According to director/producer Kathryn Bigelow, the story of what happened to K-19 and her crew had everything an action-thriller needed built right into the actual events as they took place during the Cold War. And, since that war was fought on a mental battlefield rather than a physical one, the film, drawn from public sources and historical record, is that much more intriguing and unique.
‘The story had all the elements for a dramatic movie,’ says Bigelow, who went to Russia prior to filming to talk with K-19’s survivors and their families. ‘It had a built-in “ticking clock” suspense factor; that is, a nuclear submarine with an impending reactor meltdown that could cause catastrophic global repercussions. It had, at its centre, a ferociously dedicated and charismatic captain, whose bold decisions under pressure saved the boat and its crew. And above all, it had the courageous young submariners themselves, who knowingly subjected themselves to a lethal dose of radiation to repair the damage and fend off disaster.’
Caught up in making K-19: The Widowmaker for five years, Bigelow says that she feels privileged to have conducted extensive research with the people whose lives were touched by the K-19 disaster, and she was inspired by their stories to make a film that shows their compelling sacrifice and humanity.
‘Our film examines the heroism, courage and prowess of the Soviet submarine force in ways never seen before,’ adds Bigelow. ‘It is a fascinating tale of ordinary people who became heroes when faced with a tragic situation. Capturing the nobility of their sacrifice has been the primary motivation for everyone involved in making this film.’
Approximately 50 actors were assembled to portray the crew of K-19 and the Soviet military leaders. In order to show faces reflective of the diverse nationalities that made up the Soviet Union, Bigelow drew on talent from Canada, Iceland, England, Russia and Hollywood, making the cast uniquely international.
According to Harrison Ford, who stars as Captain Alexei Vostrikov, a character inspired by an actual captain aboard K-19, what initially interested him in the project is that it depicts the Russian experience during the Cold War, something that he believes Hollywood has never seen.
‘There are no good guys versus bad guys in this story, no politics,’ says Ford. ‘Our goal was to have audiences come to an appreciation of those who served on K-19. As in any group, there were all kinds of people on board. But when threatened with a terrible situation, they came together with heroic and selfless behaviour. When the time came, they did their duty.’
Co-star Liam Neeson, who plays Mikhail Polenin, a character inspired by the acting executive officer of K-19, agrees, adding that K-19 afforded the cast an opportunity to portray heroism in a timeless way.
‘There are great human dynamics in this story,’ says Neeson. ‘Under incredible stress, faced with death, these men summon a sense of duty and commitment to each other and to all of humanity.’
K-19: The Widowmaker was filmed in Moscow during February of 2001. Happily, however, because of the post-Cold War thaw in Russian-American relations, the production team was allowed access to film inside government buildings and public spaces, with cooperation from Russian authorities and assistance from the country’s military establishment. In addition, a former Soviet submarine captain joined the crew through principal photography, working alongside a naval technical adviser to lend maximum authenticity to portrayals of naval practice and shipboard operations.
While filming was under way, costume designer Marit Allen worked under great time pressure to complete more than 400 naval uniforms worn by the ill-fated submarine’s crew. So many uniforms were necessary because each actor required several changes of costume, from full-dress uniform to shipboard working dungarees. Made by Russian workers, the uniforms were identical to those used during the Cold War, right down to the fabric.
When filming in Russia was completed, the production moved directly to Canada’s Lake Winnipeg for two days. There, the frozen lake’s surface provided a convincingly harsh stand-in for the Arctic Ocean ice pack. The cast and crew then moved to Toronto, where the submarine-interior sequences were filmed. Additional location shooting took place at Halifax, Nova Scotia, where the snow-covered Halifax Shipyards facility served as the Soviet naval base at Murmansk.
Following more interior work in Toronto, the production went back to Halifax, which served as a base for shooting in the open North Atlantic. Principal photography was completed in June 2001, after which director/producer Bigelow returned to Los Angeles for post-production editing and special effects work.
