Down Periscope

1996 • 92 minutes
4.7
655 reviews
11%
Tomatometer
PG-13
Rating
Eligible
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About this movie

Kelsey Grammer stars as Lt. Commander Thomas Dodge, a free-thinking yet undeniably capable officer whose first command in the U.S. nuclear submarine corpse turns out to be a World War II-era diesel-powered rust bucket that hasn't seen active duty since Benny Goodman topped the song charts. Concerned about the threat of quiet diesel-powered submarines now being sold off to unreliable Third World countries by a cash-strapped Soviet Union, the Navy develops a war game to determine if Dodge's leaky Stingray can somehow tiptoe past the nuclear defenses along the American East Coast. Dodge is given a grab bag of greenhorns, malcontents and just plain idiots to pilot the old sub. Now Tom Dodge must not only contend with an ancient vessel, he must make sailors out of a motley crew.
Rating
PG-13

Ratings and reviews

4.7
655 reviews
Kim Griffith
June 1, 2019
I've watched this movie so many times. when it came out in VHS, i watched it etc. then cable, DVD you know the drill. it's hilarious. I feel like each time I watch it, I see sthing new. but the scene where they are being dead silent & 1 is ripped (sounds like someone dropped a piano). that cracks me up. Not that act but how each crew member chooses to handle it. Dodges famous last words. "Someone find Buchman & launch him out of a torpedo tube!"
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Jason Klueber
December 7, 2013
Definitely worth watching if you like military grade humor. An unsung classic implementation of the Ragtag Band Of Misfits Against Impossible Odds story. Kelsey Grammar makes a lovely guile hero, and his supporting cast all fill out the ensemble perfectly. It's not art, and it's not by the book, but think like a pirate...
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The Sole Survivor
March 9, 2017
I especially like when Dodge made his XO walk the plank. Mr. Pascal, looks like you're guilty of attempted mutiny. That's absurd! These men love me! *singing* Come all ye young fellows who follow the sea, Yo ho and blow the man down! It's time to be bathing Lieutenant Marty, Yo ho and blow the man down! Oh, give me a plank that looks down on the sea, Yo ho and blow the man down! It's a short little walk bound for eternity, Yo ho and blow the man down! *Sinatra-ish* Blow that nutso kooky punk back downtown! Captain Blood, consign him to the briny deep! He made him walk the plank?
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