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The power yacht at the end of The Island ?

Discussion in ' Powerboats ' started by laurentk , Sep 17, 2006 .

laurentk New Member

Hello guys, I am new to the forum, and desperatly trying to find the designer name of the yacht that you see at the end of the movie The Island. For those who didn't see it, but might have an idea, here is a (vague) description: must be aprroximately 120/150 feet, dark green body, looks very very futurist, dark (black smoked glass) cabin, and some kind of side parts at the back of the boat that can expand when berthing. Thank you so much ! Laurent  

I found it ! The most amazing boat ever (for me ....) This is it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/118_WallyPower http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/c9/118WP.jpg http://extremetechnology.blogspot.com/2006/03/extreme-superyacht.html http://www.wally.com/default.asp?bflash=1 And pictures here: http://images.google.com/images?lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=118 WallyPower&sa=N&tab=wi http://flickr.com/search/?q=118 Wally Power&m=text Thx ! Laurent  

Willallison Senior Member

The Wally is an extraordinary vessel. Though the 118 is not without its flaws - for instance, it is apparently impossible to see the horizon, let alone the water from the helm whilst the boat is at speed! More importantly - was it a good film?  

Frosty Previous Member

3 RR turbine engines !!! one can only immagine what the fuel consumtion will be plus you will probably need a day to learn how to start them. Real macho stuff but of all the boats that have ever been called a millionares boat,-- then this must be it. Its ugliness is beyong description , but its ugliness becomes confusing to the mind to the point that you have to re calibrate ugly, untill its ugliness doesnt matter. Its as ugly as a tank, some people like tanks. A very strange boat-- you iether like it or you dont.  

Well, Jack, it's always the same questions. When facing a Honda Civic, everybody will agree on a common well designed car that rolls. When facing a Lamborghini Murciélago, some will love it, some will hate it, but none will stay "feelingless". So ... is it what we call art ? And is the WallyPower 118 a work of art ? However, I totally understand that someone would hate it ... I certainly agree with Will, for me, it is a beautiful vessel .... And I actually hapened to see it in real this summer in Bonifacio, Corsica, crusing in a turquoise bay.... And ..... wow. As for the movie, I loved the photography of the film .... very esthetic. I also liked the story, but this is debatable )  

Wayne Grabow Senior Member

World's most outstanding yachts There was a television tour of this yacht on a program whose topic was world's most outstanding yachts. It does have that love/hate reaction on people; certainly expands the universe of yacht types. The fuel bill must be it's most impressive statistic.  

wonder if that's available for download...  

If you go on the website, there is a promotional movie you can watch. Besides showing how esthetic this boat is (for the ones on the love side ), they also show in detail the how functional it is intended to be. AND to answer your question, they give the consumption .... and as I know nothing about the powerboat world .... I didn't really understand But I am sure you'll find it interesting !  

fish is a fish Junior Member

The fuel capacity is 5,812 gallons. Fuel consumption at top cruising speed is one liter per second, or about 15 gallons per minute! no thanks not with the gas prices in CA.  

vandutch Junior Member

Stealth "sex appeal" Boat This VanDutch boat may interest those that liked the boat featured in the Island. It has a stealth sex appeal with the same avant garde genre.  

Attached Files:

Vandutch_33.jpg, 500252_2c.jpg.

Andiamo Junior Member

Are you the builder of that Van Dutch?? The style rocks. How much change does it set a guy back and whats it top out at?  

longcours62 Junior Member

I never could understand : sex appeal ...for a boat ! But if you compare the forms of the Wally and the forms of Adastra In my point of view I found the second one more 'avant garde genre' and I don't ask about the the comparaison of the consumption betwen each of them !!  

adastra_afloat.jpg

Alik Senior Member

longcours62 said: ↑ I never could understand : sex appeal ...for a boat ! Click to expand...

It look Alik said: ↑ 'Sexy boat' usually means sleek nonsense of 100+ feet in length. It is like a 'sexy' woman - impractical, with terrible character and needs a lot of money to own/maintain Click to expand...

