Submarine Movies: Best Films

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1954 - 20197 Films13h 54m4.3 Average

We've compiled for you a list of what we consider the best submarine movies ever made. Our selection prioritizes masterful filmmaking, compelling narratives, and films that have stood the test of time.

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea remains Disney's classic adventure beneath the waves, while The Enemy Below and Run Silent, Run Deep represent the golden age of WWII submarine dramas with their psychological depth and tense duels. Das Boot is widely regarded as the greatest submarine film in history, delivering unflinching realism and claustrophobic intensity.

The Cold War era gave us The Hunt for Red October, a perfectly crafted thriller, and Crimson Tide, which explores the ethics of nuclear command with powerhouse performances. Finally, The Wolf's Call proves the genre still thrives, offering modern technical sophistication and edge-of-your-seat tension.

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1
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea poster

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

19542h 7m4.1
Director: Richard Fleischer
Cast: Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre, Robert J. Wilke

A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.

AdventureScience FictionFamily
2
The Enemy Below poster

The Enemy Below

19571h 37m4
Director: Dick Powell
Cast: Robert Mitchum, Curd Jürgens, David Hedison, Theodore Bikel, Russell Collins

The crew of the American destroyer escort, the USS Haynes, detects a German U-Boat—resulting in a prolonged, deadly battle of wits.

War
3
Run Silent, Run Deep poster

Run Silent, Run Deep

19581h 33m4
Director: Robert Wise
Cast: Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Warden, Brad Dexter, Don Rickles

The captain of a submarine sunk by the Japanese during WWII is finally given a chance to skipper another sub after a year of working a desk job. His singleminded determination for revenge against the destroyer that sunk his previous vessel puts his new crew in unneccessary danger.

DramaWar
4
Das Boot poster

Das Boot

19812h 30m4.9
Director: Wolfgang Petersen
Cast: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch, Martin Semmelrogge

A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

DramaHistoryWar
5
The Hunt for Red October poster

The Hunt for Red October

19902h 15m4.3
Director: John McTiernan
Cast: Sean Connery, Alec Baldwin, Scott Glenn, Sam Neill, James Earl Jones

A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius. The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. Lone CIA analyst Jack Ryan has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it - because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find Ramius, too. The hunt is on!

ActionThriller
6
Crimson Tide poster

Crimson Tide

19951h 56m4.2
Director: Tony Scott
Cast: Denzel Washington, Gene Hackman, Matt Craven, George Dzundza, Viggo Mortensen

After the Cold War, a breakaway Russian republic with nuclear warheads becomes a possible worldwide threat. U.S. submarine Capt. Frank Ramsey signs on a relatively green but highly recommended Lt. Cmdr. Ron Hunter to the USS Alabama, which may be the only ship able to stop a possible Armageddon. When Ramsey insists that the Alabama must act aggressively, Hunter, fearing they will start rather than stop a disaster, leads a potential mutiny to stop him.

ThrillerActionDramaWar
7
The Wolf's Call poster

The Wolf's Call

20191h 56m4.5
Original Title: Le Chant du loup
Director: Antonin Baudry
Cast: François Civil, Omar Sy, Mathieu Kassovitz, Reda Kateb, Paula Beer

Shown from the perspective of a young submariner with unusually sensitive hearing and uncannily precise sound recognition. The fate of many often depends on his ability, and one time, whilst highly stressed, he makes a incorrect call which put his entire crew in mortal danger. Trying to regain the confidence of his comrades, he conducts an unauthorised investigation of an apparent plot which, it turns out, risks escalating into a nuclear apocalypse. Suddenly working under pressure with the fleet admiral, they must do whatever is necessary, even the unthinkable, to prevent a nuclear war, since a confirmed nuclear strike order cannot be countermanded.

ThrillerActionAdventure