The Worst Film Ever

How sad is this?

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

I would have to agree with the majority that the Navy erred in the investigation and subsequent findings, be it from Old Boy mentality or just covering your six.But I must disagree on the quality of this 'movie', the acting, props, dialogue, costumes, writing and directing.First, and most obvious, all concerned had little information of the Naval Service, protocols or traditions.Second, all concerned didn't bother finding a Navy adviser to point out a few things (previously mentioned) about officers, enlisteds, chiefs and shipboard life - a step that would have paid off handsomely.Finally, although I was unable to locate proof online, I believe this tripe led to the series JAG.In my twenty-four years of service, I witnessed many things and have to agree that the Old Boy stuff does occur, but what the writers have officers and chiefs doing is - land-lubberly and un-informed.One final note: during the epilogue, the narrator states the ship was awarded a Navy Unit Citation, and that the medals were never delivered - true! A citation is a letter, entered into the man's service jacket. There is no medal to present, or to receive.

I was on shore duty at the time of the Iowa disaster and I remember thinking something stank about blaming the turret 2 explosion on an allegedly suicidal, allegedly homosexual gunner's mate. The true cause fell on the shoulders of the Reagan Administration's lust for antiquated platforms (the battleship went out with Burma Shave signs back in the early 50's) while caught up in their irrational enthusiasm for a 600-ship Navy (which never materialized, incidentally). The then recently-elected George Bush would wisely decommission these dinosaurs. The true blame for the turret 2 disaster was old unstable and overloaded powder. The shame the Navy has to live with is the cover-up that followed. A Glimpse of Hell is a superior TV movie that probably deserved to be produced as a major motion picture. The performances are very good (James Caan and Daniel Roebuck are excellent)--- my only minor gripe is the interior shots of the 50-year old Iowa look phony (Roebuck has a stateroom as an E-6? I doubt it guys... and the boat would've been home to cockroaches the size of Buicks) and the ubiquitous sounds of the 1MC I recall are missing. The actual explosion and special effects are well done. Now if only I could only get the A&E Channel to cut back on commercials every 92 seconds...

Is there a greater tragedy than when a real live event sparks a hollywood frenzy to produce a story and the lasting result is a mismash of bad acting, writing, storytelling and overall production value. A Glimpse of Hell (out now on DVD) was a made for TV movie regarding the truth and subsequent cover up of the 1980's turrett explosion on the USS Iowa. As the true story goes, a turrett was practicing live fire when an explosion ripped through the loading area killing many marines. The cover-up begins with investigation that has the navy looking for an answer and not the truth. The truth would lead to the decommissioning of the IOWA and, as the movie quickly points out, guns on ships are no longer a necessity when missiles can make direct and accurate hits on programmed targets. James Caan stars as Captain Fred Moosaly, and it has been a long time since he has drifted and slept through an acting role as much as he does here. His emotions cannot be carried by the silly dialogue, so his furrowed brow tries to convince us that he is a troubled man that wants to do the right thing for the decesased and their families while still looking after the well being of those who remain under his command. The investigation leads the navy towards a coverup based on a proposed gay relationship between one of the deceased and a survivor. The navy is quick to conclude that it was a love triangle that sent many to their deaths in a suicide attempt, and it is up to the good guys to bring justice to the situation. Good grief. The writing is implicitly bad and characters are thrown in it seems just to show the families that they were all a part of equipment gone bad, and men who ultimately do good. The acting all around is simply stiff. If I was ever commissioned and had to spend months along side these characters, I think I would jump overboard and take my chances with the sharks. As Hollywood films go, the climax is a court scene when the Captain must choose between telling the truth or protecting the navy. I will let you guess what happens. I find it offensive when a true story where men or women who fight for a cause (in this case, their country) is put to film with such lack of passion as to leave the viewer with more of a sense of wanting to fast forward rather than to pay homage to those fallen. Every character is portrayed so stale, that I would be embarassed if I was a crew member who wants to see his story put on the big screen.Keeping such an interesting and historical story on such a low level of enthusiasm and effort is truly the injustice and director Mikael Salomon should be put in front of a judge himself for sentencing. To those families that lost lives in this tragic and horrific event, I apologize on everyones behalf that it took so long to bring your story to the general public and when it was finally completed, we had no interest.For those who really want to know what happened, I suggest contacting CBS for the 60 minutes special report and follow up. That segment did the sailors justice.

Warning: Minor Spoilers.Made for T.V. used to be synonymous with "crap." Not anymore. Since Hollywood abandoned adult audiences and instead made movies for thirteen year old boys, serious subjects have been left to the 13", 19", and 27" television of most modern households. 'A Glimpse of Hell,' is one hell of a film that supports my contention.I wasn't expecting much when I decided to view this "television" version of the tragic happenings aboard the Battleship IOWA back in 1989. I remember hearing the news accounts of the events at the time they happened, plus the Navy's story, and subsequent retraction. It was a sordid mess.Unfortunately, this mess has not been sorted out. The movie hints that the BB IOWA was mothballed because of the accident which killed over 40 sailors. Truth be told, all of our BBs were decommissioned after the Gulf War.The reason why these last capital ships were pulled out of service are probably several. First, the Battleships were old (dating back to WWII) and excruciatingly expensive to maintain. Second, the 'Mighty Mo' (BB MISSOURI) was almost struck by an Iraqi Silkworm during the Gulf War, which would have been an extreme embarrassment to the United States. Third, BB IOWA's turret no. 2 explosion was unexplained and unknown. This proved that the big guns were unreliable in the modern age. In fact, IOWA's destroyed turret was built in World War II and could not be rebuilt.It seems, that in their haste to exculpate the IOWA, Navy personnel sought to invent a reason for the vessel's turret destruction. Investigation quickly became an inquisition. Fortunately, we see some nasty allegations countered by honest men in this film. I have no doubt that the Navy will come around at some future date. This is truly cold comfort to the families of the slandered.Until that day comes, this film serves as counterbalance to harm done. Patriots will have to dab their eyes at the end of this well made, non-Hollywood movie which rates a 7 out of 10.