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lol. well, this sexy one is not at 100+ feet. She must have wings (she was Redbull sponsored). She flies at an excess of 45 knots. She is for a type of personality, definitely not for everyone. The practicality depends on what you're looking for: if you're asking fuel consumption, depends on the model (i.e. engine choice). Character: what you see, no hidden agenda (unlike a sexy woman). Maintenance: the designer's choices had practicality in mind based on all the articles I've read about it. If you want her to strattle then take an Adastra because VanDutch's flexibility is measured in other regards.  

vandutch_REDBULL_PASSION.jpg

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Wallypower 118 - the coolest luxury yacht in the world

The Wallypower 118 is a luxury yacht that gained widespread attention after it was featured in the 2005 science-fiction thriller movie "The Island." The yacht was designed and built by the Italian yacht manufacturer Wally Yachts and was launched in 2006. It is an ultra-modern and luxurious vessel that is designed to combine speed, style, and comfort.

In the movie "The Island," the Wallypower 118 is the personal yacht of the main antagonist, Dr. Merrick, played by Sean Bean . The yacht is depicted as an impressive vessel, sleek and stylish with a futuristic design that is fitting for the movie's sci-fi theme.

It measures 118 feet in length, thus the name, with a beam of 26 feet, and a draft of 5 feet. It can accommodate up to ten guests in five staterooms, and it has a crew of six. The yacht is powered by three gas turbines that generate a total of 16,800 horsepower, allowing it to reach a top speed of 60 knots, or about 70 miles per hour, making it one of the fastest yachts on the open seas .

It's exterior design is striking and unique, with sleek lines and a minimalist style. The superstructure is made of carbon fiber, which makes the yacht lightweight and adds to its impressive speed. It's innovative propulsion system includes water jets instead of traditional propellers , which further contribute to its speed and maneuverability.

The interior is equally impressive , with a contemporary minimalist design, much like the outside. The main salon features floor-to-ceiling windows that offer stunning views of the surrounding water. The yacht's state-of-the-art entertainment system includes a plasma screen TV, satellite TV, and a surround-sound system. The master suite is located on the main deck and features a king-size bed, an en-suite bathroom, and a private balcony. The guest cabins are located on the lower deck and offer similar amenities and luxurious finishes.

It has become an icon in the world of yachting, renowned for its futuristic design and advanced technology. In "The Island," the Wallypower 118 is portrayed as the ultimate symbol of power and luxury , a fitting representation of the antagonist's character.

In conclusion, this is a remarkable yacht that has captured the imagination of people worldwide. Its characteristics have made it a standout vessel in the yachting world, and its appearance in a hollywood production has only added to its mystique.

The price of the 118 Wallypower is US$33 million for the triple gas turbine version , or $22 million for twin diesels. It has a range of 1,500 nautical miles (2,800 km) at 9 knots (17 km/h), or 300 nautical miles (560 km) at 60 knots (110 km/h). Fuel capacity is 22,000 liters (5800 US gallons). At the maximum speed of 60 knots (110 km/h) the gas turbine uses 15 US gallons / 58 liters of fuel per nautical mile, 900 gallons / 3500 liters per hour . The boat displaces only 95 tons because of the sophisticated building technology that uses a hybrid structure to save weight, and can accommodate six guests and six crew.

It is worth noting that the final cost of a Wallypower 118 can be significantly higher than the base price due to the customization options available. Owners of the yacht can choose from a range of options such as interior finishes, materials, and technology upgrades, all of which can add to the cost of the yacht.

Exactly one has been built .

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Screen Rant

Triangle of sadness ending explained (in detail).

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The 10 Movies With The Longest Standing Ovations At Cannes

What does triangle of sadness mean the movie's title explained, redoing the 2023 oscars: what if each movie could only win 1 award, quick links, how the yacht passengers get sick in triangle of sadness, why the yacht sinks, how does the power dynamic change on the island, why carl is running at the end of triangle of sadness, did abigail kill yaya, is abigail really the villain of triangle of sadness, the true meaning of triangle of sadness' ending, how filmmaker ruben östlund explains the triangle of sadness ending, how the triangle of sadness ending was received.