Production notes
K-19: The Widowmaker
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
©: Internationale Medien und Film GmbH & Co
Presented by: Paramount Pictures, InterMedia
Production Companies: National Geographic Society, Palomar Pictures, First Light Films, IMF Pictures
Developed in association with: Working Title Films
Produced with the assistance of: Nova Scotia Film Industry Tax Credit
Executive Producers: Harrison Ford, Nigel Sinclair, Moritz Borman, Guy East
Executive Producers (IMF): Volker Schauz, Dieter Nobbe
Producers: Kathryn Bigelow, Joni Sighvatsson, Christine Whitaker, Edward S. Feldman
Producer (IMF): Mathias Deyle
Co-producers: Steven-Charles Jaffe, Basil Iwanyk, Brent O’Connor, Mark Wolfe, Mary Montiforte
Line Producer (IMF): Oliver Hengst
Line Producer (Moscow Unit): Leonid Vereshchaghin
Associate Producers: Steve Danton, Samantha Koffler, Winship Cook
Unit Production Managers: Brent O’Connor, Manny Danelon
Production Supervisor (Moscow Unit): Petter J. Borgli
Production Co-ordinator: Susan Phillips
Production Services (Moscow Unit): Three T Productions
Production Controller: Gary Gillingham
Location Manager (Halifax Unit): Andrew Mcinnes
Location Managers (Moscow Unit): Alexei Karpushin, Sasha Utkin, Kirill Minkovetsky, Sasha Yakovlev
Post-production Supervisor: Sean Wimmer
2nd Unit Director: Gary Capo
1st Assistant Director: Steve Danton
2nd Assistant Director: Ken Wada
Script Supervisor: Dug Rotstein
Script Supervisor (2nd Unit): Sandy Morrow
Casting (US): Mali Finn
Casting (UK): Mary Selway
Casting (Canada): Ross Clydesdale
Casting (Moscow Unit): Tamara Odintsova
Screenplay: Christopher Kyle
Screenplay: Tom Stoppard *
Story by: Louis Nowra
Director of Photography: Jeff Cronenweth
2nd Unit Director of Photography: Gary Capo
A Camera/Steadicam Operator: Peter Rosenfeld
B Camera Operator: Joachim Martin
Visual Effects Supervisors: Bruce Jones, John Nelson
Visual Effects Editor: Joe Woo Jr
Visual Effects: MillFilm
Special Visual Effects: Industrial Light & Magic
Additional Visual Effects: Pacific Title Digital, Gray Matter FX
Special Effects Co-ordinator: Colin Chilvers
Special Effects Supervisor: Tony Kenny
Editor: Walter Murch
Production Designers: Karl Júlíusson, Michael Novotny
Supervising Art Director: William Ladd Skinner
Art Director: Arvinder Grewal
Costume Designer: Marit Allen
Wardrobe Supervisor: Sara Schilt
Key Make-up Design: Christina Smith
Key Make-up: Jordan Samuel
Special Effects Make-up: FX Smith, Gordon Smith
Key Hair Design: David R. Beecroft
Opening Titles: The Picture Mill
Titles/Opticals: Pacific Title
Colour Timer: Steve Sheridan
Music: Klaus Badelt
Music Performed by: The Kirov Orchestra
Soprano Solos: Julia Migenes
[Kirov] Conducted by: Valery Gergiev
Music Editor: Jay Duerr
Sound Mixer: Bruce Carwardine
Re-recording Mixers: Walter Murch, Mark Berger, Gary Summers
Supervising Sound Editor: Pat Jackson
Sound Effects Recordist: Dan Gleich
Effects Editors: Kyrsten Mate Comoglio, Douglas Murray, Aura Gilge
Stunt Co-ordinators: Mickey Giacomazzi, Jamie Jones
Consultants: Peter Huchthausen, Igor Kolosov, Lars Hansen
Cast
Harrison Ford (Captain Alexei Vostrikov)
Liam Neeson (Captain Mikhail Polenin)
Peter Sarsgaard (Vadim Radtchenko)
Joss Ackland (Marshal Zelentstov)
John Shrapnel (Admiral Bratyeev)
Donald Sumpter (Dr Savran)
Tim Woodward (Partonov)
Steve Nicolson (Demichev)
Ravil Isyanov (Suslov)
Christian Camargo (Pavel)
George Anton (Konstantin)
James Ginty (Anatoly)
Lex Shrapnel (Kornilov)
Ingvar Sigurdsson (Gorelov)
Sam Spruell (Dmitri)
Sam Redford (Vasily)
Peter Stebbings (Kuryshev)
Roman Podhora (Lapinsh)
Shaun Benson (Leonid)
Kristen Holden-Reid (Anton)
Dmitry Chepovetsky (Sergei)
Christopher Redman (Kiklidze)
Tygh Runyan (Maxim)
Peter Graham (Danya Yashin)
Shawn Mathieson (Stepan)
Jacob Pitts (Grigori)
Christopher Routh (Oleg)
Lubomir Mykytiuk (Dr Gavril)
Michael J.X. Gladis (Yevgeny)
Natalia Vintilova (Kataya)
Steve Cumyn (Arseni)
Austin Strugnell (Yakov Rakitin)
Arsenty Sydelnykov (Seymon ‘Syoma’ Dydik)
J.J. Feild (Andrei)
Peter Oldring (Vanya)
Joshua Close (Viktor)
Gerrit Vooren (Voslensky)
Joey Purpura (Georgi)
Lev Prygunov (Ivan Vershinin)
Jeremy Akerman (Fyodor Tsetkov)
Lee J. Campbell (judge)
USA-Germany-UK-Canada 2002©
138 mins
35mm
*Uncredited
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Programme notes and credits compiled by Sight and Sound and the BFI Documentation Unit
Notes may be edited or abridged
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