When watching Crimson Tide, the submarine-set thriller by Tony Scott, you might be perplexed by the sudden digression into a conversation about the Silver Surfer by Denzel Washington and a lower-ranking officer. “Everybody who reads comic books knows that the [Jack] Kirby Silver Surfer is the only true Silver Surfer,” Washington’s Hunter character states. During this tangential exchange that sticks out like a sore thumb in this slick Jerry Bruckheimer production also starring Gene Hackman, viewers might think they accidentally changed the channel to one that’s playing a Quentin Tarantino film, as who else would insert a pop culture discussion at this moment? As it turns out, Tarantino did uncredited script re-writes on Crimson Tide, and these contributions led to a brief feud with Denzel Washington, threatening their chances of ever working together on a film in the future.
Quentin Tarantino Did Uncredited Re-Writes on ‘Crimson Tide’

Hot off of the cultural phenomenon of Pulp Fiction, everyone wanted to have a piece of Quentin Tarantino. Even if they couldn’t obtain his services, Hollywood had no problem ripping him off with Pulp Fiction imitators featuring low-rate gangsters in suits, cursing at each other, and talking about fast food in a non-chronological timeline. Before and after his rise to stardom, Tarantino, like most screenwriters, turned to script doctoring, even if the films didn’t necessarily align with his sensibilities, with the most bizarre instance being his work on the SNL-inspired comedy It’s Pat. The Reservoir Dogs director, who also punched up the script for Michael Bay’s The Rock, was presumably happy to help out Tony Scott, who directed the Tarantino-scripted True Romance, and add some postmodern flavor to Crimson Tide.
With True Romance being the lone exception, Tarantino’s distinct dialogue only works under his direction. While he has publicly decried Oliver Stone for drastically altering his vision for Natural Born Killers, any director trying to imitate his dialogue and style is futile. In Crimson Tide, the debate between the combating officers over the canonical Silver Surfer leads to an altercation. This quarrel stretches our ability to suspend disbelief, even in a Tony Scott film. Furthermore, Denzel Washington can make anything electric with his sharp line readings, but as a hard-nosed navy commander, the name “Silver Surfer” sounds unnatural coming out of his mouth. Towards the end of the film, the contentious relationship between Hunter and his superior officer, Ramsey (Hackman), takes an unforeseen turn into an exchange evoking a racially-charged Tarantino monologue. Ramsey, wanting to put his deputy officer in his place, begins discussing Lippizaner stallions, highly-trained, athletically gifted horses, which happen to have white pigment.
Denzel Washington Was Upset by Quentin Tarantino’s Insensitive Dialogue

This scene is theorized to be the catalyst for the feud between Washington and Tarantino, which the actor discussed in a GQ interview in 2012. After revealing that his daughter worked as an assistant on Django Unchained, Washington confirmed that he held some bad blood towards Tarantino, but he eventually buried the hatchet. “I told him, ‘Look, I apologize,'” Washington said, “You’ve just gotta let that go. You gonna walk around with that the rest of your life? He seemed relieved,” he continued. During the filming of Crimson Tide, Washington reportedly lambasted Tarantino for the repeated use of racial epithets in his scripts, something that has landed the director in hot water over the years, particularly with Spike Lee. Tarantino wanted to discuss it privately, but Washington preferred to hash things out in the open. “Here we are ten years later, and my daughter’s working with him. Life is something.” Washington told GQ, reflecting on the oddities of life.

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Cinephiles dream of the day that Denzel Washington and Quentin Tarantino work together as a credited actor-director duo. In a 2009 interview with Jonathan Ross, Washington, a guest on the show with Tarantino calling in via video, claimed “he’s never hired me!” Tarantino said it would be an “honor” to work with Washington, praising him as “one of the best actors in the world.” 15 years later, we’re still waiting for this collaboration, but we can’t think of anything more suitable for Tarantino’s alleged final film than a starring role for Washington, who is hot off a critically acclaimed turn in Gladiator II.
In an era that featured larger-than-life movie stars such as Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Denzel Washington, Quentin Tarantino’s groundbreaking style and provocative celebrity presence inspired more headlines than anyone. Everyone could recognize that credited screenwriter Michael Schiffer couldn’t have been responsible for the conversation about the Silver Surfer in Crimson Tide. Even when he went uncredited, Tarantino’s work still caused a stir.
Crimson Tide is available to rent on Prime Video in the U.S.
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Crimson Tide

Release Date

May 12, 1995

Runtime

116 Minutes

Writers

Michael Schiffer