Ice Station Zebra Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
It's a race for the secret ... or TOTAL DESTRUCTION
"Ice Station Zebra"... Remember The Name -- Your Life May Depend On It!
An American nuclear sub.. a sky full of Russian paratroopers--and a race for the secret of Ice Station Zebra!
Commander James Ferraday, USN, has new orders: get David Jones, a British civilian, Captain Anders, a tough Marine with a platoon of troops, Boris Vasilov, a friendly Russian, and the crew of the nuclear sub USS Tigerfish to the North Pole to rescue the crew of Drift Ice Station Zebra, a weather station at the top of the world. The mission takes on new and dangerous twists as the crew finds out that all is not as it seems at Zebra, and that someone will stop at nothing to prevent the mission from being completed.
| Rock Hudson | Cdr. James Ferraday |
| Ernest Borgnine | Boris Vaslov |
| Patrick McGoohan | David Jones |
| Jim Brown | Capt. Leslie Anders |
| Tony Bill | Lt. Russell Walker |
| Lloyd Nolan | Admiral Garvey |
| Alf Kjellin | Col. Ostrovsky |
| Gerald S. O'Loughlin | Lt. Cdr. Bob Raeburn |
| Ted Hartley | Lt. Jonathan Hansen |
| Murray Rose | Lt. George Mills |
| Ron Masak | Paul Zabrinczski |
| Sherwood Price | Lt. Edgar Hackett |
| Lee Stanley | Lt. Mitgang |
| Joseph Bernard | Dr. Jack Benning |
| John Orchard | Survivor |
| John Sturges |
6.40 out of 10 (2482 votes)
Visitor Reviews
desperately seeking a remake
posted on 07 Jun 2009The book is my favourite book ever, I have read it about 10 times over 20plus years and still find it new and intriguing every time, but the film is amongst my worst films ever: it is so appallingly unlike the book: so many strong characters that were missed and smashing plot twists and turns that have kept me re-reading and when I discovered that the film was available, I was really excited. Talk about disappointment. To me it was just a vehicle for the actors to do some acting and not to make a film of a smashing story.I know that the book and the film are never exactly the same for all sorts of reasons but the film can still be good and exciting, even if they don't follow the book's plots and twists: compare with the Jason Bourne films and books, fantastic books and fantastic films.I have wanted to say something about this film for ages, now with the power of the internet, I find that outlet to get it out of my system.
Big buget, top cast, great music, super-wide screen - Wow!
posted on 14 Apr 2009Big-budget, all-star, action-packed adventure about an American submarine sent to the North Pole to retrieve a downed satellite which contains a roll of film. The Russians want it as badly as the Americans because the film contains high-orbit pictures of BOTH country's missile sites.Rock Hudson is the sub commander, Patrick McGoohan is the cynical secret agent with a dry wit (a roll he made famous in two famous British TV shows, `The Secret Agent' and `The Prisoner'), Jim Brown is a hard-nosed Marine captain, and Earnest Borgnine is a Russian defector working with McGoohan and the Americans to retrieve the valuable film.The special effects of the Russian jets could have been much better, even in 1968. But the fantastic exterior arctic sets create a stylized North Pole as appealing as the sets of Altair 4 in `Forbidden Planet'. Sure they don't look `real' -- but that's doesn't mean they don't look good. And brother, they sure look BIG. Furthermore, these sets don't just sit there, they actually DO neat stuff: hugh blocks of ice converge and threaten to crush the sub's conning tower, and the conning tower raises and lowers through cracks in the ice! Dynamite score by Michel LeGrand. Sterling screenplay by Douglas Heyes, riddled with sharp dialogue that the fine cast delivers perfectly (I love it when McGoohan tells Hudson that the film invented by America's German scientists was put into the camera invented by Britain's German scientists and sent up in the satellite invented by the Russian's German scientists.
Funny. Based on Alistair MacLean's best-selling novel. A genuine techno-thriller that predated Tom Clancy's work. And it was originally released at Cinerama theaters! Gotta love it . . .
