Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsABFFPride MonthOutfest OutfrontsSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • All
  • Titles
  • TV Episodes
  • Celebs
  • Companies
  • Keywords
  • Advanced Search
Watchlist
Sign In
Sign In
New Customer? Create account
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Lightship

  • 1985
  • PG-13
  • 1h 29m
IMDb RATING
6.3/10
1K
YOUR RATING
The Lightship (1985)
CrimeDramaThriller

A trio of robbers, two brothers and their twisted genius leader, invade a lightship, but don't reckon on the crew fighting back.A trio of robbers, two brothers and their twisted genius leader, invade a lightship, but don't reckon on the crew fighting back.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
    • William Mai
    • David Taylor
  • Stars
    • Robert Duvall
    • Klaus Maria Brandauer
    • Michal Skolimowski
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.3/10
    1K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Jerzy Skolimowski
    • Writers
      • Siegfried Lenz
      • William Mai
      • David Taylor
    • Stars
      • Robert Duvall
      • Klaus Maria Brandauer
      • Michal Skolimowski
    • 20User reviews
    • 15Critic reviews
  • See production, box office & company info
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 3 wins & 1 nomination

    Photos26

    The Lightship (1985)
    Robert Duvall and Klaus Maria Brandauer in The Lightship (1985)
    Robert Duvall and Klaus Maria Brandauer in The Lightship (1985)
    Robert Duvall and Klaus Maria Brandauer in The Lightship (1985)
    Klaus Maria Brandauer and Michal Skolimowski in The Lightship (1985)
    Michal Skolimowski in The Lightship (1985)
    Klaus Maria Brandauer in The Lightship (1985)
    Robert Duvall and Klaus Maria Brandauer in The Lightship (1985)
    Robert Duvall and Arliss Howard in The Lightship (1985)
    Robert Duvall and Klaus Maria Brandauer in The Lightship (1985)
    Robert Duvall and Arliss Howard in The Lightship (1985)
    Robert Duvall in The Lightship (1985)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Robert Duvall
    Robert Duvall
    • Calvin Caspary
    Klaus Maria Brandauer
    Klaus Maria Brandauer
    • Captain Miller
    Michal Skolimowski
    Michal Skolimowski
    • Alex
    • (as Michael Lyndon)
    Tom Bower
    Tom Bower
    • Coop
    Robert Costanzo
    Robert Costanzo
    • Stump
    Tim Phillips
    • Thorne
    Badja Djola
    Badja Djola
    • Nate
    William Forsythe
    William Forsythe
    • Gene
    Arliss Howard
    Arliss Howard
    • Eddie
    • Director
      • Jerzy Skolimowski
    • Writers
      • Siegfried Lenz
      • William Mai
      • David Taylor
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Moonlighting
    7.3
    Moonlighting
    Le départ
    6.5
    Le départ
    Deep End
    7.2
    Deep End
    The Shout
    6.6
    The Shout
    Carriage to Vienna
    7.8
    Carriage to Vienna
    Telefon
    6.5
    Telefon
    The Hill
    7.9
    The Hill
    Success Is the Best Revenge
    5.8
    Success Is the Best Revenge
    Torrents of Spring
    5.8
    Torrents of Spring
    Pressure Point
    7.1
    Pressure Point
    Dragon Inn
    7.4
    Dragon Inn
    The Liberation of L.B. Jones
    6.8
    The Liberation of L.B. Jones

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      A "lightship" is a static floating lighthouse permanently anchored in one place that never sails anywhere.
    • Quotes

      Gene: I just killed a black bird Mr. Caspary, now i'm gonna kill a black man

    • Connections
      Remade as Das Feuerschiff (2008)

    User reviews20

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    9/10
    A great story about the struggle between order and chaos.
    This is one of the great movies from the eighties, however unjustly underestimated and forgotten.

    Brandauer plays the captain of the lightship that's constantly anchored at the same place. It's only purpose is to warn other ships for dangerous waters. Robert Duvall enters the scene with his men and his one ambitions. It is also a generation drama about the relation between the lightships captain and his prodigal son.

    A brilliantly hermetical story about the thin line between order and chaos, and about relations between people. An excitement that lies not in action but in the trial of strength and the mostly implicit violence, that sometimes breaks out in uncontrolled outbursts.

    It also tells the story about the kind of courage that almost looks like cowardice.

    Don't miss this one!
    helpful•20
    3
    • ulf-15
    • Jun 3, 2005

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • September 26, 1986 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Killers at Sea
    • Filming locations
      • Schleswig-Holstein, Germany
    • Production company
      • CBS Theatrical Films
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 29 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Mono

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    The Lightship (1985)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Lightship (1985) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb App
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    • Get the IMDb App
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • IMDb Developer
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2023 by IMDb.com, Inc.