This list of our favourite films about the sea is of course subjective, but we did set ourselves some criteria – that we wanted from all the films here. Firstly the list is put together with the Snugberth cinema in mind, so these are not instructional films where a man with a clipped 1950s accent explains about the dangers of fire at sea; all these films are based on narrative story-telling at its best and have been ones we’ve really enjoyed – more importantly we know non-sailors will enjoy them too.
We wanted films which also had great sailing footage which explained life-aboard with enough detail to inform or teach the viewer something about sailing – or at any rate to enthuse, or to make a sailor feel that he or she are in good company.
So, in no particular order, these are our all-out top 21 sailing movies. We are sure we will have missed some favourites, so let us know what you’d like to have seen on this list, and why (at: editor@classicsailor.com). And we’ll add to it.
All these films are available on DVD and some are online – see links to our full reviews where you can see these. Reviewers: Guy Venables, Dan Houston, Peter Willis
See more films in Classic Sailor’s Snugberth Cinema
Adrift
2018, Dir Baltasar Kormákur 96 mins
A life affirming, tragic and uplifting film based around a couple’s struggle to survive on a wrecked sailing boat after being hit by a Typhoon in the mid Pacific in the 1980s. Our full review: HERE
Shackleton’s Captain
2012, Dir: Leanne Pooley 85 mins
New take on the well known survival story and the role of Frank Worsley, the Endurance’s captain, who was the expedition’s navigator and most experienced sailor, especially of small boats. Watch it and related films: HERE
Deep Water
2006, Dir: Louise Osmond, Jerry Rothwell 93mins
Still the best film on the tragedy of Donald Crowhurst and his ill-fated bid to win the Golden Globe race in 1968.
Watch it and read our full review and comparison with other films: HERE
White Squall
1996, Dir: Ridley Scott 129 mins
Beautifully-shot coming of age story, where teenage boys get the chance to live like upper yardsmen in the age of sail; becoming a crew under a charasmatic leader before being put to the test by disaster and shipwreck. See review and trailer: HERE
The Riddle of the Sands
1979, Dir: Tony Maylam 102 mins
Michael York’s transmission from the initially effete, disdainful Carruthers to the action hero he becomes is worth it alone. And for lovers of Childers’ masterpiece this is a respectful, atmospheric adaptation. See review: HERE
1492 Conquest of Paradise Columbus
1992, Dir Ridley Scott, Paramount etc, UK15, DVD, 154 mins
Passage making on the scale of the lunar landings meets politics and the greed of 15th century Europeans towards the new world in this gorgeously photographed story where the sailing footage arguably gives way to the most disastrous run-ashore by sailors ever seen. Full review/watch: HERE
The Boat
1921, Dir Buster Keaton, Edward Cline, B&W silent, 27 mins
Hilarious short film about how not to launch a boat, and then what not to do at sea. Full review/watch: HERE
The African Queen
1952, Dir John Huston, Horizon/Romulus Cert U, 105 mins
Epic Boy’s Own adventure, set in 1914 German East Africa – while there’s no sailing the film contains a fine portrayal of an idiosyncratic steam power plant at work. Full review/watch: HERE
Wind
1992, Dir: Carrol Ballard 126 mins
Featuring some sensationally shot race sequences, including international 14s in the theme of losing it and then winning it all back. Full review/watch: HERE
The Old Man and the Sea
1958, Dir: John Sturges, 86 mins
The best version of the American literary classic with Spencer Tracy brilliantly acting the role of an old man battling a marlin fish for days alone on the ocean. Full review/watch: HERE
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
2003, Dir Peter Weir, Universal Studios and Miramax, PG-13, 138 mins
The realism permeates off the screen in this superb portrayal of the Georgian British Navy in a sympathetic adaptation from Patrick O Brian’s novels. Review: HERE
The Perfect Storm
2000, Dir: Wolfgang Petersen 130 mins
The tough conditions faced by the sword-fisherman is brought to life on screen with a ginormous and crazy steep CGI 100ft wave, which wowed the world and probably stopped a generation from taking up boating. Review/trailer: HERE
Vanishing Sail
2015, Dir: Alexis Andrews 88mins
Extraordinary documentary about one man’s battle to keep his local boatbuilding tradition alive. See review/trailer: HERE
Lifeboat
1944, Dir: Alfred Hitchcock 97 mins
Fascinating study of the human condition that stands the test of time, the sea being their initial enemy, until it slowly dawns on the viewer that their greater enemy is in fact themselves. Review/watch: HERE
Knife in the Water
1962, Dir Roman Polanski, B&W, Anchor Bay, DVD, PG, 90 mins
Young man ships aboard 30 footer with older guy and his younger wife. And he likes getting out his knife… what could possibly go wrong? Brilliant debut from Polanski: Review/film discussion: HERE
Dead Calm
1989, Dir: Phillip Noyce 96 mins
Nail-biting suspense film cleverly blending the confines of a boat with the wide expanses of the sea, which launched both Billy Zane’s and Nichole Kidman’s career. Review/watch: HERE
Blackbeard’s Ghost
1968, Dir: Robert Stevenson Walt Disney 107 mins
Peter Ustinov delivers a tutorial that will teach anyone to talk like a pirate in this brilliant and hilarious tale of the smoking-bearded-one lost in limbo. Review/watch: HERE
All Is Lost
2013, Dir: JC Chandor 106 mins
Retired man still has things to prove and is therefore sailing alone across the Indian Ocean. Some hate this film but we liked it; Robert Redford does not play the supercool sailor, but rather the occasionally hapless one. It’s well shot and the sea scenes are good. Review/trailer: HERE
Moby Dick
1956, Dir John Huston, Moulin Productions, PG, 110 mins
The best version of the Melville classic of American literature remains the 1956 epic starring Gregory Peck as Ahab, though others are discussed in our review: HERE
Captains Courageous
1937, Dir: Victor Fleming, MGM, U, 112mins
Real working Grand Banks schooners of the American north east fishery give this early B&W movie a superlative reality as a backdrop to the drama played out by a star-studded cast. Review/trailer: HERE
Down to the Sea in Ships
1949, Dir: Henry Hathaway, 20th Century Fox, PG, 120mins
A grandpa captain steeped in the old ways takes his wayward young grandson to sea for the first time, while the new mate, a graduate of marine biology, has the hapless task of schooling him. All three are on a journey of coping with their responsibilities at different stages of their manhood. Brilliant film. Read our review or watch it: HERE