Hollywood favorite Jeff Bridges (THE BIG LEBOWSKI) stars in this thrilling high seas adventure! Bridges leads a crew of seafaring students (including Scott Wolf from TV’s PARTY OF FIVE) on the voyage of a lifetime! But just before their return, nature teaches the toughest lesson of all … turning this journey at sea into a test of the crew’s courage and will to survive! From acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott (BLADE RUNNER) — don’t miss any of the pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat excitement that this breathtaking motion picture delivers!It’s a pity this oceangoing adventure wasn’t fully appreciated during its theatrical release in 1996, if only because its climactic storm sequence (hence the movie’s title) was awesome on the big screen and inevitably less impressive on video. Mixed reviews also curtailed its box-office potential, but as you might expect from Ridley Scott–the director of Blade Runner and Thelma & Louise–this is a beautifully photographed movie that will thrill anyone who is drawn to the romance and danger of the open sea. The story is a rite-of-passage adventure for a group of high school boys who spend their senior year as the crew-in-training on the Albatross, a sailing vessel skippered by an experienced sailor and schoolmaster (Jeff Bridges) who teaches hard lessons of teamwork and individual responsibility. As they sail to the tip of South America and back, the young men face many challenges that will shape their character, in addition to the carnal pleasures of shore leave in exotic ports of call. It’s a traditional story, and Scott doesn’t bring anything particularly new to this sailboat variation of Dead Poets Society and Scent of a Woman. But as a coming-of-age drama White Squall is professionally crafted and filled with vital energy, featuring a talented cast of newcomers (led by Scott Wolf of TV’s Party of Five) who rise to the demands of this rousing and life-changing adventure. –Jeff Shannon
Buy “White Squall” For Only $4.44
March 5, 2010
#1
First of all, the characters all look alike and the names aint mentioned often so u dunno which guy is which. Since i gotta do a report on dis movie it aint much help. Its unrealistic in sum parts- like y aint any1 wearin life jackets when da ship is sinking??!?!?! Also. it aint very original
March 5, 2010
#2
This movie was really stupid. A bunch of hormonal teenage guys trown together on a boat does not appeal to me. The movie was a typical movie showing just how useless guys really are. They showed girls as nothing more than dumb airheads and sex toys. This movie did nothing for me at all. It had a bad boy who wasn’t really as bad as every one thought. A wimp who wasn’t as whimpy as every one thought. A boss who wasn’t as bossy as every one thought. Did this movie have anything as it was meant to? How dumb can you get?
March 5, 2010
#3
I, for one, don’t understand the loyalty that the kids showed their Captain in the final scenes. Nothing at sea convinced me that there was *any* kind of bonding going on whatsoever between anyone. When bonding issues did arise, they appeared faked, phony, and I didn’t buy them for a second.
This is an interesting film to watch if you want to see a bunch of young, attractive boys running around practically naked most of the film. I can’t imagine that the *real* cast (as this was based on a true story) was nearly as easy on the eye, so I don’t understand why so many pretty faces were cast. What happened to average boys? Fat boys? There was one boy who wore thick glasses, but I ignored him, as he seemed to be the requisite.
This is an interesting film to watch if you want to see the ocean. Ridley Scott may not be the greatest at evoking emotions within the characters he directs, but he shoots one heck of a scene.
About 2/3 of the way through this film I asked myself, “Why am I still watching this? There’s no plot, nothing of interest is happening, so what am I doing?” I did stop watching it, in fact, but then finished the last third two days later. At the end of the movie something actually happens, and it’s very moving. It has to do with what the film is named for: a white squall. A white squall is a violent tropical or subtropical storm that stirs up the surface of the sea into whitecaps, but is limited to a very localized area, often with no storm clouds present. This was pretty much the case here, although I thought I spotted a few storm clouds. I won’t say what happens when the white squall hits the ship, because if I do this review won’t be published, but I will say that the film’s only moments of quality come during the storm, and on land shortly thereafter (although on land, it’s still a tad hoaky). The handling of the two events I write of raised this from a 2 star review to a 3 star review.
March 5, 2010
#4
Have youe ever seen waste?>
March 5, 2010
#5
I’m sorry I didn’t like it. I have a REAL PROBLEM with animal cruelty and the scene with the dolphin absolutely repulsed me. Seeing a bunch of pretty boy pubescents torturing a dolphin is NOT MY IDEA OF ENTERTAINMENT. That whole scene should have been cut from the movie. But even that act alone could not save this movie. And who is this Ryan Phillipe character anyways? Every movie i see him in is just plain awful. I call it the Ryan Phillipe curse. I am astounded my favorite director, Ridley Scott directed this movie. I will just pretend he didn’t.