| Actors: Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, James MacArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox Director: James B. Harris Creators: Richard Widmark, Gilbert Taylor, James B. Harris, John Jympson, Denis O'Dell, James Poe, Mark Rascovich Genres: Indie & Art House, Drama, Mystery & Suspense, African American Cinema Sub-Genres: Indie & Art House, Classics, Mystery & Suspense, African American Cinema Studio: Sony Pictures Format: DVD - Black and White,Widescreen,Anamorphic - Closed-captioned,Subtitled DVD Release Date: 09/23/2003 Release Year: 2003 Run Time: 1hr 42min Screens: Black and White,Widescreen,Anamorphic Number of Discs: 1 SwapaDVD Credits: 1 Total Copies: 0 Members Wishing: 13 MPAA Rating: Unrated Languages: English Subtitles: English, French, Japanese, Georgian |
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  | The Bedford Incident Actors: Richard Widmark, Sidney Poitier, James MacArthur, Martin Balsam, Wally Cox Director: James B. Harris Genres: Indie & Art House, Drama, Mystery & Suspense, African American Cinema UR 2003 1hr 42min Nerve-racking suspense surrounds THE BEDFORD INCIDENT, the tale of a U.S. Naval vessel on a routine NATO patrol that ends up in a freakish showdown with a Russian submarine. Richard Widmark is Capt. Eric Finlander, the man... more » |
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Movie ReviewsGreat performance, good film Alejandra Vernon | Long Beach, California | 08/07/2004 (4 out of 5 stars) "Similar to some other films of the cold war genre ("Seven Days in May", "Fail-Safe"), this has a decidedly anti-war/anti-military slant, where in this case the two people who are most "in control" are a journalist, played by Sidney Poitier, and an ex-Nazi naval commander (well played by Eric Portman). This is Richard Widmark's show though, who with his craggy looks and fierce eyes makes the most of his part as Eric Finlander, captain of the U.S.S. Bedford, patrolling the icy waters of the North Atlantic, looking for Soviet submarines. Finlander is a loose cannon, bypassed for promotion, and irrationally hard on his crew. Others in the cast of note are James MacArthur, very good as a young ensign, Martin Balsam as the ship's doctor, Wally Cox, Michael Kane, and in a small part, Donald Sutherland, recognizable more by his unique voice than his face. The sound is fantastic; from the first few minutes, with its combination of excellent modernistic score by Gerard Schurmann, howling wind, and circling helicopter, it captures one's attention, and keeps the tension going in this fine sea thriller. It also has some stylish b&w cinematography by Gilbert Taylor, with terrific contrast of light and shadow. Entertaining and well paced, with every minute of Widmark's screen time riveting, this taut drama is well worth spending 102 minutes of your time on." "If he fires one, I'll fire one"... trebe | 07/23/2002 (3 out of 5 stars) "Prophetic words from this mid 60's cold war drama.Richard Widmark stars as Captain Eric Finlander, the commander of the USS Bedford, a sub-chasing destroyer on patrol in the Denmark Strait. The Captain runs the tightest of ships, stands no nonsense, and keeps his men on a sharp edge. Recent arrivals on board his ship, are Ben Munceford, a reporter on assignment (Sidney Poitier) and the ship's new medical officer, Lt. Commander Chester Potter (Martin Balsam). The Bedford's current assignment, is to track the movements of a Russian submarine, code named "Big Red". After reporting that "Big Red" has violated international law, Finlander is ordered to just track the sub, and maintain surveillance, and not initiate a confrontation. A restrained Finlander grows restless, as the Russian sub runs under the ice. Another guest aboard the Bedford is Commodore Schrepke (Eric Portman), current West German Navy Officer, and a former German U-boat man. An expert on the subject of submarines, Findlander turns to him for analysis and advice. "Big Red" must surface sometime to take on air, and the Bedford trails, waiting. While negotiating through treacherous ice filled waters, the sub apparently hits something underwater, and disappears from the Bedford's sonar. This is the sets the stage for the film's memorable conclusion. Widmark commands attention as Finlander, a man who believes that he knows the proper way to deal with the enemy. Given this chance, he refuses to back off from teaching the Russians a lesson. Poitier, is solid as a reporter, who must constantly monitor his actions, so as to remain in the Captain's favor. Balsam, is amusing as