A Glimpse of Hell (2001)

Thanks for the memories!

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Enjoyed this film because it clearly shows the American public that all Military Forces have a slogan, which is simply: CYA in more ways than one. In this film there had to be a fall guy for a problem of this magnitude, where many lives were lost, and the gay sailors took the brunt of all the blame and were not able to defend themselves. In the picture a Navy Officer clearly pointed out the many problems that existed; the sailors in the gunnery section were taking parts from one place to repair another problem. The Navy was not allocating any funds for these old Battleships from World War II. James Caan,(Capt. Fred Moosally did an outstanding acting role and stood up for all the enlisted Naval Personnel and made the stink go away. However, the big wigs in the Naval Department in Washington still stood their own ground. The American public cannot be fooled any long by such incidents and the truth will come out today without any cover ups. Great picture, but very graphic and maybe it needed to be shown.

In 1989, in the USS Iowa, while performing an experimental training, an explosion in tower 2 kills forty-seven militaries. The US Navy looks for a scapegoat, and accuses one officer of being gay and provoking the explosion, trying to commit suicide. Lt. Dan Meyer (Robert Sean Leonard) gives a honest testimony in the investigation, but the truth is hidden by his superiors. In the end, the Capt. Fred Moosally (James Caan) of the USS Iowa cleans his officer's name. Although being made for TV, this is a surprisingly good movie. The direction is sharp and the cast has a great performance. Very recommended, since it hooks the attention of the viewer until the last scene. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): `Vestígio do Inferno' (`Vestige of Hell')

I was on active duty in the US Navy at the time of the tragedy aboard USS Iowa, and can clearly recall the controversy surrounding the incident. Many unanswered questions remain to this day, but this film does a fine job of presenting the story. Outstanding performance by James Caan as CAPT Moosally. The scenes showing the firing sequences of the big guns are alone well worth the purchase price of the movie. There has never been, nor will there ever be a single piece of military armament as awe-inspiring and fear-inducing as the mighty 16-inch/50 caliber gun. The saddest day in naval history was the final decommissioning of the Iowa Class battleships. One small error to point out: during the opening few minutes of the film, a battleship is seen underway(at sea). The hull number of the ship is "63", which was the number of the USS Missouri - the "Mighty Mo" - not the Iowa.

A very frank account of a true incident, told with no holds barred, with an excellant cast. I can bet that the Top Navy brass didn't like this movie very much. James Caan (as usual) gave an realistic performance as the Captain of the Iowa. I was very surpised at the quality of this movie.