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Glimpse of Hell, A
Fox // PG-13 // February 26, 2002
List Price: $34.99 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
James Caan and Robert Sean Leonard (Dead Poets' Society) star in A Glimpse of Hell, a film adaptation of the true story of a deadly explosion on board the battleship U.S.S. Iowa in 1989. Leonard is Lt. Meyer, a young officer eager to impress his captain (Caan) as he takes his new position as commander of a gun turret on the Iowa. But his assignment doesn't turn out quite the way he had expected; the legendary battleship, the "point of the sword," is aging and badly-repaired, and its captain is hands-off to the point of being disconnected from what's going on in his own ship. Even so, Lt. Meyer feels that he can carve out a place for himself on the Iowa... until tragedy forces him into conflicts that he had never anticipated.
A Glimpse of Hell is immediately engaging, with its tight focus on the character of Lt. Meyer making it easy for the viewer to keep track of who's who as the plot progresses. In the first two-thirds of the film, the several virtues of A Glimpse of Hell become apparent: an excellent screenplay, high-quality actors who turn in strong performances, nicely-done cinematography, and skilful directing. The adjective that comes to mind is "well-crafted," and in its opening and middle of the film, A Glimpse of Hell can be compared favorably to excellent military thrillers like Crimson Tide.
It's in the last third of the movie that A Glimpse of Hell fails to pay off as handsomely as it promised in the beginning. In a way, the film is a victim of its own success; it builds up the tension admirably, but the concluding events don't live up to the initial buildup. Ironically, this may be a consequence of the film's "based on a true story" identity: director Mikael Salomon does an excellent job of dramatizing the events of the story, but when it comes to the conclusion, he's limited to what actually happened... and what actually happened is relatively predictable and just doesn't have as much punch as one could hope for.
Interestingly, A Glimpse of Hell was originally made for television, but it's certainly not the stereotypical "made for TV movie." The production values in the casting, screenplay, cinematography, and directing all say "feature film"; the only area that shows its made-for-TV origins is the special effects, which are clearly low-budget. But A Glimpse of Hell is a character and situation movie, not an "effects" movie, and the special effects are tastefully handled on the whole.
Video
A Glimpse of Hell's anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer is more than respectable. There's not a hint of edge enhancement in sight, and the print is clean and free of both noise and flaws, though there is a slight touch of grain in the image. The picture is very sharp overall, with excellent contrast, which is helpful considering that much of the action takes place inside a battleship, where the lighting conditions are challenging. A Glimpse of Hell does fall a little short whenever real-life TV footage is included in the film; it hasn't been cleaned up to fit the image quality of the rest of the film, so it sticks out clearly as inserted "outside" material.
Audio
I was quite impressed by the audio quality of this DVD. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby 5.1, and all the channels are put to good use. Surround effects are used effectively throughout the movie, both for special effects and for a general sense of audio immersion in the world of the film. The dialogue is always crisp and clear.
Extras
It's almost a bare-bones disc; the only special feature is a set of trailers for other Fox films.
Final thoughts
A Glimpse of Hell is notable for its overall quality workmanship. The performances, the directing, and the general craftsmanship with which the film is put together mean that while it's not spectacular, it's is an enjoyable production; and at a brief 85 minutes, it never bogs down. While it's not perfect, A Glimpse of Hell makes for an entertaining evening's viewing.
A Glimpse of Hell is immediately engaging, with its tight focus on the character of Lt. Meyer making it easy for the viewer to keep track of who's who as the plot progresses. In the first two-thirds of the film, the several virtues of A Glimpse of Hell become apparent: an excellent screenplay, high-quality actors who turn in strong performances, nicely-done cinematography, and skilful directing. The adjective that comes to mind is "well-crafted," and in its opening and middle of the film, A Glimpse of Hell can be compared favorably to excellent military thrillers like Crimson Tide.
It's in the last third of the movie that A Glimpse of Hell fails to pay off as handsomely as it promised in the beginning. In a way, the film is a victim of its own success; it builds up the tension admirably, but the concluding events don't live up to the initial buildup. Ironically, this may be a consequence of the film's "based on a true story" identity: director Mikael Salomon does an excellent job of dramatizing the events of the story, but when it comes to the conclusion, he's limited to what actually happened... and what actually happened is relatively predictable and just doesn't have as much punch as one could hope for.
Interestingly, A Glimpse of Hell was originally made for television, but it's certainly not the stereotypical "made for TV movie." The production values in the casting, screenplay, cinematography, and directing all say "feature film"; the only area that shows its made-for-TV origins is the special effects, which are clearly low-budget. But A Glimpse of Hell is a character and situation movie, not an "effects" movie, and the special effects are tastefully handled on the whole.
Video
A Glimpse of Hell's anamorphic 1.85:1 widescreen transfer is more than respectable. There's not a hint of edge enhancement in sight, and the print is clean and free of both noise and flaws, though there is a slight touch of grain in the image. The picture is very sharp overall, with excellent contrast, which is helpful considering that much of the action takes place inside a battleship, where the lighting conditions are challenging. A Glimpse of Hell does fall a little short whenever real-life TV footage is included in the film; it hasn't been cleaned up to fit the image quality of the rest of the film, so it sticks out clearly as inserted "outside" material.
Audio
I was quite impressed by the audio quality of this DVD. The soundtrack is presented in Dolby 5.1, and all the channels are put to good use. Surround effects are used effectively throughout the movie, both for special effects and for a general sense of audio immersion in the world of the film. The dialogue is always crisp and clear.
Extras
It's almost a bare-bones disc; the only special feature is a set of trailers for other Fox films.
Final thoughts
A Glimpse of Hell is notable for its overall quality workmanship. The performances, the directing, and the general craftsmanship with which the film is put together mean that while it's not spectacular, it's is an enjoyable production; and at a brief 85 minutes, it never bogs down. While it's not perfect, A Glimpse of Hell makes for an entertaining evening's viewing.
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