5/5 Forbidden film
  by Gadget fool (Daytona Beach, Fl. USA)
I was a radio operator in the Navy aboard a minesweeper when this movie came out. There was a fleetwide teletype communication which came down from Navy command advising all Navy personnel to stay away from this movie. Being of a curious type then and now, myself and a few of my buddies had to get to the movie house as soon as possible to see what all the fuss was about. Since this was a "cold war" era movie I guess we could see what the Navy brass was so upset about. Richard Widmark, who believed so much in this story, used his own money to make the movie, since the subject matter was so touchy. The result was a well-scripted and acted high-tension thriller. Although in black and white, this is my memory of the Navy in the mid-sixties. Our life on the minesweeper was very similar to the characters in The Bedford Incident, mostly boring with occasional moments of drama. Our Captain, however, seemed pretty normal. Enjoy some great storytelling!

4/5 OOOPS!!!
  by Lionel Bourg (Natchitoches, LA---USA)
THE BEDFORD INCIDENT(1965)---Richard Widmark, sidney Poitier, Matin Balsam,Eric Portman, Wally Cox, James MacArthur.
I like this film a lot. Widmark is one of my favorite actors and he gives an excellent performance as the captain of a destroyer patrolling Arctic waters to keep an eye on Russian submarines. Poitier plays a reporter who comes aboard to do a story about it all---I know it's heretical to say so, but I've never cared much for Poitier---I respect the fact that he broke down a lot of barriers for black actors and all of that, but he's one of those actors that never seems "natural" to me---I'm always aware that he's "emoting". Made during the "cold war", the film is full of tension right from the start and doesn't let up until the "bang-up"(literally) ending. Eric Portman gives a fine performance as an ex-Nazi u-boat commander who is now acting as an adviser to Widmark. I would recommend this movie highly.


5/5 THE BEDFORD INCIDENT
  by NANCY (OR USA)
ORDERED THIS FOR A FRIEND WHO WAS UNABLE TO FIND IT ANYWHERE. THANKS FOR YOUR GREAT SELECTION AND GOOD SERVICE.


4/5 Widmark's performance makes this submarine thriller riveting
  by Dennis W. Wong
One of the great injustices that the Academy has ever done is to not even give the late Richard Widmark an award for his continued excellence in film. This submarine thriller should've at least given him an Oscar nod for Best Actor but I guess people in the Academy took Widmark's dynamic performance as a maniacal captain as a typical "Widmark performance". Not so since the great actor plays his villain in many emotional shades and of course his long time friend, Sidney Poitier, is on hand to provide the moral conscience of the movie. Compared to Tony Scott's "Crimson Tide" which was decent thanks to Hackman and Washington, this is the better movie thanks to Widmark and the taut direction.

5/5 solid cold war drama
  by John A. Malagrin (Baltimore, USA)
The Bedford Incident

This DVD is a solid cold war drama of an American destroyer pursuing a Soviet submarine to antagonize it in international waters, which is against Navy orders. Richard Widwark is the uptight, egotistic captain who constatntly has his crew on alerts and does not permit even anyone going to sick bay. He has the crew nervous and dead serious. Sidney Poiter is tne newspaper man who was dropped onto the ship by a helicoptor to get interviews and a news story regarding this high profile captain. Martin Balsam is the doctor also dropped onto the ship to be the physican aboard, but he is stopped at every turn by the captain who does not believe in doctors aboard his ship, and gives him problems through the movie.

Tensions mount as Widmark threatens the Russian sub which he has finally cornered and tells the sub captain that he must surface. The nuclear tipped missiles are armed and ready with the safeties off. The sailor in charge of firing them has been ridiculed and dogged by the catain throughout the movie and he is expremely uptight. The captain's threats turns into an unexpected result.

I don't want to reveal the super and dramatic ending to this drama as a seemingly harmless pursuit turns into an unbelievable disaster caused by the captain's ego and by a over tension filled, sailor in charge of firing the missiles.

This DVD is a must keep sake for those who love war time dramas, great acting, and submarine/destroyer type of movies.