The Final Countdown

"Trapped outside the boundaries of time and space... 102 aircraft... 6,000 men... all missing."

1980 1h 43m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🥫

52%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

6.7

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 707🥫52%Rotten Tomatoes●51Metacritic★6.7IMDB · 29,416

WarActionScience Fiction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

During routine manoeuvres near Hawaii in 1980, the aircraft-carrier USS Nimitz is caught in a strange vortex-like storm, throwing the ship back in time to 1941—mere hours before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

“Trapped outside the boundaries of time and space... 102 aircraft... 6,000 men... all missing.”

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Cast

Kirk Douglas
Capt. Matthew Yelland
Martin Sheen
Warren Lasky
Katharine Ross
Laurel Scott
James Farentino
Wing Commander Richard T. Owens
Ron O'Neal
Commander Dan Thurman
Charles Durning
Senator Samuel Chapman
Victor Mohica
Black Cloud
James Coleman
Lt. Perry

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Don Taylor
Writers: David Ambrose, Thomas Hunter, Gerry Davis
Languages: Russian, English, Japanese
Countries: United States of America

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

ERA

Did you know

46 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Russian, English, Japanese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Don Taylor, shot by Victor J. Kemper. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

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

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen and Katharine Ross carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Trapped outside the boundaries of time and space... 102 aircraft... 6,000 men... all missing.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0080736 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Don Taylor directs. Victor J. Kemper behind the camera. John Scott scores. Robert K. Lambert cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in Russian, English, Japanese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

146 years old — old enough to be someone's favourite childhood film.
2Dialogue crosses 3 languages: Russian, English, Japanese.
3Directed by Don Taylor, shot by Victor J. Kemper. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by John Scott. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Robert K. Lambert shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen and Katharine Ross carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Trapped outside the boundaries of time and space... 102 aircraft... 6,000 men... all missing.".
8IMDB entry: tt0080736 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Classified under 10 themes, including "airplane", "world war ii", "time travel", "pearl harbor".

The technical file

Cinematography: Victor J. Kemper
Original score: John Scott
Editing: Robert K. Lambert
Production design: Fernando Carrere
Costume design: Ray Summers
Makeup / hair: Romaine Greene
Stunt coordinator: Bill Couch
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $12,000,000
Box office: $16,647,800
Return: 139% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Final Countdown (1980)
Rotten Tomatoes: 52% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 51/100
IMDB rating: 6.7/10 · 29,416 votes
MPAA: PG

Awards

1 win & 2 nominations total

Also by

Don Taylor

Stills · wallpapers

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522021-05-13
★ 8/10
Pretty fun Twilight Zone-esque movie that was entertaining throughout. Always like the ideas of alternate history and while this doesn't quite change history in the end (and shouldn't given it was Pearl Harbor, not to mention when this movie was released, survivors were only in their early/mid 60s), still was a good time. On the downside, the actual travel through the portal was cheesy and cheap even for 1979/80. 3.75/5 As a side, interesting that only 7 years later, the sons of Kirk Douglas and Martin Sheen will star in Wall Street...

Production companies