Better than its reputation
posted on 02 Apr 2009The years haven't been kind to Ice Station Zebra; today it's mainly known as crazy Howard Hughes's favorite movie, or the film that pushed 2001: A Space Odyssey out of theaters. It's notorious for its glacial (ha ha) pacing, static compositions, wooden performances and sub-par special effects. I had seen it long ago on television (chopped up and panned/scanned) and didn't remember it being all that interesting. I decided to re-watch it recently after listening to a recording of Michel Legrand's excellent score.Guess what? I liked it.ISZ isn't a great film by any stretch of the imagination. The plot is pretty thin and it feels padded; it's probably at least half an hour longer than it needs to be. Once you get past the laborious opening scenes, though, it's hard not to be drawn into the story. A real submarine was used for exterior shots and there are some amazing POV shots of diving and surfacing. The interiors are amazingly detailed and you have a vivid sense of what life on a submarine would be like. The characters behave with quiet military dignity and treat each other with respect; the expected scenes of clichéd stock characters among the crew are blissfully absent. The control room scenes crackle with technical dialogue which isn't dumbed down.Certainly, ISZ's weakest element is the fake arctic scenery used in the final scenes. Although the initial shots of the crew struggling through a storm are convincing, once the weather clears up it's painfully obvious that nobody is really cold. The set, though impressively large, looks like a Star Trek TOS planet in many shots. Compare this to the real arctic location filming in The Empire Strikes Back; the difference is enormous. But the finale is tense enough to allow one to forgive the artificial scenery.If you're weary of the absurd stunts, endless explosions, and baby-faced actors in current action films, give this one a try.
A Ripping Good Cold War Yarn
posted on 21 Nov 2008This movie is a FAR better and more believable story than any of the cold-war James Bond pictures of the same period. All of the actors involved here are at the top of their game, especially Rock Hudson, who portrays a nuclear submarine captain as if he was born to it.A very believable story, well acted, with lots of action sequences interspersed with tightly-delivered dialog. Ice Station Zebra moves along at a crisp pace, and builds to a gripping climax.This movie is NOT to be missed if you like nuclear submarines, cold-war epics, or just well-acted and written movies in general.
It's cold out there
posted on 10 Oct 2008Hadn't heard anything about the movie before I went to see it (a 70mm copy nonetheless, which made quite an impression on all of the viewing audience) and was pleasantly surprised. Although it takes some twist and turns and never seems to have a clear vision (with all that snow storms it seems inevitable) ...It's a thriller/disaster movie mix that worked for me, but I can see that some people might feel otherwise. You just have to let yourself into that experience. But then again that's easier said than done (sometimes). So can I recommend it to anyone without hesitation? No, but if you like the "mix", then watch it ... After 10 minutes you should have figured out, if you'll like it or not (you could easily stop watching there if you want)
Doesn't Even Look Cold
posted on 13 Sep 2008This is one of those movies worth watching for nostalgia value. The premise is ridiculous, even outdated by 1968, as are the special effects. I heard the famous story about them pulling 2001 out of Cinerama theaters for this, which is kinda like replacing a laptop with a fountain pen and yellow legal pad. Still, I like watching Jim Brown in anything, and Patrick McGoohan is a great actor, both of these guys have great screen presence. Rock Hudson just plays himself.Trouble with many films made before the 80s is the lousy art direction. You never feel like you are on a submarine. The arctic outpost looks clumsy too, and the ice doesn't look cold.
Classic Cold War Thriller!
posted on 29 Aug 2008Classic Cold War Thriller that has very good all around production and good acting as well.Very good Cinematography.Displays the deadly games the U.S.A.,U.K. and the U.S.S.R. play and the rattling effects it has on the men who play these games. The pace sort of slows down during the North Pole scenes but still manages to keep the Cold War fans thrilled. Only for Cold War Thriller fans and big fans of the lead actors........
Who Can You Trust?
posted on 30 Jun 2008SYNOPSIS: Cold war adversaries against nature and each other. There is no quick way to get to the top of the world and recover lost secrets. This film documents a race undertaken by the superpowers, with dirty tricks and espionage thrown in for good measure. Adventure on a grand scale to the ends of the earth.CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER: Political chess, with very high stakes. Technological prowess will only get you so far. In the end you have to see which opponent blinks first. This whole film has an underlying tone of deceit and secrecy. Up until the end of the film, you really aren't sure who is on which side, who you can trust and who the bad guys really are.PROS AND CONS: This is a man's film.....there are no women on screen or in the credits. The overall tone of the picture of one of high adventure, pitting man against not only the elements, but also against his enemies and his allies. The excellent soundtrack by Michael Legrand evokes far away travel and sweeping scale. The film has an exceptional use of special effects and mood for its day. The opening sequence inspires the cool calculating tension of superpower espionage done at the start of the electronic age. This is the theme of the James Bond films without all the winks, nods and jokes....this is serious stuff. There are no fancy gadgets or exploding pens...we use nuclear submarines and jet fighters to get the job done here.As for cons in this film, it is lengthy (over 2 hours), but I honestly can't see where you would cut anything out. Each scene moves the picture along at a good pace. There is little to interest women in the film, unless of course you want to see how men think and act under pressure. There are a few slip ups regarding continuity, but unless you are watching very closely, you won't notice them. Another good example of the types of film that Hollywood isn't very good at making anymore. I highly recommend it.