• The Triangle of Sadness ending features chaos, including a sinking yacht, survivors on a deserted island, and a mysterious illness caused by spoiled food and turbulence during a storm.
• The power dynamics on the island change, with the former housekeeper Abigail taking control and establishing herself as the new leader, causing rifts among the survivors.
• The true meaning of the Triangle of Sadness ending explores themes of privilege and the super-rich, as well as the role reversal and shifting dynamics that occur on the island, particularly with the supermodel couple Carl and Yaya.

The Triangle of Sadness ending brings the themes and chaos of the movie together with a shocking revelation. The movie is told in three chapters, with the first following couple Carl (Harris Dickinson) and Yaya (Charlbi Dean), both professional models (though Yaya is the more successful). The second chapter of Triangle of Sadness takes place aboard an upscale yacht. Carl and Yaya are present alongside passengers like Russian oligarch Dimitry (Zlatko Burić) and wife Vera (Sunnyi Melles), elderly weapons manufacturers Clementine (Amanda Walker) and Winston (Oliver Ford Davies), stroke survivor Therese (Iris Berben), and lonely tech millionaire Jarmo (Henrik Dorsin).

Also on the yacht are staff tasked with ensuring the guests have a perfect getaway — whatever the cost. The Yacht's crew includes the head of staff Paula (Vicki Berlin), first mate Darius (Arvin Kananian), housekeeper Abigail (Dolly de Leon), and the drunken Captain Thomas Smith (Woody Harrelson) . When the passengers gather for the captain's dinner, events spiral into chaos. Triangle of Sadness is a complex movie with an ambiguous ending , a deliberate decision by filmmaker Ruben Östlund. Once all the puzzle pieces are assembled, however, it's clear that there's a message behind the Triangle of Sadness ending.

Triangle of Sadness Cast & Character Guide

Triangle of Sadness, starring Harris Dickinson, is a comedy about a group of wealthy passengers on board a cruise with shocking surprises.

Bad Food And Ocean Turbulence Result In Mass Sickness

The combination of spoiled food and turbulence during the storm results in the majority of the passengers getting seasick, resulting in much vomiting and diarrhea all over the yacht.

The mysterious illness is a pivotal plot point in Triangle Of Sadness, but their sickness isn't due to a disease. Throughout the cruise, Captain Thomas Smith is locked away in his cabin in a drunken stupor. This leaves much of the day-to-day operations to first mate Darius and head of staff Paula. However, the Captain is obligated to make an appearance for dinner one night, and Smith chooses a night during which a horrible storm is forecast.

On the day of the Captain's Dinner, passenger Vera insists that all the staff stop what they are doing and join in on waterslide activities. This includes the kitchen staff, despite concerns that the food will spoil if not cooked immediately. The combination of spoiled food and turbulence during the storm results in the majority of the passengers getting seasick, resulting in much vomiting and diarrhea all over the yacht. Ironically, Captain Smith avoids getting seasick because he special orders a hamburger for himself.

A Drunken Argument Is Heard By Pirates On The Ship's Radio

The commotion attracts the attention of pirates, who approach the yacht and toss a grenade on board.

In the aftermath of the captain's dinner in Triangle of Sadness , chaos breaks out aboard the yacht. Passengers are vomiting everywhere, and the toilets overflow, causing sewage to run through the formerly pristine halls. During this time, Captain Smith, an American communist, begins having a drunken debate with Dimitry, a Russian capitalist.

The drunken banter between Smith and Dimitry eventually moves to the Captain's cabin, which is broadcast over the P.A. system. The commotion attracts the attention of pirates, who approach the yacht and toss a grenade on board. Elderly passenger Clementine picks up the grenade and tells her husband, Wilson, how it looks like one they developed. Seconds later, the grenade explodes, killing the couple and causing the yacht to sink, and the Triangle of Sadness ending is set up.

It is presumed that most crew and passengers in Triangle of Sadness , including Captain Smith, perished when the yacht sank in the pirate attack. Only seven survivors end up washing on the beach, which includes Carl, Yaya, Dimitry, Therese, Paula, Jarmo, and a never-before-seen man named Nelson (Jean-Christophe Folly), claiming to be the ship's mechanic. Sometime later, the yacht's housekeeper Abigail arrives at the island in the yacht's supply-filled lifeboat, which plays a significant role in the new power dynamic before the conclusion.

