The Final Countdown is a 1980 science fiction film about a modern aircraft carrier that travels through time to just before the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. It was directed by Don Taylor, and stars Kirk Douglas, Martin Sheen, James Farentino, Katharine Ross and Charles Durning.
Plot
In 1980, the supercarrier USS Nimitz takes on a civilian observer, Warren Lasky (Martin Sheen), at the orders of his reclusive and mysterious employer, Mr. Tideman (who helped design much of the ship), just before it departs Pearl Harbor for a training mission in the Pacific Ocean. Out in the Pacific, the ship encounters a strange storm-like vortex which disappears after the ship passes through it.
Initially unsure of what has happened and having lost radio contact with Pacific Fleet Command, as well as any of the U.S. fleet, the ship launches numerous aircraft to determine their status. After a reconnaissance aircraft discovers an intact pre-World War II Pacific battleship fleet at Pearl Harbor, an F-14 Tomcat patrol discovers a 1940s era yacht, along with a patrol of Japanese Zeros.
When the Zeros destroy the civilian yacht, the F-14s shoot them down. The Nimitz rescues the survivors, a man and a woman from the yacht and one of the Zero pilots who survived being shot down. The Nimitz's CAG (Commander, Air Group), Commander Owens (James Farentino), an amateur historian, recognizes the male survivor from the yacht as a prominent United States Senator who could have been Franklin Roosevelt's running mate during his final re-election bid and his eventual successor.
After progressing through all possible scenarios, and after an E-2 Hawkeye discovers the Japanese fleet that is poised to attack Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, they eventually realize that they have been transported back in time to December 6, 1941, just one day before the Japanese attack.
The commander of the Nimitz, Captain Yelland (Kirk Douglas), has the dilemma of deciding whether to use the full power of Nimitz to destroy the Japanese fleet and alter the course of history, or to stand by and allow history to proceed as "normal." After some intense debates on-board, the captain settles the dispute by "going by the book": to defend America "past, present, and future" if attacked, and otherwise, to obey the orders of the then-current Commander-in-Chief, Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The survivors of the yacht and the Zero pilot are kept isolated until the Japanese pilot grabs a weapon, kills his guards and holds the other survivors hostage, threatening to kill them unless he is given access to a radio. The crisis is defused only after the CAG reveals enough of what he knows of history to the pilot to distract him long enough for him to be killed by shipboard Marines, but this also allows the yacht survivors to realize that Pearl Harbor is about to be attacked. The Senator demands and is granted access to a radio to warn Pearl Harbor about the imminent attack, but no one there believes him. Meanwhile, the female survivor of the yacht, Laurel (Katharine Ross), and Commander Owens develop an attraction to each other.
Captain Yelland sends the survivors of the yacht attack with sufficient supplies via helicopter to an isolated Hawaiian island where they will be safe from the Japanese attack and cannot notify Pearl Harbor. The CAG goes with them. Once there, however, the Senator (Charles Durning) tries to hijack the helicopter with a flaregun, but ends up destroying the helicopter with him in it, stranding the CAG and Laurel on the island. She learns that he is from the future when she discovers the date imprint on one of the food containers that was left behind.
The Nimitz launches a massive strike force to attack the incoming Japanese forces, but before they can reach the attacking Japanese squadrons, the time storm returns and begins to send the ship back to 1980. After a futile attempt to outrun the storm, Yelland recalls the strike force, and the ship and the planes return to 1980 safely.
Upon the Nimitz's return to Pearl Harbor, the Pacific Fleet Commander boards the ship to investigate the disappearance of the Nimitz. Meanwhile, Mr. Lasky, upon leaving the ship, finally encounters "Mr. Tideman" face to face, who is revealed to be a much older Commander Owens, along with his wife, Laurel. The film ends with Owens telling Mr. Lasky "We have a lot to talk about".
Production
Most of the film was shot on the Nimitz with full cooperation from the Navy.[1][2] Many of the crew members were used as extras,[3] a few with speaking parts.
Release
The Final Countdown was released to theatres in the United States on August 1, 1980.[4] The Final Countdown was released by Blue Underground on a two-DVD set on March 30, 2004.[5] A high-definition Blu-ray 2-disk set was released November 4, 2008.[6]
See also
References
External links
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| 1960s |
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| 1970s |
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| 1980s |
- The Final Countdown (1980)
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