an ex-civilian doctor, just returned to active duty. Attempting to implement his ideas into the ship's routine, and hitting a brick wall. James MacArthur plays a rattled ensign, and Wally Cox is a sonar operator, the only man Finlander shows any affection for. Cox's voice may be recognizable as that of the cartoon character "Underdog". As an interesting character study, and a look at the tenor of the times, "The Bedford Incident" is recommended viewing." Tense, exciting Cold War drama T O'Brien | Chicago, Il United States | 08/07/2004 (4 out of 5 stars) "The Bedford Incident is an excellent Cold War drama that I had never heard of before seeing it recently on television. The USS Bedford is on patrol duty in the North Atlantic off of Greenland when two guests are brought aboard, a journalist hoping to document the life on a destroyer and the new doctor for the ship. Once aboard, the two men find a crew pushed to their absolute limit by their captain, Eric Finlander. When a Russian nuclear sub is found in territorial waters, the Bedford receives orders to track the sub. What follows is a tense, exciting drama that all builds up to a powerful and surprising climax. Don't be confused though, this is not an action movie, but a character driven study about the effects of war on your average seaman. Very exciting from beginning to end and highly recommended for an excellent Cold War drama. Richard Widmark is great as hard-nosed, patriotic, Captain Eric Finlander, the captain of the Bedford who is constantly pushing his crew to their limits during the sub chase. Equally as good is Sidney Poitier as Ben Munceford, the journalist on board looking for a good story. James MacArthur gives an excellent supporting role as Ensign Ralston, the young officer trying to constantly prove himself onboard the Bedford. Martin Balsam plays Lt. Cmdr. Chester Potter MD, the new doctor trying to find his niche on board. The movie also stars Wally Cox as Seaman Merlin Queffle, Eric Portman as Wolfgang Schrepke, an observing German officer and former U-boat captain, and Michael Kane as Cmdr. Allison, Finlander's executive officer. The DVD offers widescreen presentation, but I would love to see a special edition DVD released with commentaries or at least trailers. For a tense, exciting Cold War drama with a great cast, check out The Bedford Incident!" Cold War classic Rottenberg's rotten book review | nyc | 02/19/2002 (4 out of 5 stars) "Richard Widmark is the tyrannical and obssessed Captain Finlander, commander of the USN destroyer "Bedford" in this cold war classic. In the coldest battle ground of the cold war (the frigid waters of the North Atlantic, where even the air seems to turn to ice), Finlander leads his crew in a battle of wits with a Soviet submarine. The Bedford has the firepower to deep-six the Russian submarine with ease, but politics restrict him to hunting it. (The sub is a diesel-electric - unlike a nuclear boat, it's submerged speed is very low, and it requires frequent trips at or near the surface to recharge its batteries and refresh its air supply, limitations that put the boat at the mercy of a determined enemy) Finlander thinks of his crew as an extension of his will, itself geared towards the hunt of the Red sub. Complicating this is Munceford (frequent Widmark foil, Sidney Poitier; I recall his character's name to be "Mumford"), a civilian photographer, LCdr Potter (Martin Balsam) the new ship's doctor and Commodore Wolfgang Schrepke (Eric Portman) a U-Boat ace of the last war who advises Finlander on the finer aspects of hunting submarines. Mumford, who caused Finlander enough problems in the book despite his being a hack there, notices the strain that the hunt is having on Finlander's crew. Potter is a worse distraction - the ship already has its medics - and the new doctor only quantifies the effects of the hunt on the crew. Schrepke is perhaps the greatest danger, because his advice is the kind that Finlander cannot disregard as easily as that from others. There's a climax and it's distinct from the one in the book - I can't say it's better (though each I think works out best for its version).This is a great cold-war thriller, and proof positive that Hollywood was able to look at the absurdities of the Cold War prior to 1989. At the same time, it's still a 1960's movie which makes it look even more authentic - this stems from the bleak B/W film, the arctic setting and the choice of casting (from Martin Balsam to Wally Cox as the ship's sonar officer). A true classic."
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