Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. Indianapolis [DVD]

This was the 1st film made of the Japanese torpedo sinking of the USSIndianapolis 30 July 1945. The ship had just delivered the components of the A Bomb to Tinian Isl. and was to go to Guam. It never arrived and the Navy didn't miss it. The worst disaster in Naval history. Out of a crew of over 1600 only 315 survived the 5 days in shark invested ocean waters. 800 died on the ship that sank in 12 minutes. My uncle died on the ship. Ens. David Allen Jump. There are books about the Indy and the movie USS Indianapolis Men of Courage. This is a better film.

I haven't seen this movie since it was first released in the early '90's but I still remember the strong reaction I had to what the survivor's of the USS Indianapolis endured after their ship was sunk in the last part of WWII. I don't want to get into the details so that I don't ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen the movie. However, I will say that even after all these years I still remember the excellent acting of the cast, of whom the most memorable for me were Stacy Keach, Richard Thomas, and David Caruso.UPDATE 8/2/07I received my dvd yesterday and can now tell you about the quality of the transfer. The picture quality is not bad, it is not HD quality but I didn't notice any problems like graininess, or scratches, or anything like that. It is not any better or worse than a typical cable broadcast program. The sound is also about average, so don't expect to get blown out of your seat.The story is a very powerful one that once you see it you won't be likely to forget it.UPDATEIf You have Amazon prime then you can watch this for free on Amazon instant videos. Yippee!

I basically liked the DVD movie "Mission of the Shark". Mission of the Shark: The Saga of the U.S.S. IndianapolisStacey Keach and Richard Thomas were both in this movie and I never saw it on TV. Early in the movie, I wondered why all of the characters had sweaty faces when the ship was supposed to be docked in San Diego, CA. It was only at the end of the movie when I saw the credits that I realized the characters were perspiring heavily because the film was made on-board the USS Alabama BB-60 in Mobile, Alabama. Dialog and acting in the early part of the film was stiff and contrived. It wasn't until the ship was torpedoed that the characters really seemed to come alive.There should have been a breeze blowing when the ship was underway steaming at 28 knots with the atomic bomb loaded on-board. Did the Japanese really sight the USS Indianapolis CA-35 while they were surfaced? Why was a German U-boat shown surfacing? Why couldn't a model of Japanese submarine I-58 be used for that scene? When the Japanese submarine commander looked through the periscope, a silhouette of an American destroyer was displayed. The movie depicted a freighter hull sinking by the stern when in reality, a US heavy cruiser rolled over on its side and sank by the bow. I would have liked to have seen a large model of the cruiser USS Indianapolis being struck by the Japanese torpedoes with huge, fiery munitions explosions from turret number two and the ship sinking in the authentic manner that it did. The movie did a fair job of answering most of the basic questions as to why and how the disaster occurred, but no mention was made of why USS Indianapolis, a heavy cruiser without any means of detecting or defending against submarine attack was dispatched from Tinian Island without destroyer escorts? The movie also failed to mention that Captain McVay did not receive any warnings about Japanese submarines lurking in the waters between Tinian Island and the Philippines. It was not clear in the movie that electrical power aboard the cruiser had been knocked out by the Japanese torpedoes. Instead, a rack-mounted radio cabinet was shown falling on a radio operator. Since the ship sank in only twelve minutes, I would have spent twelve minutes filming the sinking of the ship in greater detail. One unanswered question was why weren't there enough life rafts for everybody?The scenes of crew-members going mad in the life rafts were tantalizing because they seemed very real and heightened the tension. However, some of the shark scenes were repeated multiple times and the wooden shark fin being pulled between the groups of swimmers was a disappointing reminder that this was a very low budget production. I expected to see many shark fins moving in realistic swimming motions in and around the swimmers. One almost gets the impression that only a few sharks attacked and only a few men were devoured when the reality is exactly the opposite! I was not so concerned that the wrong model of float plane descended to assist the survivors, but they shouldn't have changed the story! I read an account that stated that a PBY landed and took as many wounded as possible to the Philippines for treatment. The PBY took off with 56 men tied to the wings!! Perhaps for safety reasons, the movie director didn't want to attempt that feat. I really liked the way the Japanese submarine commander and crew were portrayed, but I would have had the Japanese doing a bonsai war cry when the torpedoes exploded against the USS Indianapolis, it was war after all.I liked the movie because it told an important story about the unnecessary loss of 879 US sailors due to disorganization and bungling at higher levels within the US Navy. This engaging tale deserves a realistic re-make using all the latest computer graphics video and special effects available. There's no need to change the story line for increased dramatic effect because the actual events are every sailor's worst nightmare. The introduction and ending scenes with the post-war ship reunion were good, but the director should have gone the extra mile. Captain McVay's suicide and his exoneration by US Congress in 2000 should have been filmed. Capt McVay was exonerated after his death due to the efforts of a teenage American boy that located and motivated the former Japanese submarine commander to write a letter to congress. Those important details received only the briefest mention of a very compelling and relatively unknown American epic tragedy of World War II.

I bought the DVD last spring before my grandfather died. He served in the US Navy in WWII. I thought the sinking and subsequent trial were very tragic. I know many Navy sailors did not survive WWII to see their grandsons. May they rest in peace. I know I was lucky to get to know my grandfather who survived WWII. He often shared his experiences with the US Navy in the South Pacific. His older brother served at Iwo Jima as a US Marine in 1945. The movie brings the USS Indianapolis and its historical characters to life. I miss my grandfather, but I know he was fortunate to live a long life. Many soldiers on the Indianapolis suffered a tragic ending from the blast, wounds, exposure, and shark attacks.

The sinking and horror after, are presented in this film in a way, a lot of people who might have heard of this ship, can see the whole story of her end, and those who survived, to either be eaten by sharks, or go mad from drinking sea water. The real victim, was her Captain, Charles Butler McVey III . He was the scapegoat. The grief must have been too much. in 1968, he committed suicide. This is tragedy, on tragedy. It is a well made film

this film gives a better picture on what happened on this tragic story many factual events are depicted in this film a must have for persons interested in this part of history

Good movie based on actual events. As a bonus, my friend was the stunt coordinator! Really, this made for TV movie is difficult to find at twice the price. Worth watching.

Outstanding movie. I first heard of this incident when I was a freshman in HS. I saw the book at the city library and decided to read it. it was about 1300 pages long. The captain was railroaded pure and simple. but if you like historically accurate movies, this is a great buy and a keeper.