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K-19: The Widowmaker
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K-19: The Widowmaker is a fact-based fictional movie released on July 19, 2002, about the first of many disasters that befell the Soviet submarine of the same name. The movie was directed by Kathryn Bigelow; the screenplay was written by Christopher Kyle, based on a story by Louis Nowra.
The movie cost $100,000,000 to make, but gross returns were only $35,000,000 in the United States, qualifying it as a box office bomb. The film was not financed by a major studio (National Geographic was a key investor), making it one of the most expensive independent films to date.
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Encyclopedia
K-19: The Widowmaker is a fact-based fictional movie released on July 19, 2002, about the first of many disasters that befell the Soviet submarine of the same name. The movie was directed by Kathryn Bigelow; the screenplay was written by Christopher Kyle, based on a story by Louis Nowra.
The movie cost $100,000,000 to make, but gross returns were only $35,000,000 in the United States, qualifying it as a box office bomb. The film was not financed by a major studio (National Geographic was a key investor), making it one of the most expensive independent films to date. It was filmed in Canada, specifically Toronto, Ontario; Gimli, Manitoba; and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The Hotel class submarine K-19 was played by the Juliett class K-77, which was significantly modified for the role.
Klaus Badelt wrote the film's militaristic score.
Historical accuracy and discrepancy with real life
- "The Widowmaker" nickname had never been used for K-19 in Soviet Union. The real nickname for this submarine was "Hiroshima".
- The producers made some efforts to work with the original crew of K-19, who took exception to the first version of the script available to them. The submarine's captain presented an open letter to the actors and production team, and a group of officers and crew members, presented another. In a later script, several scenes were cut, and the names of the crew changed at the request of the crewmembers and their families; it was described by members of the sub crew portraying them as less disorderly, drunken, illiterate, and rebellious.
- When the film was premiered in Russia in October 2002, 52 veterans of the K-19 submarine accepted flights to the Saint Petersburg premiere; despite what they saw as technical and historical compromises, they praised the film and in particular the performance of Harrison Ford.
- The most significant difference between the plot and the historical events is the scene that replaces an incident where the captain threw almost all the sub's small arms overboard out of concern about the possibility of a mutiny; the film instead portrays an actual attempt at mutiny.
Cast
See also
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