Fails the Bechdel test

Under Siege

Name: Under Siege
Released: 1992

1992. Directed by Andrew Davis, written by J.F. Lawton.

The Bechdel test

Bechdel score

0 / 3

Fails

No 1. At least two women
Fewer than two women characters.
No 2. Who talk to each other
Our parser found no scene where two women talk to each other.
No 3. About something besides a man
Not reached: the film fails an earlier rule.

Second opinion

Not rated bechdeltest.com readers haven't rated this film.

The film

The battleship Missouri is about to be decomissioned. Casey Ryback is Captain Adam's personal cook. And Ryback is always butting heads with the ship's XO Commander Krill but the Captain always intercedes. One day, after the President visits the Missouri, which is also the Captain's birthday, the Captain learns that a helicopter has been cleared to land on the ship by Commander Krill, which he was not informed of. When questioned Krill tells the Captain that it's a surprise for his birthday, the Captain then allows it. Later after another one of their scuffles, Krill has Ryback locked in the freezer. During the party, the rock band reveals themselves to be mercenaries, led by William Stranix, a CIA operative, who is in league with Krill to unload all of the ship's nuclear warheads. They lock up all of the crew and make preparations to remove the warheads. And Krill remembers Ryback, Stranix sends two of his men to take care of Ryback, only thing is that Ryback took care of them. Upon discovering their bodies, Stranix deduces that Ryback is more than a cook. He then sends Krill to check on him, and Krill discovers that Ryback's a NAVY SEAL, who got busted down to a cook after an incident in Panama. And Ryback continues to create trouble for them, so Stranix tries to hunt him down. Along the way, Ryback meets Jordan, a former playmate, who was supposed to entertain at the party but was also forgotten.

Released: 09 Oct 1992
Genres: Action, Thriller
Rated: R
IMDb: 6.5 / 10
Metascore: 58 / 100
Awards: Nominated for 2 Oscars. 3 wins & 3 nominations total
Elsewhere: View on IMDb

Starring, by lines spoken

Women
Men
Not in the cast list
Bigger name, more lines

Ryback 153 lines, man
Strannix 101 lines, man
Jordan 65 lines, woman
Krill 54 lines, man
Breaker 32 lines, man
Tackman 26 lines, man
Pitt 25 lines, man
Adams 18 lines, man
Granger 17 lines, man
Bates 16 lines, man

Full cast, 66 people

Steven Seagal as Casey Ryback
Tommy Lee Jones as William Strannix
Gary Busey as Commander Krill
Erika Eleniak as Jordan Tate
Colm Meaney as Daumer
Damian Chapa as Tackman
Andy Romano as Admiral Bates
Patrick O'Neal as Captain Adams
Nick Mancuso as Tom Breaker
Raymond Cruz as Ramirez
Duane Davis as Johnson
Michael Des Barres as Damiani
Dale Dye as Captain Garza
Troy Evans as Granger
David McKnight as Flicker
Glenn Morshower as Ensign Taylor
Sandy Ward as Calaway
Michael Welden as Lt. Ballard
Tom Wood as Nash
Lee Hinton as Cue Ball
Leo Alexander as Lt. Smart
John Rottger as Commander Green
Brad Rea as Marine Guard
Bernie Casey as Commander Harris
Rickey Pierre as Kitchen Helper
Eddie Bo Smith Jr. as Shadow
Richard Andrew Jones as Pitt
Tom Reynolds as Wave
Tom Muzila as Cates
Kirk Burroughs as Commando
George Cheung as Commando
Jim Chimento as Commando
Craig E. Dunn as Commando
Daniel Dupont as Commando
Frank Ferrara Sr. as Commando
Adam James as Commando
Michael Gaylord James as Commando
Miguel Nino as Commando
David Webster as Commando
Gene Barge as Bail Jumper
Tony Brown as Bail Jumper
Hiram Bullock as Bail Jumper
Chris Cameron as Bail Jumper
Richard Davis as Bail Jumper
Tad Robinson as Bail Jumper
Wendell Wayne Stewart as Bail Jumper
Jerome Wiggins as Sammy Lee
Joseph F. Kosala as Engine Room Watch Officer
Ousaun Elam as Marine
Peewee Piemonte as Marine
Daniel H. Friedman as Spoon
Gregory G. Stump as Bridge Officer
David U. Hodges as Bridge Watchman
Bruce Bozzi as F-18 Pilot
Craig Pinkard as Submariner
Conrad E. Palmisano as Strike Team Leader
Luis J. Silva as Luigi
Nate Robinson as Ship's Doctor
Gary Gardner as Marine - San Francisco
Dru Anne Carlson as Captain Spellman
Ralph Wesley Carey as Naval Aide
Joseph R. John as Chief of Staff
Dennis Lipscomb as Trenton
Robert Nichols as Colonel Sarnac
E. Daniel Corte, Jr. as CIA Aide
Kane Hodder as Commando (uncredited)

Who talks, scene by scene

Lines of dialogue in every 5 scenes, start to finish. Women above the line, men below. 9% of lines come from characters we couldn't match to the cast list and aren't shown.

