The Lightship (1985)

A trio of robbers, two brothers and their twisted genius leader, invade a lightship, but don't reckon on the crew fighting back.

Director:

Jerzy Skolimowski

Writers:

Siegfried Lenz (book), William Mai (screenplay)

Stars:

Robert Duvall, Klaus Maria Brandauer, Tim Phillips

3 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Credited cast:
Robert Duvall	...	Calvin Caspary
Klaus Maria Brandauer	...	Captain Miller
Tim Phillips	...	Thorne
Arliss Howard	...	Eddie
William Forsythe	...	Gene
Michal Skolimowski	...	Alex (as Michael Lyndon)
Robert Costanzo	...	Stump
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Tom Bower	...	Coop
Badja Djola	...	Nate

Storyline

Just when US Coast Guard captain Miller takes his teenage son Alex to his lightship off the coast of Virginia, Calvin Caspary and two criminal accomplices, on the run for the police, decide to hijack it. What the crazy trio didn't count on is that this small crew doesn't just keep taking it lying low, they will put up a fight. Alex hides dad's gun and wrestles his his war past and courage.

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Plot Keywords:

lightship | captain | u.s. coast guard | on the run | explosion | 

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Taglines:

The guiding light in a sea of treachery.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG-13

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 September 1986 (USA)

Also Known As:

Killers at Sea

Filming Locations:

Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

Company Credits

Production Co:

CBS Theatrical Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

89 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

"The roles of the hijacker Caspary (Robert Duvall) and the Coast Guard Captain Miller (Klaus Maria Brandauer) had to be switched before shooting began", according to "Variety", meaning that lead actors Robert Duvall and Klaus Maria Brandauer swapped parts. As such, Duvall and Brandauer were originally cast as being the Captain and hijacker, respectively, but changed to each other's characters.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Alex: [narrating] My old man was a captain in the Coast Guard. We never saw too much of each other. Most of the time he was away at sea. But this time I was lucky. He made it to my graduation.

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Connections

Remade as Das Feuerschiff (2008)

User Reviews

Boring and Annoying

The US Coast Guard Captain Miller (Klaus Maria Brandauer) brings his estranged teenage son Alex (Michael Lyndon) on board of his anchored lightship and introduces him to the crew. When they see a boat with three men adrift, the crew brings them to the boat. The leader Calvin Caspary (Robert Duvall) introduces the deranged brothers Eddie (Arliss Howard) and Gene (William Forsythe) to Captain Miller and his crew and soon they overtake the command of the lightship. Alex and the crew is in larger number and wants to resist but Captain Miller has a trauma from his past and wants to protect his men.

"The Lightship" is a boring, annoying and overrated film about a US Coast Guard ship that is overtaken by criminals and the lack of action of her captain that does not want to endanger his crew. There is also a conflict between the captain and his son that believes he is a coward. There are many situations where the crew could easily defeat the criminals that the movie is ridiculous. The duel between the traumatized captain and the nihilist boss of the gangsters is also terrible. The motives of the criminals are not clear. My vote is two.

Title (Brazil): "Ataque em Alto Mar" ("Attack in High Sea")