What is your favorite Sailing Movies?

[Sean]

***Wind*** & Dead Calm - Like others have said...

Yeah, Wind is really inspiring.& Dead Calm, well it reminds you to be careful out there.-SeanOh, by the way, if you're into watching races, check out t2p.tv They do a decent job of producing (play by play) commentary style videos on some of the regattas around the country. They have some fun races to watch online for (free).

 

[sailortonyb]

TIMMR ...thanks for correction.

DEAD CALM is the name and yes, the Visitors is also a good movie.After the movie "Dead Calm", GF wanted to know what weapons we kept on board.

 

[Brian Hanna]

Watch the end of Captain Ron

when they turn around. They sure are pumping a lot of water out the exhaust for boat that doesn't have a motor.

 

[Rob Hessenius]

The Dove

A movie that made me dream about adventure was The Dove, with Timothy Bottoms. Old flick that was on in the 70's.

 

[Bill]

Just a scene, but...

Personal favorite is the opening from "METEOR"... Sean Connery doing some serious racingBDon't forget about the A&E productions of the Horratio Hornblower series.

 

[Richard4728]

Captains Courageous ~ 1937

Spencer Tracey......a must see.

 

[Benny]

No one has mentioned "Kill Cruise"

It's a low budget mystery with Elizabeth Hurley but it has good sailing scenes. It's not my favorite as "Wind" is with "White Squall" a close second, but it just offers another alternative for those that have seen almost everything.

 

[tweitz]

Films

I like every Horatio Hornblower.

 

[Scott]

"Bounty" is good ...

The latest one is just called "Bounty" (with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins) or the earlier one is "Mutiny on the Bounty". "Wind" was good for the sailing action.I loved the sailboat scenes in "Along Came Polly". I laughed so hard when the ferret was sliding across the cabin sole as the boat was pitching in the waves and then when Bryan Brown sank "Roo Shooter" on the rocks (I'm glad it was a fake scene). What a nice looking boat that is."Dead Calm" was an intense movie, but a big disappointment if you want actual sailing footage ... dead calm is the key here ... only in a very short segment when they actually sailed the boat in a storm was it interesting. The villian in the movie was more annoying than threatening so it was a hard movie to take seriously.

 

[Harvey]

Summer Rental

Summer Rental."You idiot! I was on a starboard tack!"

 

[Mike]

Irving Johnson

No one has yet mentioned Irving Johnson's classic documentary "Peking Battles Cape Horn". I think it is still available from Mystic Seaport. Unbelievable actual footage of Johnson while a very young man in the waning days of commerical sail aboard the Peking, a full size windjammer, as she makes her way around Cape Horn. Silent, black and white footage with Johnson performing the narration. A completely vanished way of life. In the same vein: Sailing All Seas: this is a documentary shot sometime in the 1930's by a guy who set out to sail the south seas from Seattle. He filmed himself (in color, no less) and his various crew members as they traveled around the world. The video that is out now is his original footage accompanied by some new footage of him now along with contemporary narration. Other movies already mentioned that I enjoyed: White Squall: some great sailing sequences, great production values. A little hackneyed toward the end, but a must-see. Wind: trite plot, bad dialogue, great sailing sequences. Cap'n Ron: sweet boat, a very funny Kurt Russell. Anyone who has actually been below decks on a boat that size knows that the interior shots were all done in a studio, not on board (especially the scenes in the engine room). Master and Commander: one of the few movies I actually own. See it. Nuff said. Damn the Defiant: I really liked this movie, even if it was predictable. Billy Budd: a very literate, historically accurate view of the Royal Navy. Peter Ustinov is terrific as the Captain, and David McCallum (from the Man from Uncle and NCIS) is really good too. B&W. One night about 15 years ago, some cable station showed "Horatio Hornblower" followed by "Damn the Defiant" and then "Billy Budd". I don't think I got to sleep that night.

 

[Bob]

WHITE SQUALL

This is an AWESOME movie an must be viewed by all. It stars Jeff Bridges and is a real gut rencher.Enjoy!

 

[Rob2435]

White Squall - Based on True Story

I believe this is based on a true story in the Gulf. I forget the name of the ship, but the prior owner actually lost a good friend due freak storm.

 

[Joe]

re: captains courageous et.al.

there is no more exciting sailing scene in movies than the opening segment of this movie where the two fishing schooners are racing each other back to port.... Fabulous tall ships under full canvas blasting through heavy seas with their crew cranking every inch of speed they can. This is the foundation for modern yacht racing when getting your goods to market before the other guy reaped huge rewards.Summer Rental...the sailing lessons in the small boat is fabulous but the yacht race is unrealistic. For one thing there is no wind....Capt Ron is cute. I love Wind....I wish it was on DVD.. I've watched it at least a dozen times.The sailing scenes in Dead Calm are okay, but... how did nicole kidman get herself up on the spreader?...where's the bosn's chair? But...brother what a beautiful boat.....I love "master & commander" too but there wasn't enough action. Only one real sailing scene... when they were chasing the French boat south towards Cape Horn. Most of the naval history novels have a lot about sail handling and maneuvering in battle but this film had very little. Good movie though.Speaking of books.... I'm reading the "Ramage" series now.... good stuff!I'll tell you the best sailing story I've seen recently is on the TV series "I Shouldn't Be Alive" about the 23 year old woman who survived a typhoon in the pacific and sailed her dismasted/disabled boat 1500 miles back to hawaii after losing her partner during the storm. 43 days at sea alone.

 

[chuckwayne]

Wind

Joe,Wind is out on DVD-it's Tristar 08520, ISBN 0-7678-8871-5

 

[Cap'n Ron]

" No Latitude For Error"

This is the greatest sailing documentary ever filmed yet. The Great Sir Peter Blake, who was the finest sailor in this world, and the second best sailor too was aboard; Captain Robin Knotts Johnson. Methinks they changed the name of this film outside New Zealand for some obscure reason?? A huge cat broke the 'round the world record in 76 days, but the waves, growlers, iceburgs and gales were so real the adrenaline was pumping...Cap'n Ron was a real kick, and not much sailing but Kurt Russell was great, he is a non-ego guy in real-world too."The Perfect Storm" I have seen a dozen times, likely, and the "kaptiain" of that Wet snail is like many I've seen too, great film and shows a fraction of what the USCG does everyday.Liked "The Dove" not a good movie, the National Graphic articals on Robin Lee Graham's circumnavigation was better, inspiring to me."Captian Blood" with Errol Flynn was a favorite of mine as a boy.Tom Clancey's "Hunt For Red Oktober" was the best for sub tactics, looked pretty real...;-)

 

[Joe]

thanks chuck....

I'll order it tomorrow. awright!

 

[Honeyman]

The Sea Hawk...

1940, Errol Flynn was just on Thursday night 6/29. All time classic with the cast from Robin Hood!!! Spanish armada planning an attack on England, true history.

 

[Marybeth and Rip]

The Riddle of the Sands

with Michael York. I have a very old copy on VHS(1993). I have almost worn it out. I have not been able to find it on DVD.

 

[Bob]

A little obscure, but good...

Roman Polanski's first film, done on a shoestring budget in 1962, was "Knife in the Water". It is an absorbing psychological drama concerning three people on a sailboat - the sailing scenes are really good, and you won't guess the ending. The music is clearly from that period (heavy on the sax), and dialogue is in subtitles, as the original was shot in Poland. But experts give it a 4-star rating. Watch for the mistake the skipper makes when first rigging the boat - I assume there was not enough money to pay for a re-take of the scene.