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'Das Boot' (1981) -

Regarded internationally by historians and serving members of the US Navy as the most authentic and compelling of all submarine pictures, the West German war film 'Das Boot,' written and directed by Wolfgang Petersen, follows the German submarine U-96 during its hazardous patrol in the Battle of the Atlantic during the Second World War.

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'The Hunt For Red October' (1990) -

Adapted from Tom Clancy's novel of the same name, 'The Hunt for Red October' stars Sean Connery as renegade Soviet submarine captain Marko Ramius, who wishes to defect to the United States with his officers and his country's newest and most technically advanced nuclear armed submarine.

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'Kursk' (2018) -

On August 12, 2000, the Russian nuclear submarine Kursk sank, killing all 118 crew members. 'Kursk,' directed by Danish filmmaker Thomas Vinterberg, examines how the disaster unfolded and the woefully poor response by the authorities in organizing a rescue effort. The film also focuses on the anger and despair demonstrated by relatives of those who lost their lives.

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'K-19: The Widowmaker' (2002) -

This historical submarine movie also centers on the exploits of a Soviet submarine and the fate of its crew. Set in 1961, the film follows the launch of the country's first ballistic missile submarine, K-19. Harrison Ford stars as commander Alexei Vostrikov (a character based on the real-life Nikolai Zateyev), who has to deal with a major malfunction on the sub's maiden voyage to prevent a nuclear disaster.

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'Crimson Tide' (1995) -

Denzel Washington and Gene Hackman star in this thriller set on a US nuclear missile submarine. The story deals with conflicting interpretations of an order to launch a nuclear attack, circumstances that parallel a real incident that took place aboard the Soviet submarine B-59 during the Cuban missile crisis.

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'U-571' (2000) -

In May 1941, British sailors from HMS Bulldog captured the first naval Enigma machine from the German U-110 in the North Atlantic. In this Hollywood version starring Matthew McConaughey and Harvey Keitel, it is American crewmen in S-33, a submarine modified to resemble a German resupply U-boat, that seize the valuable cypher device. The film's closing credits acknowledge the Royal Navy's role in securing the machine.

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'Yellow Submarine' (1968) -

Released in 1968, this animated musical comedy pits a cartoon Fab Four against the music-hating Blue Meanies. John, Paul, George, and Ringo clamber aboard a yellow submarine to depart a colorful Pepperland and voyage to a gray and drab landscape where the Meanies live.

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'The Abyss' (1989) -

Director James Cameron's fascination with the deep began with 'The Abyss,' which stars Ed Harris and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, who are drafted in to assist with the recovery of a sunken American nuclear submarine. However, once submerged, they and everyone else encounter something completely unexpected.

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'Black Sea' (2014) -

Jude Law stars as an unemployed submarine captain who accepts a job to lead a team in search of a sunken Nazi-era submarine lying somewhere at the bottom of the Black Sea and salvage its cargo of looted gold. Tensions, however, surface early between the half-British, half-Russian crew.

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'20,000 Leagues Under the Sea' (1954) -

Jules Verne's 1870 novel about the search for a sea monster in the South Pacific is vividly brought to life in this science-fiction adventure that stars James Mason as Captain Nemo, master of the Nautilus submarine, who invites Kirk Douglas, Paul Lukas, and Peter Lorre along for the ride in the quest to fish out the dastardly denizen of the deep.

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'The Spy Who Loved Me' (1977) -

What’s bigger than Bond? Answer: the 007 soundstage built at Pinewood Studios and designed as the interior of a supertanker to accommodate Bond villain Karl Stromberg's fleet of stolen submarines. Roger Moore stars as the British secret agent, with Barbara Bach portraying Soviet agent Anya Amasova.

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'Hunter Killer' (2018) -

American submarine captain Joe Glass (Gerald Butler) is tested to the limit after he teams up with a crack unit of US Navy Seals to rescue the Russian president, who has been captured by rogue elements after a coup.

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'Phantom' (2013) -

Loosely inspired by the real-life events surrounding the 1968 sinking of the Soviet ballistic missile submarine K-129, 'Phantom' stars Ed Harris as Captain Dmitri Zubov, who is ordered to start a nuclear war between the United States and China while under the watchful eyes of a KGB agent called Bruni (David Duchovny). The plan, though, is soon sunk.

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'Run Silent, Run Deep' (1958) -

Set in the Pacific theater during the Second World War, 'Run Silent, Run Deep' stars Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster in a story about resentment and revenge and the chasing down of a Japanese destroyer responsible for the sinking of four US submarines. The title incidentally, refers to "silent running," a submarine stealth tactic.

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'Submarine Command' (1951) -

The fictional US submarine in this film, USS Tiger Shark, displays a hull number SS-306, which actually belonged to USS Tang, responsible for sinking at least 24 Japanese ships in the space of 12 months. Otherwise, 'Submarine Command' is a work of fiction. The movie stars William Holden.

