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Actors: Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Ernest Borgnine, Jim Brown, Lloyd Nolan, Tony Bill
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about Ice Station Zebra |
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At the height of the Cold War a Russian operative is aboard the US nuclear submarine Tigerfish and may sabotage the retrieval of critical information and personnel from Ice Station Zebra, a polar weather installation that has had a fire. Commander James Farraday (Hudson) has orders to locate and secure the base before the Soviets get to it. The sub, with an unconventional assembly of special Marine commandos led by Captain Anders (Brown), a Soviet defector (Borgnine), and a skittish British secret agent named David Jones (McGoohan), must navigate treacherous arctic waters to reach their destination near the polar ice cap.
When the sub reaches the surface the plot thickens as it is unclear who the good guys are when people start dying and evidence shows the fire to have been a deliberate case of arson to sabotage the installation there. Soviets troops have landed and the race is on to capture a downed satellite with highly sensitive information. Farraday and the men under his command must battle the harsh arctic weather, the unstable and constantly shifting ice pack, and the elite Soviet soldiers to succeed with the mission. Ice Station Zebra is a thrilling Cold War naval adventure decades before The Hunt For Red October set the standard for the genre.
--David Fletcher, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of Ice Station Zebra |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Composition of Movie
Actual chase scenes or violence - 30%
Planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Time/Era of Movie:
- 1960's-1970's
Spying & Terrorists
Yes
Cloak & Dagger Plotlets:
- finding a spy/saboteur
War Thriller
Yes
Armed Forces:
- Navy
The terrorist enemy is...
- commies!
Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Profession/status:
- senior military
Age:
- 40's-50's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Hair style
- short/standard straight (man)
Body type
- muscular (man)
Events of movie makes character more...
- tougher
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- very athletic
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair color
- brunette (Brown)
Hair style
- (man) short/standard wavy
Body type
- average build (man)
How much in movie?
- 80%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- British
Main Adversary
Identity:
- Male
Age:
- 40's-50's
Profession/status:
- spy
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 60%
Hair color
- brunette (Black)
Hair type
- (man) short/standard wavey
Body type
- average (man)
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Russian
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
How sensitive is this character?
- hard edged
Setting
Ice Caps?
Yes
Where?
- North Pole
- Ocean
Water?
Yes
Water:
- submarining
Misc setting
- fort/military installation
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- gory visuals of deaths
Movie makes you feel...
- spiritual
How many deaths in film?
- 8 or more
How much use of techno gadgets?
- 4 (a fair amount)
Kind of violence:
- mission to protect something
Unusual forms of death
- perforation--bullets
Lot of special effects?
Yes
Is this movie based on a
- book
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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