Neeson on the brink

In the summer of l961 the Soviet nuclear submarine K-19 was ordered to set sail - into history.

It was a time when the world seemed constantly on the brink of war, a time when the superpowers of the United States and the Soviet Union eye-balled one another through the coldest of Cold Wars.

In K-19: The Widowmaker, the latest Hollywood blockbuster, Liam Neeson teams up with Harrison Ford in the white-knuckle story of the submarine crew's brave and frantic efforts to save their vessel and avoid a devastating global disaster when a reactor goes into meltdown.

"For the first time," says the Co Antrim-born Neeson, "this takes a look at the Cold War experience of the Russians. There are no good guys versus bad guys here, no politics - just an appreciation of the gallant people on K-19 who faced overwhelming odds and dangers and did their duty, not only to their country but to mankind.

"The film examines the horrors, courage and prowess of the Soviet submarine force and tells the story of ordinary men faced with a tragic situation."

Neeson plays Captain Mikhail Polenin, who was replaced as the K-19 commander because the Moscow politicians felt he was not getting the submarine ready for duty fast enough. Ford plays Alexie Vostrikov, his replacement. They actually sailed together on the ill-fated voyage, at first clashing and then working in unison as they struggled to avoid a shattering nuclear explosion.

The film, adds Neeson, has "all the elements of a dramatic movie, with a built-in 'ticking clock' suspense factor" and for once paints the Russians as decent human-beings facing impossible odds with quiet courage: "We have here a nuclear submarine which should never have been sent out because it was ill-prepared for its voyage. It faces an unspeakable reactor meltdown, and was left with a captain and crew whose every decision was made under great pressure.

"It is a story of great heroism in a timeless sense. There are great human dynamics in the story. Under increasing stress and faced with death, these men summonsed a sense of duty and commitment to each other and to all humanity."

Because of the nature of the story it was not surprising that the Russians were keen to lend their support to producer-director Kathryn Bigelow, though it took her five years to bring the story to the screen.

She interviewed survivors of the disaster and with a major cast of 50 drawn from the USA, England, Ireland, Canada, Iceland and Russia filmed the drama in Moscow and Canada.