White Squall (1996)

Waste of time

If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

a film of Ridley Scott. impressive because it is one of his films. touching because it could be an embroidery of memories about growing up and adventures on sea and Dead Poets Society or, maybe, the flavor of Moby Dick. more important - the powerful images, the puzzle of lives of young man, Jeff Bridges who does an impeccable job, the discover of yourself, the force and fragility and not comfortable decisions and the ocean as the lead character. the axis - maybe the nostalgia of viewer. because it is the story of public. dreams and memories and desires. Riddley Scott gives not only a great story about life and responsibilities giving sense and transforming, but propose a story from yourself. this does White Squall special.

Released in early 1996 and directed by Ridley Scott, "White Squall" is a drama/adventure based on a true story about a group of American teenage boys who crew a sailing ship and discover discipline, adventure, courage, camaraderie, babes and the worst this world has to offer. Jeff Bridges stars as the captain, Caroline Goodall as his physician wife, John Savage as a teacher and Julio Oscar Mechoso as the cook. The main protagonist and narrator, Chuck Gieg, is played by Chris Wolf. Other teens are played by Ryan Phillippe, Jeremy Sisto, et al. (I'd name more but they're mostly so nondescript I can't remember 'em).While "White Squall" tries to be "Dead Poets Society" on the high seas it somehow doesn't click like that movie and is therefore a mixed bag, which explains why it bombed at the box office. I love the adventure-on-a-sailing-ship plot and there are some bright spots, but the script has a hard time pulling you into the story; and the characters and their situations are often too contrived to be engaging. The Shakespeare-spouting English teacher is a good example, not to mention practically any scene involving the boys. I know the screenplay was based on Chuck Gieg's book, but the producers needed a screenwriter with a creative spark who knew how to write compelling drama, like Tom Schulman.The best part of the movie is the titular storm and the shocking events thereof, which effectively perks the movie out of the general doldrums of the first two acts. Unfortunately, this thrilling sequence is a bit marred by the artificial melodramatics of the closing court room scene. The bell-ringing part is particularly eye-rolling (which is in contrast to the potent "O Captain! My Captain!" scene in "Dead Poets"). Nonetheless, "White Squall" is worth checking out if you enjoy adventure-on-the-high-seas, with the storm sequence being worth the price of admission.The movie runs 129 minutes and was shot in Malta, Bermuda, Grenada, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, South Carolina, Georgia and England.GRADE: C+ (5.5/10 Stars)

White Squall is a fun, beautifully-shot film that is essentially "Dead Poets Society" on water. That is not necessary a bad thing because this movie has the main themes about bonding and growing up. This movie deserves more credit that it gets. The story is interesting, the themes are essential, there is the usual solid and visceral direction by Ridley Scott, the special effects are good, and the editing is fast-paced.Scott's film is about a bunch of high school seniors who decide to finish off high school on a ship that's mastered by the strict Dr. Sheldon who requires much discipline. Little do they know is that their voyage to South America is bound to be ill-fated.Jeff Bridges, as usual, delivers a strong performance. We have to come to care and respect for his character even though he may not be the nicest. This may not be his biggest role, but it's one of his many effective ones.Overall, this is a vastly underrated film that speaks of courage, growing up, and a sense of adventure. This film reminds me of both Dead Poets Society and Scent of a Woman but in good ways. My only problem is that the film tends to be a little too fast-paced which makes things a little murky at times. But, all-in-all, this is a very good film. I rate this film 9/10.

I have heard about this movie long time ago, but I have never got a chance to watch it. I finally did it tonight. Even thought it was released in 1995, that was 13 years ago! wow, those actors surely have grown older by now, but it is a timeless classic. So many things happened during that trip, I don't know which is real, which is dramatized. They are all good.The sound effect is very good, I felt as if I was right there on the boat riding the big waves, hearing the sea pranging against the boat. The sceneries are beautiful. The music was good, but it was not impressive. When I was watching the production note on the DVD, I thought that the music sounds a little familiar to music of the pirates of the Caribbean, and indeed, it was the same composer. If he composed a better score for this movie, it could have made this movie even better, such as the scenes for the last moment of Alice and Gil.Even though it is more than 2 hours long, it is worth of the time. The white squall scene was very intense. However, the ending felt a little affectation, especially when the guy rang the bell. Also, Jason Marsden was already 20 at that time, but in the movie, he was supposed to be 15. I don't know how old the other characters were at that time. The actors were probably all older than the ages of the real life boys who were on. this trip.