Three favorite seafaring movies

[Kurt Konrath]

Time to watch this movie again, it must be 60 years since I last watched it. Thanks for bringing this one to light gentlemen.
Allan

The Captains sailboat was a great part of the movie.

 

[Spars]

I love rewatching all the old B&W WWII based navy movies, Away All Boats is a favorite, and I like the ending where Captain says "children help your mother" and the Exec figures it out.

I was born five years after the war and watched those movies as a kid. They're great. Like Run Silent Run Deep. One of my uncles was a submariner-he was killed and buried at the Punch Bowl.

 

[Geno]

Corvette K-225
Q Ships (1928 silent film) Now if only I could find some good plans, I´d just HAVE to build a model for certain!
The Wreck of the Mary Deare
We Dive At Dawn
The Key (Trevor Howard and William Holden -great WWII sea going tug boat scenes)
In which We Serve
Run Silent Run Deep
Destination Tokyo
Submarine Command
Operation Petticoat (corny as a heck though)
The Eternal Sea
The Gallant Hours
The Silent Enemy 1958
In The Wake of the Bounty (1933 Errol Flynn - may be hard to find)
They Were Expendable (a bit too much ham bone John Ford corn in places but great PT boat scenes. Plus Robert Montgomery WAS a real life PT boat commander)

I'll scrounge around through our dvds in the next few days.. likely a few more lurking about.

I’v watched every movie mentioned here, some of them several times, and I’ve enjoyed them all. Every time I think of one , someone pipes up and mentions it. Great stuff this!

 

[Roger Pellett]

I just found and read a kindle version of the Wreck of the Mary Deare; great story. I didn’t realize that it had been made into a movie.

Roger

 

[bluenos2]

As Monty Python would say. And now for something completely different, have a look at Our Flag Means Death. Completely inaccurate but is an interesting series. First two episodes were slow to get off the ground but it got better.

 

[Pat H]

I'll have to look it up. Does it have good ship scenes?

It's been so long since I've seen it, I don't recall. It must have some.

 

[Na Daeyong's Apprentice]

This may not fit the precise intention of this thread, but I thought I’d share something that still relates to 3 seafaring films.

Over the Christmas holiday, I decided to do a rewatch/comparison of the three movies made about the mutiny on the HMS Bounty:


The 1935 version with Clarke Gable, the 1962 version with Marlon Brando, and the 1984 version, with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. I was curious to see which version I would find to be the superior telling of the tale. After watching all three, I was a bit surprised by my reaction to them.

I went into rewatching the 1935 version first (it was also the only one I had never seen before). I was a bit charmed by it as it was technically well made for its time. But its depiction of the story was a bit too cookie cutter (Christian was far too heroic and Bligh almost cartoonishly evil). But overall, an enjoyable watch.

Marlon Brando's verision surprised me the most. I saw it once almost 30 years ago, and I more or less remember it as a film that shaped my impression of swash-buckling adventures on the high seas. Maybe it was poor memory, maybe it was nostalgia, or simply just my expectations of Brando himself, but I was thoroughly let down. It was much more a remake of the 1935 film than an new attempt at the original story. As such, Christian is once again overly noble (but this time with a touch of Brando's melodrama) and Bligh is as dastardly as ever. The final act is satisfying in some ways, but it completely glossed over Bligh’s incredible feat of sailing 3000 miles in a launch!

So yesterday, I went into the Gibson and Hopkins affair a bit heavy hearted, expecting disappointment. Remembering it as a bit dull from my first watch of it years ago, it improved upon rewatch. The story actually matched the history much better, the characters were much more nuanced, and the filming is gorgeous. I think it also had something more interesting to say than the other two. Yes, it has pacing issues and Gibson is definitely trying too hard, but overall I enjoyed rewatching this more than the other two.

So, to me, 1984’s “The Bounty,” is the definitive film version of this story. But that’s my opinion and I’s be curious to read any other opinions on this be they in agreement or disagreement.

 

[Dougie63]

There was one about a destroyer v uboat duel. Robert Mitchum was the destroyer captain. Might have been TheEnemy Below? I liked that one.

I’m surprised there are so many maritime movies.

Captain Phillips just came back to me.

And 20000 Leagues Beneath the sea!

And Peter Pan had pirates!!

And the one where Nimitz goes back in time and we see F-14 versus Zero combat. What WAS that called? The carrier was the star of that film.

Prettysure that last one was The Philadelphia Experiment.

 

[Dougie63]

Wild Season was a good one. Made in 1967 South Africa. Drama on a fishing boat.

 

[AllanKP69]

Wild Season

It was made right about the time I had a chance to do a round trip on the SS African Comet from NY to Cape Town, Durban, et al so will definitely watch. THANK YOU!
Allan

 

[Roger Pellett]

Yup, The Enemy Below is the Robert Mitchum movie mentioned by Dougie63 in post 128 above. It’s a GREAT movie. Made back when there were still World War II era ships that could be used.

Roger