Details
Movie Description
Eclectic director Ridley Scott here tries his hand at a coming-of-age tale, which stars Jeff Bridges as ship captain Christopher Sheldon. Based on a true story, the film is set in 1960 as a group of teenaged prep students signs on to Sheldon's floating summer school, conducted on a two-masted brigantine bound for South America. It soon becomes clear that the gruff but humane captain runs a tight ship as he drills his neophyte crew on the importance of teamwork and discipline. The boys possess a wide range of temperaments--there's the bully, the daredevil, the one plagued by insecurities, the one with demanding parents. Sheldon uses the shipboard chores as tools for dealing with their problems, reining in the obnoxious and encouraging the anxious. Since they are, after all, sailors, they also get a chance to get drunk in port and stop over at a whorehouse. Finally, the crew must confront the fabled white squall, a deadly storm so rare that even Sheldon has never experienced one. Bridges, Ryan Phillippe, Balthazar Getty, and Jeremy Sisto give fine performances in Scott's film of spectacular visual beauty.
Synopsis
In this coming-of-age story, director Ridley Scott examines the relationships within a group of high school teens sailing the Caribbean on a year-long cruise. The crew is headed by Sheldon, a tough, fair-minded skipper who must exercise his best judgment and control when their vessel encounters one of the deadliest of all seafaring terrors--a storm of mythical proportions known as a white squall.
Film Notes
Released theatrically in the USA February 2, 1996. The film grossed $10.2 million domestically.
Co-produced by Rocky Lang Productions and Scott Free Productions.
Additional credits: Adam Somner and Darin Rivetti (assistant directors) and Graham Daniel (sound mixer).
Soundtrack on Hollywood Records.
Rated BBFC 12 by the British Board of Film Classification.
Industry Reviews
"...Wolf proves the perfect Everykid, brimming with fresh-faced likability....Scott remains a gifted visual stylist..."
Variety - Brian Lowry (01/29/1996)
"...Few directors have a better eye for dramatic composition than Scott, and the squall sequence, with a white wall of wind battering the Albatross and its crew, is both terrifying and weirdly exhilarating..."
Los Angeles Times - Jack Mathews (02/02/1996)
"...[A] handsomely mounted adventure....The 15-minute squall is spectacular..."
USA Today - Mike Clark (02/02/1996)
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