a great spy movie!
posted on 07 Jun 2008Finally this thing is out on DVD! Would have been nice to have more extras, but guess we all should be glad it's out at all. The quality of the transfer seems to be really clear, with no visible 'glitches'.
Bought "Ice Station Zebra" mainly because I'm a big Patrick McGoohan fan. :)
Music Makes "Zebra"
posted on 03 Jun 2008... Composer Michel Legrand's score enlivens this MGM thriller, as most of his music does! - I interviewed Legrand, when he was conducting the Bflo. Philharmonic Orchestra in concert, for "Billboard Magazine." He'd was in post-production for a little Barbra Streisand musical film "Yentl." We talked about that & his long career.... Whether it's movie scores or pop music, his sounds are always haunting, unusual. Check-out his web site & any movies he's written for. It'll be well worth it!- A gracious, creative genius, I always enjoy listening to his work & am glad he's still with us. Write on Mr. Legrand!!!
A Very Cold War.
posted on 26 May 2008Released in 1968, "Ice Station Zebra" remains an engrossing, suspenseful thriller, well directed by John Sturges. With films like "The Magnificent Seven" and "The Great Escape" to his credit, you know that any movie directed by Mr. Sturges is going to hold your attention, even if--in this case--it clocks in at over two and a half hours.
The titular station is a weather outpost located close to the North Pole. Something has gone terribly wrong there, and an American nuclear submarine is sent on an urgent rescue mission. Nasty Arctic weather--and the polar ice cap--will not allow any other means of transport to reach "Zebra". Of course, there is a more sinister agenda here than trying to save the lives of a few stranded scientists. This is why the submarine has two espionage "experts" on board--one British and one Russian--as well as a platoon of marines.
Rock Hudson stars as the sub captain. While this role does not challenge Mr. Hudson's acting abilities, he is appropriately fearless and stalwart in the face of danger. Ernest Borgnine is our Russian secret service agent, working for the "West" as a "good Russian"--or is he ? Mr. Borgnine is a good actor, and after the first few scenes, I found myself accepting him in this role. Jim Brown is the tough-as-nails marine leader. I would never call him a great actor, but Mr. Brown is certainly convincing as someone nobody wants to annoy ! Real acting honours in this movie go to Patrick McGoohan as the British "agent". Fondly remembered for his sixties TV series "Danger Man" ( aka Secret Agent ) and "The Prisoner", it will always be a mystery to me why Mr. McGoohan did not choose to make a greater number of films and become a huge star. Frankly, for me at least, he steals the film.
The colour, widescreen picture is excellent, as is the sound for a 36-year old film. While some of the arctic action clearly takes place in the studio, I was impressed with the submarine footage, and once you are under the ice cap, you can really feel the tension. Yes--it's a submarine film--things do indeed "go wrong" !
Ladies--while my wife did enjoy "Ice Station Zebra", she did confirm that this is a "guy movie" ! In fact, there are no women in the cast at all. If you are looking for romance, this is not the place !
It is not clear to me why Howard Hughes would want to watch this film hundreds of times, but is it a coincidence that this DVD starts with a trailer for "The Aviator" ? I don't think so.
The disc includes a few other trailers, and an interesting short on one of "Zebra's" cameramen who helped to pioneer action film photography--fascinating.
I suppose the West vs. Soviet "cold war" scenario is dated--in 2005, international tensions are much more complicated--but "Ice Station Zebra" still delivers a tense, exciting story, and this DVD was worth the wait. Recommended.
A very sad footnote, dated 15 January 2009--Mr. Patrick McGoohan has passed away--another fine actor has left us.
