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:

Japanese | Pearl Harbor | Aircraft Carrier | Uss Nimitz | Harbor

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 / Richard Tideman
Ron O'Neal	...	Cmdr. Dan Thurman
Charles Durning	...	Sen. Samuel Chapman
Victor Mohica	...	Black Cloud
James C. Lawrence	...	Lt. Perry
Soon-Tek Oh	...	Simura (as Soon-Teck Oh)
Joe Lowry	...	Cmdr. Damon
Alvin Ing	...	Lt. 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:

Reportedly, the filming wrapped early on the U.S.S. Nimitz as it was recalled to its home base so that it could take on the helicopters and crew that were used in the ill-fated "Operation Eagle Claw", the attempt to rescue the U.S. Embassy Iranian Hostages in 1980.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When some of the planes are landing just before the first time storm, the shadows under the planes reveal that the shots were filmed in bright sunlight despite the ship being in the middle of a thunderstorm.

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:

Referenced in Time Travel: Fact, Fiction and Fantasy (1985) (TV)

I really enjoyed it

This was a highly entertaining sleeper about a naval ship that happens to go through a time warp and end up at Pearl Harbor just hours before the attack in 1941. Realistic acting, special effects and air scenes really make this movie stand out from other similar movies. I'm really surprised that this film is not more popular, because this was a very unique and fascinating concept for a movie, especially back in 1980. I would recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a good science-fiction film. I'm also surprised that it has such a low rating, I was expecting it to be rated at least a 7. Ill give it an 8 out of 10. Well worth viewing.