Women

Men

Scene 1 Scene 216

Hover, tap or tab to a bar to see those scenes: where they happen and who's talking.

Show the numbers

Scenes	Women's lines	Men's lines
1 to 5	0	23
6 to 10	0	5
11 to 15	0	4
16 to 20	0	30
21 to 25	1	22
26 to 30	2	15
31 to 35	2	11
36 to 40	2	13
41 to 45	0	8
46 to 50	0	17
51 to 55	0	8
56 to 60	0	14
61 to 65	0	17
66 to 70	0	3
71 to 75	0	13
76 to 80	9	40
81 to 85	0	8
86 to 90	0	13
91 to 95	10	32
96 to 100	2	3
101 to 105	13	67
106 to 110	1	28
111 to 115	0	2
116 to 120	5	11
121 to 125	2	11
126 to 130	0	3
131 to 135	0	4
136 to 140	4	13
141 to 145	0	3
146 to 150	0	0
151 to 155	4	7
156 to 160	2	7
161 to 165	5	33
166 to 170	1	18
171 to 175	0	5
176 to 180	0	7
181 to 185	0	3
186 to 190	0	21
191 to 195	0	10
196 to 200	0	10
201 to 205	0	6
206 to 210	0	5
211 to 215	0	1
216 to 216	0	0

The evidence

Straight from the script
Counted from the script and the credits

Tap an exhibit to open it.

Exhibit A: every 100 lines

Out of every 100 lines with a known speaker, 10 are women's.

65 lines from women, 574 from men.

Women
Men

Exhibit B: who's in it

2 women and 44 men in the cast. 1 women and 29 men from it get lines.

Characters

With lines

Women
Men

Exhibit C: who gets heard

The first woman speaks at line 75 of 703. The longest stretch with no woman speaking runs 122 lines.

Every line of dialogue, first to last

First line by a woman
Longest stretch with no woman speaking

Words spoken

Women speak 10% of the words (1,148), men 90% (9,884).

Exhibit D: the test the other way

Two named men talk to each other about something besides a woman. It passes the reverse test.

Conversations between two named characters

Two women

Two men

Exhibit E: behind the camera

None of the 14 people in these jobs are women. Across the whole crew, 11% of the people whose gender is listed are women.

Directed by: Andrew Davis (man)
Written by: J.F. Lawton (man)
Produced by: Arnon Milchan (man), Steven Reuther (man), Steven Seagal (man)
Shot by: Frank Tidy (man)
Edited by: Dennis Virkler (man), Dov Hoenig (man), Robert A. Ferretti (man), Don Brochu (man)
Music by: Gary Chang (man)
Production design by: Bill Kenney (man)
Costumes by: Richard Bruno (man)
Cast by: Pamela Basker (gender not listed)

The crew, department by department

Sound

7 women, 19 men, 11 not listed
Other crew

0 women, 28 men, 5 not listed
Camera

0 women, 7 men, 5 not listed
Production

0 women, 7 men, 4 not listed
Art

1 women, 3 men, 3 not listed
Editing

0 women, 5 men, 2 not listed
Costume & Make-Up

1 women, 2 men, 2 not listed
Directing

1 women, 3 men, 1 not listed

Women
Men
Gender not listed on TMDB

Exhibit F: how old the stars were

Women: 23 on average. Men: 43 on average. The top-billed cast, at the film's release.

Women

Erika Eleniak 23

Men

Damian Chapa 28, Raymond Cruz 28, Colm Meaney 39, Steven Seagal 40, Nick Mancuso 44, Tommy Lee Jones 46, Gary Busey 48, Andy Romano 51, Patrick O'Neal 65

Exhibit G: the money

It made 4.5 times what it cost.

Budget: $35 million
Box office: $157 million

From TMDB, not adjusted for inflation.

About this analysis

Our parser read the script: 216 scenes and 703 lines of dialogue. How the test works

Related films

Back to the whole shelf