The greatest film ever made.
posted on 10 Apr 2008Like Howard Hughes, I watch "Ice Station Zebra" on a regular basis. Only daily viewing of this masterpiece unearths the spectacular secrets involving financial solvency this movie holds. Also, the enjoyment of certain libations makes the fake frozen tundras seem all the more real. Patrick McGoohan is a God, and I highly recommend "Ice Station Zebra" to all reclusive billionaires living in Las Vegas and suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder.
Agonizing.
posted on 07 Feb 2008Agonizingly dull spy thriller, with a muddled plot (and I'd like to know how Hudson got that detonator at the end), cold and uninteresting characters, too much technical "jargon", slow pacing and many sequences that seem endless. I admit that it gets a little better towards the end, but until then you'll have to sit through 130 minutes of extreme boredom.
ROCK HUDSON AT HIS BEST ******
posted on 22 Nov 2007Sure this movie falters when it hits the ice because of being shot on sets instead of location but, thats the way it used to be done and, if you let yourself go you wont mind. The story up to that point is completely engrossing and believable! Actually the scenes on the ice are tricky enough to have made me forget that it was on a set! Get the popcorn and just Enjoy this adventure!!! IT'S FUN!!! It's Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine ,Jim Brown etc.!!!
Another All-time Favorite.
posted on 26 Oct 2007About the only thing I had in common with Howard Hughes is that we both loved this movie. Hughes allegedly watched it 17 times one weekend. I saw it at its original reserved-seat run at the Cinerama theater on Broadway in New York and have watched it numerous times since then (although not as much as Hughes.)
The name Alistair MacLean is not that well-remembered today. However he was the king of action novelists during the 1950s and '60s. Many of his books were made into films, the most famous being "The Guns of Navarone" and its sequel "Force 10 from Navarone," "Where Eagles Dare," "Breakheart Pass" and this film. This film was supposed to re-unite his Navarone stars, Gregory Pack and David Niven. However when shooting started, they were no longer available. Instead we got Rock Hudson, Ernest Borgnine and Patrick McGoohan. Hudson and Borgnine are fine but it is McGoohan who steals the film as a British secret agent named "Jones" who is very similar to his John Drake "Secret Agent" TV persona. There are no female members of the cast.
The first half of the film involves the U.S. submarine's voyage under the polar ice pack to get to Zebra. It includes a terrifically suspenseful scene of a saboteur's attempt to flood the submarine while under the pack. The second half involves the locating of Zebra culminating in the U.S./Russian confrontation at the detroyed station for the secret of Ice Station Zebra.
Directed by the great John Sturges, (The Great Escape, Magnificent 7, etc.) this is an exciting and suspenseful film. It features a great score by Michel Legrand and fine special effects of the submarine journeying under the polar ice pack (great on the big screen.)It lost the special effects Oscar to 2001. The DVD features the overture, intermission music and music for exiting the theater.
Unfortunately the DVD only includes some vintage short subjects from the time the film was made. It would have been very nice for a retrospective on this fine film. While Hudson and Sturges are long-gone, McGoohan was alive until recently and Borgnine, Jim Brown (who basically stands around looking angry the entire film,) and Tony Bill are still alive.
This is a classic cold-war suspense thriller that has stood the test of time, I would love to see its eventual release on Blu-ray.
Does no justice to the novel
posted on 04 Oct 2007The novel "Ice Station Zebra" by Alistair McLean is one of my all time favorites. I was looking forward to watch the movie. But it fails terribly. Two of the major points that I did not like are: 1) The movie shows that Dolphin (Tigerfish rather) is carrying force of "marines" in addition to the other characters which was totally unwanted, and finally wasn't very useful in the plot either. In fact, it gave kind of a comic effect to what was a very tense situation in the novel, and would probably have been here too. We actually were laughing aloud when the 4 people got off the submarine to search for the Drift Ice station, and were accompanied by a few dozen marines carrying guns in the Arctic! 2) They made the character of Dr.Carpenter (David Jones in the movie) to look like a dumb agent who only talked things that made no sense! The novel projects him as a person talking "senselessly" too, but at the end, everything ties up just perfectly. The evident sharpness of his character was totally missing in the movie; and the fact that it was the captain who ultimately figured things out made his character in the movie even unnecessary! I have watched several movies which I liked the book better, yet liked the movie (eg. Jurassic Park, Congo). Usually it is hard for movies to live up to the expectations of books, but this movie fails terribly! I could tolerate the first half of the movie, but the events after they finally reached the Drift station, showing the Russian aircraft and the marines... it just went too far! McLean's subtle but powerful plot of cold war (I am trying not to give away too much here) was taken to a ridiculous level! I am a big fan of war movies, but in my opinion, this does not qualify as one either. Maybe the whole movie just seemed more weird as I had read the novel. So, if you have read the novel and liked it, and want to watch the movie version of it, you may have to be prepared for disappointment. As someone pointed out, it is a more believable cold-war themed movie than Bond movies, which maybe true; but Bond movies are not meant to be believable, and the credit for this movie being more believable probably goes to Alistair McLean who writes quite believable espionage stories that a "hollywoodized" screenplay could not tamper it totally!
