Black Sea

"Brave the deep. Find the gold. Trust no one."

2014 1h 55m EN

😐

6.3

MID

★6.3TMDB · 1,226

AdventureDramaThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A rogue submarine captain pulls together a misfit crew to go after a sunken treasure rumored to be lost in the depths of the Black Sea. As greed and desperation take control on-board their claustrophobic vessel, the increasing uncertainty of the mission causes the men to turn on each other to fight for their own survival.

“Brave the deep. Find the gold. Trust no one.”

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Cast

Jude Law
Captain Robinson
Karl Davies
Liam
Jodie Whittaker
Chrissy
Daniel Ryan
Kurston
Scoot McNairy
Daniels
Tobias Menzies
Lewis
Michael Smiley
Reynolds
David Threlfall
Peters

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Kevin Macdonald
Writers: Dennis Kelly, Jonathan Maris
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Russia

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 51% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 12 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Russia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Kevin Macdonald, shot by Christopher Ross. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ilan Eshkeri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Justine Wright shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jude Law and Karl Davies and Jodie Whittaker carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Brave the deep. Find the gold. Trust no one.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Kevin Macdonald directs. Christopher Ross behind the camera. Ilan Eshkeri scores. Justine Wright cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America, Russia. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 51% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 12 years ago.
3International production across 3 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America, Russia.
4Directed by Kevin Macdonald, shot by Christopher Ross. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Ilan Eshkeri. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Justine Wright shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Jude Law and Karl Davies and Jodie Whittaker carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "Brave the deep. Find the gold. Trust no one.".
9IMDB entry: tt2261331 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Christopher Ross
Original score: Ilan Eshkeri
Editing: Justine Wright
Production design: Nick Palmer
Costume design: Natalie Ward
Makeup / hair: Marese Langan
VFX supervisor: Simon Hughes
Sound: Glenn Freemantle
Stunt coordinator: Jamie Edgell
Runtime: 115 min · 1h 55m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $8,000,000
Box office: $4,070,789
Return: 51% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Black Sea (2014)

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Kevin Macdonald

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2015-11-07
★ 6.5/10
Clear the desk and clear the decks. There's a fabled Nazi U-Boat down in the depths of the ocean, aboard is gold, lots of gold. So it's time for a not so motley crew of submariners to go forth - in an antiquated submarine - and try to set themselves up for life. Naturally nothing goes as planned, there are hidden agendas, rival factions within, claustrophobia reigns supreme, will anyone survive? Will you want any of them to survive? Black Sea is not without problems, though the complaints about credibility and believability not being available? Well these are surely from folk who don't watch enough of, or understand the workings of, genre cinema of this ilk. Kevin Macdonald (director) and Dennis Kelly (writer) have crafted a tight and efficient submarine thriller. Characterisations are clichéd, with nods to other genre type of films evident, but the group dynamics pulse with danger and the inevitable peril sequences strike the requisite suspenseful chords. Black Sea doesn't define or reinvent the submarine thriller wheel, it just keeps the rotor shafts turning. Strong casting and earthy photography help matters, to make this - ropey accents aside - better than a time waster of a viewing. 6.5/10
CinemaSerf2022-09-25
★ 5/10
Laid off from his job, "Robinson" (Jude Law) gets wind of a rumoured sunken horde of Nazi gold at the bottom of the Black Sea. He manages to cobble together some funds, recruit the ultimate in disparate crew - half British and half Russian, and somewhat implausibly obtain a WWII submarine that is only really held together by rust. Off they go in search of their loot and, as you might expect, tempers and superstitions run riot as the claustrophobic environment and cultural clashes cause difficulties for the increasingly isolated skipper. At times the imagery is quite effective at conveying some of the peril as their boat lurches from one disaster to another, but for the most part this is a really poorly constructed drama let down at pretty much every turn by Law's over-acting, his intermittent Scots accent, some very ropey dialogue and a cast of people who would usually perform better - Ben Mendelsohn and David Threfall, especially - but who really don't deliver anything substantial in this really cheap and cheerful looking effort. Some of the submarine interiors are authentic enough - a real one was used - but that can't really compensate for the lacklustre and repetitive narrative that can have but one conclusion. Not one of Kevin MacDonald's finer works - despite the decent cast.