up on me. Until I was making out this list, I didn’t realize how much I truly did like Coda.
Anyway, here’s my top 8!
8 Shots From 8 Oscar-Winning Films
It Happened One Night (1934, dir by Frank Capra, DP: Joseph Walker)
Casablanca (1942, dir by Michael Curtiz, DP: Arthur Edeson)
All About Eve (1950, dir by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, DP: Milton R. Krassner)
West Side Story (1961, dir by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, DP: Daniel L. Fapp)
The Godfather (1972, dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Gordon Willis)
The Godfather Part II (dir by Francis Ford Coppola, DP: Gordon Willis)
No Country For Old Men (2007, dir by Joel and Ethan Coen, DP: Roger Deakins)
CODA (2021, dir by Sian Heder, DP: Paula Huidobro)
On this date, 109 years ago, filmmaker Robert Wise was born in Winchester, Indiana. He started his career as an editor (and was Oscar-nominated for his work on Citizen Kane) and then eventually branched out into directing. From the mid-forties to the year 2000, Wise directed every genre of film. He won two Oscars for Best Director, one for West Side Story and one for The Sound of Music. He was also the first director to helm a Stark Trek film with 1979’s Stark Trek — The Motion Picture.
Today’s scene that I love comes from Wise’s 1951 masterpiece, The Day The Earth Stood Still. In this scene, America watched as a UFO darts across the sky and eventually lands in Washington D.C. Though it’s a simple scene, it deftly captures the wonder of the moment.
The 1977 film, Audrey Rose, tells the story of an annoying little girl named Ivy (Susan Swift), who is the daughter of annoying Janice (Marsha Mason) and annoying Bill (John Beck). Everything seems to be perfectly normal in an annoying way until, one day, they notice that they’re being followed around by an annoying man named Elliott (Anthony Hopkins). Elliott explains that Ivy is the reincarnation of his daughter, Audrey Rose, who was herself kind of annoying. Whenever Elliott says, “Audrey Rose,” Ivy going into a trance and starts screaming, which gets a bit annoying after a while. Elliott explains this is because Audrey died in a fiery car crash and was apparently reincarnated too soon after her death. Therefore, anytime Elliott shows us, Ivy relives the crash and tries to burn herself. Annoying!
To me, it seems like there’s a simple solution to all of this. Elliott could just go away or, at the very least, stop saying, “Audrey Rose” every ten seconds. Anyway, at one point, Ivy starts screaming so Elliott rushes into the apartment and makes her stop. However, Elliott is accused of attempting to abduct Ivy, arrested, and put on trial.
Elliott’s defense is that he couldn’t abduct his own daughter so therefore, if Ivy is the reincarnation of Audrey Rose, then he’s innocent. Somehow, this leads to the trial becoming about proving reincarnation. Hindu holy men are called to the stand. Elliott smirks and tells his lawyer to call Janice to the stand because he’s figured out that Janice believes him. Meanwhile, Ivy finds herself drawn towards every fire that she sees…
Audrey Rose was directed by a legitimately great director, Robert Wise. Unfortunately, Wise takes the material way too seriously. Just when you think the film is going to be an over the top possessed child flick, it suddenly turns into a turgid and serious debate about reincarnation. The movie is so busy trying to be realistic that it forgets to be fun.
There’s also a lot of yelling in Audrey Rose. In between Ivy screaming and Elliott continually calling his dead daughter’s name and Bill arguing with Janice and random characters screaming whenever Ivy gets to close to a fire, it’s easy to get a headache while watching this film.
Mason and Beck are pretty lousy in the roles of Janice and Bill. Hopkins brings an occasionally neurotic edge to the role of Elliott. You never quite trust him, even though the movie wants you to. The best performances in the film come from the performers in the minor roles, character actors like Norman Lloyd, Robert Walden, and John Hillerman. None of them are required to pretend like they’re taking their dialogue seriously and, as such, they’re a lot more fun to watch.
All in all, Audrey Rose is a fairly silly movie. For some reason (probably the presence of Hopkins), it does seem to show up on TCM fairly regularly but I wouldn’t recommend watching. If you want to see a good Robert Wise horror movie, check out The Haunting.
4 Shots From 4 Films is just what it says it is, 4 shots from 4 of our favorite films. As opposed to the reviews and recaps that we usually post, 4 Shots From 4 Films lets the visuals do the talking.
Today is Oscar Sunday! Tonight, a new film will join the exclusive list of the 90 previous best picture winners!
Sometimes, we spend so much time focusing on the winners that shouldn’t have won that we forget that some truly great films have managed to take the top prize. So, with this edition of 4 Shots From 4 Films, I’m highlighting for the four best Best Picture winners!
4 Shots From 4 Films
All About Eve (1950, dir by Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
The Godfather Saga (1972 and 1974, dir by Francis Ford Coppola)
It Happened One Night (1934, dir by Frank Capra)
West Side Story (1961, dir by Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins)