Very well. A long movie about the Cold War. Very well.
posted on 22 Sep 2007I know it is a minor thing, but I just couldn't get over how many times they said "very well" on the submarine in answer to some observation. It became distracting after a while. Very well. The movie is right at 2.5 hours, and moves very slowly most of the time during the underwater scenes. I believe we were more receptive to this in 1968, but it would need much more crisp editing if released today.I never was much of a Rock Hudson fan during his acting days, but here as Cmdr. James Ferraday he was very cool and confident, and I believed he was the commander of a submarine that was able to navigate under the polar cap and surface through not-so-thin ice to gain access to the Ice Station Zebra that was sending distress signals.A bit more of a stretch for me was Ernest Borgnine as the Russian, Boris Vaslov. After all, he was the central character in the very popular TV series, McHale's Navy.I knew Jim Brown from his days as the best NFL running back of his time, big and powerful. Here he is credible as Capt. Leslie Anders who is dropped to the submarine to train and lead the infantry that would investigate what happened to the men at Ice Station Zebra.The actual incident on the ice cap is not so important, this movie is about US and Soviet relations. At the very end is a teletype (what, no email those days?) transmission which praises the mission as an example of cooperation between the USA and Russia. That was the mood back in the late 1960s, that was the mission of this film. Mission accomplished. Very well.
Americans and Soviets Race to Ice Station in the Cold War
posted on 20 Sep 2007A team of American marines and naval personnel aboard a nuclear submarine are ordered to a tiny observation camp on the ice near the North Pole. The Americans have been receiving distress signals from the camp but cannot reach anyone by radio. What at first appears to be a simple rescue mission changes dramatically when the sub picks up a British secret agent and a Russian double-agent as passengers. The nuclear submarine races to the camp when the true mission is disclosed and word reaches them that the Soviets are also heading to the pole by jet to recover a spy satellite.
The cast is awesome and their acting really stands the test of time. Rock Hudson is superb as the mission's leader Submarine Commander Ferraday; Patrick McGoohan is excellent as the evasive and secretive British secret agent; Jim Brown is outstanding as the tough American Marine Captain; and even Ernest Borgnine is believable as oddball Russian expatriate Boris Vaslov (although I kept thinking of him driving a cab for Snake Plisken). Director John Sturges had the technical language of the crew aboard the sub carefully screened for accuracy to increase the sense of reality in the film. Although the special effects were cutting edge for 1968, they may seem a bit fake to current audiences. And for trivia buffs -- Ice Station Zebra was the favorite movie of billionaire Howard Hughes, who would watched it fanatically in his Desert Inn hotel room.
I recommend this movie for a couple of reasons. First, it is a well done film with top shelf acting and character development. The plot is great and you won't be disappointed by the ending. Second, this is an excellent example of the workings of espionage during the Cold War years. It's a good movie to show the younger generation when they ask questions about the Cold War. But honestly, it's a great suspense movie with spies, traitors, jets, paratroopers and a nuke sub.
Fun movie, but don't compare to the book.
posted on 28 Jul 2009Having read Alistair MacLean's novel, Ice Station Zebra, I didn't know what to expect in this movie. First off, the novel is a great book. It is full of action and suspense. There is no way possible to capture the greatness of the book on film without the film running 7 or 8 hours. The movie does well on its own. The story is similar to the novel but with a very different conclusion. The characters seems somewhat underdeveloped in the story. It would have been nice if they had a little more depth or complexity. The movie tends to drag in spots as the captain gives commands for the sub crew and the thickness of the ice above is measured. The ending could have been more dramatic or climatic or maybe even had more of a twist. Overall, Ice Station Zebra is worth a look, but those who made it missed a chance for it to become a true classic.