Ice Station Zebra (1968) trailer

for those who wonder yes this blog is named after the film. of course in honor of my patron saint howard hughes.

Ice Station Zebra (film)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This article is about the film. For the novel, see Ice Station Zebra (novel).
Ice Station Zebra

Original movie poster
Directed by John Sturges
Produced by James C. Pratt
Martin Ransohoff
John Calley
Written by Alistair MacLean
Douglas Heyes
Harry Julian Fink
W.R. Burnett
Starring Patrick McGoohan
Ernest Borgnine
Rock Hudson
Jim Brown
Distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release date(s) October 23, 1968
Running time 148 min
Language English
Budget unknown
All Movie Guide profile
IMDb profile
Ice Station Zebra is a 1968 action film directed by John Sturges, starring Patrick McGoohan as a British agent, Ernest Borgnine as a Russian defector, Jim Brown as a Marine Captain, and Rock Hudson as a submarine captain. It is loosely based upon Alistair MacLean's 1963 novel of the same name.
Production



Production still (1967)
Gregory Peck and David Niven were initially attached to this film as a possible follow-up to their 1961 blockbuster The Guns of Navarone, with Peck as the submarine commander and Niven as the British spy.
Because his TV series The Prisoner was in production during principal photography in Ice Station Zebra, Patrick McGooohan had the episode "Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling" re-written to have the mind of his character Number Six transferred into the body of another character.
The nuclear-powered Dolphin (renamed Tigerfish (SSN-509)) was portrayed in the movie by the diesel-electric Guppy IIA submarine USS Ronquil (SS-396).
Ice Station Zebra was photographed in Super Panavision 70 by Daniel L. Fapp, and was presented in 70 mm Cinerama in premiere engagements, which also featured an opening overture that was restored for its 2005 DVD release.


Special Effect Shot: USS Tigerfish under the ice cap
Second unit cameraman John M. Stephens developed an innovative underwater camera system that successfully filmed the first continuous dive of a submarine, which became the subject of the documentary featurette The Man Who Makes a Difference.
The film was nominated for two Academy Awards, in the special effects category (2001: A Space Odyssey won instead) and Best Cinematography (won by Romeo and Juliet).
[edit]Trivia
In an interview with Dinah Shore not long before his death, Rock Hudson stated that Ice Station Zebra was his favorite film.


On the bridge of the Tigerfish with Rock Hudson (center)
Average Shot Length (ASL) = 7 seconds
The sets and miniature footage from Ice Station Zebra was re-used for the 1971 ABC made-for-television movie Assault on the Wayne, starring Leonard Nimoy, Joseph Cotton, Keenan Wynn, William Windom, Sam Elliott, and Dewey Martin, with which also featured Zebra cast members Lloyd Haynes and Ron Masak.[1]
Footage from Ice Station Zebra was also re-used in the 1978 disaster film Grey Lady Down, the 1983 James Bond film Never Say Never Again and the 1983 Cold War thriller Firefox.
There is a continuity error in the aircraft types shown. The five Soviet single-engined MIG-21F models shown racing to the scene are interspersed with footage of four twin-engined US F-4 Phantom jets.
Commander Ferraday mentions to Mr. Jones that Admiral Garvey came up from London to brief him, suggesting that Garvey is the Commander in Chief, U.S. Naval Forces, Europe (CINCUSNAVEUR).
[edit]Cultural impact



Opening Titles
Reclusive billionaire Howard Hughes, who had experience both as a movie producer and a defense contractor for the U.S., is said to have watched Ice Station Zebra dozens of times on a continuous loop in his private hotel suite during the years prior to his death. VCRs and Laserdiscs weren't yet available: The film was shown in the form of a spooled print running through a film projector onto a traditional screen.
"Arctic Splashdown", an early episode of the popular Jonny Quest prime-time cartoon series of 1964, seems to be closely based on the Ice Station Zebra plot.
In the 1986 animated series Defenders of the Earth, Ming the Merciless' Antarctic base of operations is known as "Ice Station Earth," a possible nod to the movie Ice Station Zebra.
In the original 1999 edition of Unreal Tournament, one of the deathmatch levels is named Ice Station Zeto, in honor of the movie Ice Station Zebra.
The third and final secret level in the Descent 2 expansion 'Vertigo Series' is named "Ice Station Zeta."
An episode of the animated series The Venture Bros., called "Ice Station -- Impossible!", takes the inspiration for its name from Ice Station Zebra.
An episode of Sealab 2021 has researchers in the Antarctic trapped on 'Ice Station Zebra'.
[edit]Quotes



Patrick McGoohan and Rock Hudson
Ferraday: We operate on a first name basis. My first name's Captain.
Jones: I know how to lie, steal, kidnap, counterfeit, suborn and kill. That's my job. I do it with great pride.
Jones: The Russians put our camera made by our German scientists and your film made by your German scientists into their satellite made by their German scientists.