White Squall (1996)

Teenage boys discover discipline and camaraderie on an ill-fated sailing voyage.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writers:

Charles Gieg Jr. (book), Felix Sutton (book)

Stars:

Jeff Bridges, Caroline Goodall, John Savage

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jeff Bridges	...	Sheldon 'Skipper'
Caroline Goodall	...	Dr. Alice Sheldon
John Savage	...	McCrea
Scott Wolf	...	Chuck Gieg
Jeremy Sisto	...	Frank Beaumont
Ryan Phillippe	...	Gil Martin
David Lascher	...	Robert March
Eric Michael Cole	...	Dean Preston
Jason Marsden	...	Shay Jennings
David Selby	...	Francis Beaumont
Julio Oscar Mechoso	...	Girard Pascal (as Julio Mechoso)
Zeljko Ivanek	...	Sanders
Balthazar Getty	...	Tod Johnstone
Ethan Embry	...	Tracy Lapchick
Jordan Clarke	...	Charles Gieg

Storyline

A true story about a group of American teenage boys who crew a school sailing ship to gain experience, discipline, or whatever their parents feel they lack. The voyage is a true adventure for them all but it has its downs as well as ups.

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Plot Keywords:

sail | squall | storm | male bonding | acrophobia | 

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Taglines:

The strongest force in nature is the will to survive.

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and a traumatic shipwreck

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actor Balthazar Getty is the son of John Paul Getty III. Director Ridley Scott would later tell the story of Balthazar Getty's father, who was kidnapped in Italy in 1973, in All the Money in the World (2017).

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Goofs

During the inquiry into the sinking one of the prosecutors tells the skipper the national weather service does not recognize white squalls. The national weather service was not created until 1970, prior to that it was the US weather bureau.

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Quotes

Captain Christopher "Skipper" Sheldon: You can't run from the wind. You trim your sails, face the music, and keep going.

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Connections

Referenced in The Perfect Storm (2000)

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Soundtracks

YELLOW BASKET
Written by Duke Reid & Tommy McCook
Performed by Tommy McCook & The Supersonics
Courtesy of Priestman Music

User Reviews

Dramatic come of age story by Ridley Scott

White Squall

A group of boys joins a sailing vessel to finish their last year of High school on board of the Albatross. They have to learn to work together and act as a team, which at first, is not as easy as it may seem. As time goes by they really become one group and get very close.

This plot may not be to original, and could be stereotyped as cliche. However, as the story unfolds, it still stays fun too watch and jeff bridges as the bold sailor, hard but fair, trying to make men out of different kind of boys, each one coping with his own problems, keeps you interested.

Though (for some people too) dramatic, me and my girlfriend really enjoyed this movie. I can imagine some people having difficulties with the dosis of emotion in this pic. It didn't bother me, i like it when it's well proportioned and not too cliche, except for maybe the final scene, in my eyes White Squall lives up to this.

I think this is an enjoyable movie, when you're just lying back on the couch relaxing and let it flow over you. No difficult story, but it has great shots and pretty good acting and most of the characters are reasonably developed.

7,5 (for making us cry)

Details

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English Danish Spanish

Release Date:

2 February 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

White Squall

Filming Locations:

Shallow Tank, Mediterranean Film Studios, Kalkara, Malta

Box Office

Budget:

$38,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$3,908,514, 4 February 1996

Gross USA:

$10,292,300

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$10,292,300

Company Credits

Production Co:

Hollywood Pictures, Largo Entertainment, Scott Free Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

129 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1