Stars: Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Warden, Brad Dexter, Don Rickles, Rudy Bond, Nick Cravat, Mary LaRoche

Director: Robert Wise

Summary: Run silent, run deep is a term that accurately describes the mission of the submarine in this tense World War II drama. Commander Richardson (Clark Gable) is the only survivor when his sub is hit by a notorious Japanese destroyer dubbed Bongo Pete in the Bongo Straits of Japan. Back at Pearl Harbor, Richardson obsessively plays out strategies that would have saved his crew. When he is reassigned a new ship in the Pacific, he must face old demons as well as the sub's younger executive officer who was slated for captain, Lt. Bledsoe (Burt Lancaster). Bledsoe has the support of his crew and locks horns easily with Richardson, but when the captain disobeys navy orders to stay clear of the Bongo Straits, taking the crew right in to go after Bongo Pete, there is very nearly a mutiny. RUN SILENT, RUN DEEP is marked by strong performances, particularly by Gable, and a taut script. The scenes of the rigorous sub drills the captain puts his crew through are intensive and exceptional.

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A movie's lasting value can often be measured by its influence in the years and decades following its original release, and on that basis Run Silent, Run Deepis certainly a classic of sorts. It remains one of the seminal World War II submarine pictures, and its intelligent script and tautly executed action are clearly echoed in such later submarine dramas as Das Bootand especially Crimson Tide, which borrows liberally from this 1958 film.

In one of his best and final roles (he appeared in only four films after this), Clark Gable plays a submarine captain without a command, having been saddled with a desk job after his previous ship was destroyed due to his overzealous pursuit of the enemy in dangerous Japanese waters. He finally gets another boat--this time with a vigilant first officer (Burt Lancaster), who stands poised to assume command if Gable puts his crew in unnecessary danger. The tension and mutual respect between these two principled men is superbly written and directed (Robert Wise was just two years away from his triumph with West Side Story), and the crucial inclusion of a strong supporting cast (including Jack Warden and Don Rickles) enhances the movie's compelling authenticity. Based on a novel by former submarine commander Edward L. Beach, Run Silent, Run Deepis rousing entertainment with the added benefit of paying honourable tribute to the men who navigated through the most frightening and claustrophobic channels of the Pacific cinema. --Jeff Shannon

Aspect Ratio:	4:3 Full Frame, 1.66 Wide Screen
Main Language:	English
Region:	Region 2
Special Features:	Original Theatrical Trailer, Interactive Menus
Subtitles:	Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish
Year:	1958
Release Date:	November 13, 2000
Runtime:	89 minutes
Certification:
Catalogue Number:	16217 D V D
Keywords:	War, Run, Deep, Wide, Screen, Silent
Genre:	War