Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis (1991)

Director: Robert Iscove

Writer: Alan Sharp

Composer: Craig Safan

Starring: Stacy Keach, Richard Thomas, Steve Landesberg, Don Harvey, Robert Cicchini, David Caruso, Bob Gunton, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Jeffrey Nordling, Carrie Snodgress, Dale Dye, Gordon Clapp, Andrew Pine

More info: IMDb


Plot: True story of the sinking of the U.S.S. Indianapolis, its crew's struggle to survive the sharks and exposure, and the captain's scape-goat court-martial.

My rating: 6.5/10

Will I watch it again? No.

I can only begin to imagine what it must be like to be stranded in the ocean with no one knowing you're there until many days later, and even then I'm only speculating the horror these men must have felt.  The story entered into the popular culture with Robert Shaw's incredible monologue in JAWS (1975).  He tells a chilling story that is based on true events.  This TV film does a pretty good job of recounting the events but they are, unfortunately, bound to the budget and limitations of the medium at the time.  It feels like a TV movie but the actual events still resound with horror.  Craig Safan's somber score is nice and it has hints of his excellent score for SON OF THE MORNING STAR from that same year.  Listen to the main theme from that picture; it's fantastic!  I'm really surprised that this story hasn't been told on the big screen.  Given the right talent, it could be one powerhouse of an emotional, exciting and horrific picture.  So far, the best filmed account of this story was told by Quint.  It's 40 years old this year and it never ceases to send chills through my body.