3. Crimson Tide (1995)
As far as sheer, white-knuckle tension goes, no film in Tony Scott's filmography can match
Crimson Tide, Gene Hackman and Denzel Washington play naval officers on two sides of the same coin; Hackman's Ramsey interprets a partial radio message to their submarine as insisting that they proceed with a launch against a Russian nuclear submarine, while Washington's Hunter insists that the incomplete message might be a retraction of an early order to launch. The two play off of each other brilliantly, egged on by a superbly taut, tightly-wound script which keeps us guessing right up until the fantastic climactic moment. More so than perhaps any of Scott's films, it manages to mix frantic thrills with an intelligent screenplay which knows its audience but keeps the tension coming thick-and-fast alongside some realistic, believable characters.