Teenage boys discover discipline and camaraderie on an ill-fated sailing voyage.Teenage boys discover discipline and camaraderie on an ill-fated sailing voyage.Teenage boys discover discipline and camaraderie on an ill-fated sailing voyage.
- Director
- Writers
- Stars
- Awards
- 2 nominations total
Julio Oscar Mechoso
- Girard Pascal
- (as Julio Mechoso)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
I love this film, it about a bunch of boys who either get sent on this ship to get disciplined by their parents or some just choose to escape their lives, They take it for granted tho, they don't realise how much hard work it will be. The ship and their captain take them on a journey, a journey that will probably change their lives forever, facing their fears and coming to grips with their lives, they learn a lot and pull together as a team. A truly moving story and another great film by Ridley Scott. From struggles to strengths, this is an inspiring film to watch with many good actors, Jeff bridges is really good for this role playing a tough, wise teacher for the boys. I love this as it is based on a true story, it makes it even more moving.
I quite agree that it is a Dead Poets Society set at sea. It is a mistake to classify it as an Action Movie. It's about building trust and group reliance with some action scenes. The development of mutual respect between the boys is quite believable The acting is excellent in all cases. As a Jeff Bridges fan, I was surprised I'd never heard of it before it appeared on late night TV. The last looks exchanged between the captain and his wife are about as good as they get. Not a really great movie but I found it well worthwhile as a non-fan of action movies.
With masterpieces like Alien, Blade Runner and the underrated, but superb, 1492: Conquest of Paradise, I am quite a big Ridley Scott fan. White Squall is something of a let down in comparison, but it certainly deserved more than a measly $10 million US gross at the box office. As you would expect from a Scott film it boasts his trademark lavish production quality and stunning photography. The sequences at sea at some of the most spectacular ever filmed as Scott revels in the rolling waves and lurching ship, convey the ferociousness at sea, even in fairly calm conditions like no other film I can recall. The story however is less successful and is essentially (and unusually unoriginal for a Scott movie) a Dead Poets' Society at sea, as a motley crew of young boys, played by a talented and convincing set youngsters, do a lot of growing during the course of the voyage under the watchful eye of an Ahab-esque but eventually sympathetic Jeff Bridges. The final scene most definitely resembles that of Dead Poets' Society. (Captain. My Captain). However the film as a whole never bores and makes for compulsive viewing at times particularly the superb storm of the title, that is both moving as well technical tour de force.
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)
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)
Well, maybe it isn't that bad. Some moments are touching, others genuinely harrowing. And Jeff Bridges always comes up with something surprising. But, "true story" though it may be, "White Squall" is overwhelmed by its obvious schematic and Ridley Scott's signature gloss. Each young crewmember has a stamped-on singular defect, Scott Wolf's tomcruisy precociousness is particularly grating, and for all the magnificent ocean scenery and blather about boys being forged into men, we're shown precious little of the day-to-day grunt/teamwork that's at the core of the whole business. Add to this the greatest assemblage of immaculate white t-shirts and bronzed, hairless torsos since Abercrombie met Fitch, and a potentially gritty, moving story lies trapped in amber.
Did you know
- TriviaJeff Bridges was in real-life a veteran of the United States Coast Guard.
- GoofsAccording to the timelines shown on screen, the story starts in 1960 and ends in 1961. However, in one of the scenes on the ship, in the background you can hear JFK's speech about the Cuban Missile Crisis from October 1962.
- Quotes
Captain Christopher "Skipper" Sheldon: You can't run from the wind. You trim your sails, face the music, and keep going.
- ConnectionsEdited into Kingdom of Heaven (2005)
- How long is White Squall?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $38,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $10,292,300
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $3,908,514
- Feb 4, 1996
- Gross worldwide
- $10,292,300
- Runtime
- 2h 9m(129 min)
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content