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'We Dive at Dawn' (1943) -

Made during the Second World War, 'We Dive at Dawn' follows the crew of a British submarine as it hunts down a new German battleship, the Brandenburg. John Mills heads the cast.

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'Torpedo Run' (1958) -

Glenn Ford stars as a US submarine commander whose obsession with sinking a Japanese aircraft carrier in the Pacific Ocean during the Second World War in revenge for Pearl Harbor brings him into conflict with his second in command, Ernest Borgnine.

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'Ice Station Zebra' (1968) -

This Cold War-era suspense and espionage thriller adapted from Alistair Maclean's novel of the same name centers on the crew of the nuclear submarine USS Tigersfish and their dash to the North Pole to rescue the staff of the Ice Station Zebra weather facility. But all is not what it seems at Zebra, with sinister goings-on taking place at the top of the world, above and below the ice. Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, and Patrick McGoohan head the cast.

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'Gray Lady Down' (1978) -

The "gray lady" in the title refers to the film's USS Neptune, a submarine struck by a ship in heavy fog and which subsequently sinks to the bottom of the ocean. The crew, led by Captain Paul Blanchard (Charlton Heston), survive the collision but are trapped and must wait while the US Navy attempts a dangerous mission to save their lives.

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'The Bedford Incident' (1965) -

Richard Widmark plays the captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford who is in determined pursuit of a Soviet submarine detected off the coast of Greenland. Onboard is a civilian photojournalist, portrayed by Sidney Poitier, who documents the skipper's merciless harrying of his prey. The film borrows themes from a real-life incident during the Cuban Missile Crisis when the Soviet submarine B-59 was pursued in the Atlantic Ocean by the US Navy.

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'Destination Tokyo' (1943) -

Cary Grant stars in this film, made during the Second World War. Grant plays Captain Cassidy, the commander of the submarine USS Copperfin that undertakes a daring mission to place a spy team ashore in Tokyo Bay to provide intelligence for a forthcoming American air raid on the Japanese capital. The film is noted for its technical achievements, especially the underwater photography and a frighteningly realistic depth charge scene.

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'Hell and High Water' (1954) -

Set during the Cold War, 'Hell and High Water' is the story of a re-fitted Japanese Second World War-era submarine that's operated by an American crew and deployed to investigate reports that the Communist Chinese are building a secret atomic bomb on an island in the northern Pacific. Richard Widmark plays the commander tasked with preventing a plot that could trigger a Third World War.

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'The Enemy Below' (1957) -

Robert Mitchum and Curt Jürgens star respectively as American and German commanding officers, Mitchum as the skipper of the destroyer USS Haynes, and Jürgens in charge of a U-boat. A deadly duel ensues between the two men, both equally experienced and determined that it is their vessel that will prevail.

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'Operation Pacific' (1951) -

John Wayne is in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine whose torpedoes keep malfunctioning while attacking Japanese ships. The plot takes a melodramatic turn when it's revealed that the hapless skipper is also trying to win back his ex-wife.

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'Above Us the Waves' (1955) -

John Mills stars as Commander Fraser who trains and leads three X-Craft mini submarines in a daring mission to sink the German battleship Tirpitz in a remote Norwegian fjord. They nearly succeed, the mines placed on the ship's hull exploding and crippling the mighty vessel. A squadron of British RAF Lancaster bombers later finish the job.

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'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' (1961) -

When the Earth's Van Allen radiation belt catches fire, the new, state-of-the-art nuclear submarine Seaview, commanded by Admiral Harriman Nelson (Walter Pidgeon), is deployed to fire a missile into the belt and turn the burning flames away from the planet. But a saboteur on board threatens to scupper the operation, as does a second unidentified hostile sub. 'Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea' spawned a successful 1960's TV series of the same name.

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'Crash Dive' (1943) -

In an awkward clash of interest, a submarine lieutenant (Tyrone Power) and his commanding officer (Dana Andrews) fall in love with the same girl. Meanwhile, both have to focus on hunting down German merchant raiders preying on Allied shipping in the North Atlantic.

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'The Spy in Black' (1939) -

Known in the US as 'U-Boat 29,' this British film is noted as being the first cinematic collaboration between Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. The two British filmmakers would go on to make over 20 films over the course of their partnership. This first effort is about a German U-boat deployed to Scotland's Orkney Islands in 1917 to attack the British fleet.

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'Hell Below' (1933) -

Along with 'The Spy in Black' (1939), this is one of the very few submarine warfare films set during the First World War. Robert Montgomery is the submarine commander who balances dangerous behind-the-lines enemy attacks with an equally precarious love life.

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'Fantastic Voyage' (1966) -

This entertaining submarine fantasy adventure movie features a sub and its crew shrunk to microscopic size who venture inside the body of an injured scientist to repair damage to his brain. Raquel Welch is among the stars keeping things interesting.

Sources: (US Naval Institute)

See also: The best sci-fi films of all time

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