Shipshape movies about life at sea from historical period dramas about naval battles and whaling ships to survival tales in bad weather, to gripping thrillers about privacy, here are some of my favorite movies that take place in the ocean.
Historical Period Pieces
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) – During the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.
In the Heart of the Sea (2015) – A recounting of a New England whaling ship’s sinking by a giant whale in 1820, an experience that later inspired the great novel Moby-Dick.
Survival/Bad Weather
All is Lost (2013) – After a collision with a shipping container at sea, a resourceful sailor finds himself, despite all efforts to the contrary, staring his mortality in the face.
A Perfect Storm (2013) – An unusually intense storm pattern catches some commercial fishermen unaware and puts them in mortal danger.
Life of Pi (2012) – Movie about a boy and a tiger who are stranded in a lifeboat after a shipwreck. The movie is based on Yann Martel’s 2001 novel of the same name.
Unbroken (2014) – After a near-fatal plane crash in WWII, Olympian Louis Zamperini spends a harrowing 47 days in a raft with two fellow crewmen before he’s caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.
Crime at Sea
Dead Calm (1989) – After a tragedy, John Ingram and his wife Rae are spending some time isolated at sea, when they come across a stranger who has abandoned a sinking ship.
The Boat (2018) – A lone fisherman encounters a seemingly abandoned yacht in an eerie fog bank. Whilst trying to do the right thing the most inexplicable and terrifying nightmare begins.
Captain Phillips (2013) – The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the U.S.-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.
The River Wild (1994) – When a former river guide (Streep) arranges a white-water rafting trip to celebrate her son’s birthday and salvage her marriage, her skills and courage are soon put to the test when three mysterious strangers threaten to turn their vacation into a living hell.
Sharks and Sea Creatures
The Shallows (2016) – A mere 200 yards from shore, surfer Nancy is attacked by a great white shark, with her short journey to safety becoming the ultimate contest of wills.
Jaws (1975) – Amity Island had everything. Clear skies. Gentle surf. Warm water. People flocked there every summer. It was the perfect feeding ground.
The Meg (2018) – A rescue mission to the bottom of the ocean is terrorized by a massive prehistoric shark.