History Film / CrimsonTide

** During the discussion on whether the Russians have already launched their missiles, Zimmer claims (in somewhat more colorful language) that one doesn't prep nuclear missiles without the intent to immediately use them. This ignores the entirety of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar, where both sides armed their missiles at various points but never used them.

** Dougherty punishing the sailor for not being able to answer the question who played the enemy commander in Film/TheEnemyBelow would be punished himself for punishing an enlisted sailor for no reason. Fact: Superior officers, commissioned or non-commissioned, or enlisted superior are never permitted to arbitrarily punish junior sailors with physical exercise such as a basic training drill instructor would do. This is considered abusive treatment, an illegal order, and the subordinate is not obligated to obey. Further, the officer can be reprimanded for misusing their authority.

** To be fair, in a deleted scene which slightly extends the Court Martial scene, we see Zimmer walking out of what would seem to have been his hearing ... and he very much looks like the board were entirely unimpresed with his conduct and made sure he knew.

* HotSubOnSubAction: The ''Akula'' class. Or is it? Bum bum bum.

* OnlyKnownByTheirNickname: Chief Walters is only ever referred to as "COB", his rank as Chief of the Boat[[note: senior enlisted advisor to the CO and XO[[/note]]. We don't even get his first name.

* DutchAngle: Noticeably used a couple of times in the latter half of the movie.

* ActivationSequence: It takes eight minutes to fuel a submarine's nuclear missiles. It doesn't show the fuel actually flowing through the pipes, but there are progress reports during a scuffle between the captain and XO on the bridge. It's also mentioned that the Soviet missiles, being much larger [=ICBMs=], need fourteen minutes to fuel up. It was an intel report that the Soviet fuel-up order had been given which motivated the Captain and his loyalists to begin the ''Alabama's'' launch protocol.

* StoutStrength: COB Walters is a chubby man (a deleted scene even has Ramsey concerned about how overweight he is), but one who seems to have some muscle and proves stedfast during the Mutinies.

-->'''Ramsey:''' "Mr. Hunter, I've made my decision, I'm captain of this boat, [[PrecisionFStrike NOW SHUT THE FUCK UP!]]"

** The conflict between Ramsey and Hunter demonstrates why there ''are'' two keys necessary to launch the missiles, so that one of them can stop the other from starting WorldWarIII.
** In addition, when the launch order comes in, two officers are required to authenticate it. One reads a random series of letters printed on the order while the other one reads a series of letters from an authenticator kept aboard ship. If both sequences match, the order is authentic.

'''Rivetti:''' 'Cause it takes a thousand yards for the torpedoes to arm! Jesus, who'd you fuck to get on this ship?!

Note on the title: "Crimson Tide" is the nickname for the sports teams at the University of Alabama.

** The officer punishing the sailor for not being able to answer the question who played the enemy commander in Film/TheEnemyBelow would one, be punished for punishing an enlisted sailor for no reason.

* NervesOfSteel: Hunter is almost always calm under pressure, be it arguing with Captain Ramsey, getting ''punched'' by Captain Ramsey or in a fight with the ''Akula'' - he ''never'' looses his cool.

** An SSBN would not be called upon to conduct the kind of nuclear strike the situation calls for. One, to avoid the very communications issue we see happen and two, because submarine-launched ballistic missiles are not considered accurate enough to take out hardened [=ICBM=] silos like the ones the renegades control. In reality, the U.S. would use its own [=ICBMs=], or if time was really of the essence, nuclear-tipped missiles from ships off the coast or stealth bombers.

* TwoKeyedLock: The conflict between Ramsey and Hunter demonstrates why there ''are'' two keys necessary to launch the missiles.

** As much of the film tries to present the situation as BothSidesHaveAPoint (including the final court martial), the reality is that Ramsey performed greater atrocities for the sake of performing his assumed orders than Hunter does trying to prevent them (he certainly didn't threatened to kill anybody).

->''"The three most powerful men in the world: the President of the United States of America; the President of the Russian Republic; and the Captain of a United States ballistic missile submarine."''

-->'''Hunter''': Well I'm Captain Kirk, you're Scotty, I need more power.

* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Captain Ramsay threatens Weps with a gun to get the launch trigger. Weps is the only person on the ship that knows the combination to the safe with the launch trigger in it, and refuses to open it. The captain counts to three, but curses when he realizes that if he kills Weps, ''no one'' will be able to open the safe. [[IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure So he points his gun at another sailor's head]], [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and states that the sailor will die on the count of three]]. Weps is clearly horrified and relents, opening the safe. [[spoiler: Fortunately, the delay cased is enough that Hunter is able to remove the launch key in the CIC, disabling the launch system.]]

** Commander Hunter makes for a competent skipper during his short stint in command. In the end, Ramseys recomendation (which is agreed by the board) is that Hunter should be given his first formal command at the earliest possible date given his performance in this crisis.

* DeathGlare: Hunter gives one to the four officers, especially to his long term best friend Weps, who busted the Captain out and led him into control at gunpoint to seize control. Every single one of them flinches from it. Weps can't even meet it.

** Hunter clearly feelt this towards Weps when he saw him standing with the other officers against him.

* RenegadeRussian: Vladimir Radchenko. Ramsey even notes that this guy is playing a whole different game than the good old-fashioned commies did.

* CantKillYouStillNeedYou: Captain Ramsay threatens Weps with a gun to get the launch trigger. Weps is the only person on the ship that knows the combination to the safe with the launch trigger in it, and refuses to open it. The captain counts to three, but curses when he realizes that if he kills Weps, ''no one'' will be able to open the safe. [[IWillPunishYourFriendForYourFailure So he points his gun at another sailor's head]], [[JumpingOffTheSlipperySlope and states that the sailor will die on the count of three]]. Weps is clearly horrified and relents, opening the safe. [[spoiler: Fortunately, the delay is long enough that Hunter is able to remove the launch key in the CIC.]]

** Commander Hunter makes for a competent skipper during his short stint in command.

* EtTuBrute: Ramsey is surprised and disappointed that Master Chief Walters is among the mutineers.

** Nevertheless, the men have a near fanatical devotion to Ramsey.

* NervesOfSteel: Hunter is almost always calm under pressure, be it arguing with Captain Ramsey, or in a fight with the ''Akula''.