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Hollywood's Ten Best Sailing Movies

By Kathleen Brooks


Whether it's the contrast of pounding surf against a clear blue sky, or watching man fight and win a battle with the challenges of a furious sea, we all like to sit safely at home and watch maritime nature unfold. If you ask ten people to name their ten favorite sailing movies, you will end up with a list of 100 movies with a marine theme.

One genre of nautical flicks is those with a military theme. One such specimen is 2003's, "Master and Commander, " starring Russel Crowe. Here, we see Crowe as the British captain pushing his ship and his crew to their limits in pursuit of a French warship during the Napoleonic Wars. Nominated for six Academy Awards and starring Klaus Wennemann, Jurgen Prochnow, and Herbert Gronemeyer, "Das Boot, " released in 1981, was mesmerizing viewers, both in English or in the original German with English subtitles.

Two stories of sea voyages that didn't turn out as they were intended are "Adrift, " and "White Squall." The former starts out as a weekend cruise among friends to celebrate the 30th birthday of a member of the closely-knit group. As the souls plunge into the sea for a frolic, the last one in forgets to set the ladder in place and the group faces a set of challenges as they are stranded off the boat, with a young baby left topside. The 1960s film, "White Squall, " sees a group of teenage boys facing tough conditions on what was, and turned out to be, the voyage of a lifetime.

The perennially popular five-feature film franchise, "Pirates of the Caribbean, " began with the "Curse of the Black Pearl, " and concludes (or does it?) in 2017 with, "Dead Men Tell No Tales." A sixth film is under consideration. The series is masterminded by the legendary Jerry Bruckheimer, the brains behind television hits such as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, " and adventure movies, "The Rock, " "Con Air, " and "Top Gun."

Fishermen are often the stars of maritime movies. Of these, two come immediately to mind. "Moby Dick" the tale of one man's obsession with a whale, starred Gregory Peck. Directed by John Huston, it was released in 1956. "The Old Man and the Sea, " dramatized the Ernest Hemingway novel and was made twice. The original starred Spencer Tracy in 1958; in 1999, it was remade with Anthony Quinn in the starring role.

People who enjoy the sensation of their hearts pulsating in their throats will enjoy 2013's, "All is Lost, " a harrowing tale with no dialogue starring Robert Redford. Coping with the aftermath of crashing into a shipping container during a raging storm, Redford has no time for friendly chit chat.

Similar to "All is Lost, " "Dead Calm" offers viewers a similar heart-in-throat sensation, but for completely different reasons. In this tale, a grieving couple on a romantic voyage are cruising along happily until they take on psychopathic shipwrecked sailor, Billy Zane.

The sea provides a stage for all types of stories, from war films, to romance and psychological thrillers. Pirate movies are in a genre all their own. Sometimes, the most dramatic stories take place with a small handful of characters, making them perfectly suitable for the claustrophobic confines of a seagoing vessel. The combination of confined spaces and minimal casts enables the director to fully develop the characters of the individuals and the way in which they interact with one another.




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