White Squall

1996  Director: Ridley Scott  129 min

The fictionalised version of a real event which occurred to the schooner-come-brigantine Albatross in 1961 resulting in the death of four student cadets, the skipper’s wife and the cook when she was laid over and sunk by a “freak” squall between the Florida Keys and the Bahamas. The film will remind some of a similar incident with the Tall Ship Marques, in which 19 crew died when she was driven over (and under) by the weight of her canvas by a squall, which could have been a waterspout, en route to Bermuda in 1984.

White Squall is a beautifully-shot coming of age story, with Jeff Bridges playing the charismatic captain Christopher B Sheldon who offers his teenage male crew the chance to live like upper yardsmen from the age of sail, developing physical fitness, self-reliance and inter-dependence on a blue-water cruise of adventure. It’s a film about how a team develops under leadership and at times it feels more like Dead Poets’ Society than Hornblower, though there are scenes that remind you of Lord of the Flies, and a courtroom ending that is as emotionally charged and well acted as that of A Few Good Men.

The ship used in the film was the Eye of the Wind for various sailing scenes in the Caribbean while a large tank in Malta (with the sea behind as a horizon) was used for the squall scenes. DH

Trailer:  [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][fusion_youtube id=”2T6WvayGd64″ alignment=”center” width=”640″ height=”360″ autoplay=”false” api_params=”&rel=0″ hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=””/][/fusion_youtube]

Reviewed as part of our Great Sailing Films Collection[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]