Submariners from the doomed K-19 submarine are outraged over their portrayal in the Harrison Ford blockbuster based on their story.

This film isn't about Russians, but about how Americans want to see Russians

Igor Kurdin, Retired submariner

Veterans' groups say K-19: The Widowmaker inaccurately shows them as "a bunch of alcoholics and illiterates".

They are also angry over the portrayal of conflict between the submarine's two top officers, played by Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson.

K-19 survivors have threatened to sue the filmmakers, according to Izvestia daily newspaper.

"This film isn't about Russians, but about how Americans want to see Russians," Igor Kurdin, who leads a Saint Petersburg-based group of retired submariners, told Izvestia.

The thriller, which was released in the United States on Friday, depicts the tragic events aboard the Soviet nuclear submarine K-19 in July 1961 when eight seamen died preventing a meltdown in the Atlantic.

'Broken promises'

The submarine's former lieutenant-commander, Yury Mukhin, 71, said the film's director "promised us we'd be portrayed as heroes".

But instead "we don't look like sailors so much as pirates", he said.

Liam Neeson co-stars in the film

The blockbuster shows crew members drinking vodka at every opportunity, and opening an instruction manual when the alarm goes off as though they did not know how the submarine worked, said Mukhin.

"This was the Soviet Union's first nuclear submarine, and the crew consisted of professionals of the highest quality, not layabouts," he said.

Survivors and families of the K-19 crew are to receive a 1% share of the box office proceeds from the film, according to Gevorg Nersesyan, director of the Russian company distributing the film.

K-19: The Widowmaker will arrive in Russian cinemas in late September or early October.