Every year at the Cannes Film Festival, movies are either booed or praised for several minutes. The standing ovations are part of the tradition.

Abigail's Survival Skills Allow Her To Take Control

Abigail refuses to give more than a couple of pieces of food to the other survivors unless she is acknowledged as the Captain.

Used to having things provided for them, as Triangle of Sadness satirizes the rich , the passengers don't have the skills to survive on the island. This allows Abigail, the former housekeeper, to take control and establish herself as the new leader, even ahead of her boss, Paula. After capturing and cooking an octopus, Abigail refuses to give more than a couple of pieces of food to the other survivors unless she is acknowledged as the Captain.

As most survivors are forced to sleep outside, Abigail sleeps inside the lifeboat. She eventually coerces Carl to join her inside the lifeboat, exchanging sexual favors for food and supplies. This ends up causing a rift in Carl's relationship with Yaya.

Carl May Be Trying To Save Yaya, But There Might Be More Thematic Depth To The Scene

The most straightforward interpretation of this shot is that Carl desperately tries to reunite with Yaya

The final shot of the ending of Triangle of Sadness sees Carl frantically running through the jungle. The most straightforward interpretation of this shot is that Carl desperately tries to reunite with Yaya, whom he has grown apart from during his affair with Abigail. Happening immediately after the shot of Abigail preparing to kill Yaya with a rock, the audience is left wondering if Carl will make it to her in time.

When talking about this moment, Ruben Östlund says that he believes Carl already came across the beach vendor and feared something might happen to Yaya when Abigail discovers the resort , explaining why he is frantically running. However, Östlund was also given another interesting interpretation by audiences of the film, explaining:

" An audience member told me, 'No, Carl is running so hard to get his male identity back. He's struggling with the gender expectations, and the last shot is a metaphor for his lost male identity, which has been totally lost.' And I love that interpretation too " (via TheWrap ).

The title of Ruben Östlund's Oscar-nominated Triangle of Sadness can be read in two different ways, but both meanings are reflected in the movie.

It's Unclear Whether Abigail Murdered The Wealthy Model

Abigail, not wanting to lose the power she has gained, picks up a rock and prepares to hit Yaya with it

It is hinted that the island in Triangle of Sadness isn't necessarily deserted when Therese encounters a beach vendor. However, she cannot communicate this because she is a stroke survivor who can only speak a single German sentence. Around the same time, Yaya decides to hike to the other side of the island, and she is joined by Abigail, despite Carl's concerns.

In the Triangle of Sadness ending, during their hike, Yaya and Abigail find an elevator, signifying that the island they are on is a luxury resort. Yaya is relieved about returning to her old life and even offers to make Abigail her assistant. However, Abigail, not wanting to lose the power she has gained, picks up a rock and prepares to hit Yaya with it. The final fate of Yaya remains ambiguous.

It's Difficult To View Abigail As An Antagonist Despite Her Actions

Abigail's motives make her actions much more sympathetic, to the point that it's incredibly difficult to view her as a true villain

One of the most ambiguous elements of the ending of Triangle of Sadness is the mixed emotions it leaves viewers with — especially when it comes to Dolly De Leon's Abigail. On the surface, Abigail is the antagonist of Triangle of Sadness. It's her manipulation that causes many of the distressing events to unfold once she and the passengers are marooned on the island, after all. However, this is a complex movie, and Abigail's motives make her actions much more sympathetic, so it's incredibly difficult to view her as a true villain despite what she does.

Ultimately, Triangle of Sadness is a movie about reversed power dynamics. Abigail may hold power on the island, and she may use that power to create some incredibly twisted situations (possibly even killing Yaya), but there's something incredibly human about this response. While Abigail's abuse of authority may be to the extreme, it's clear that she's suffered silently serving people like Carl and Yaya for years.

Abigail's actions aren't justifiable, but they are very understandable when put into the context of the rest of her life

The overwhelming majority of audience members will be able to empathize much more with Abigail and her backstory than Yaya or Carl. Even Yaya's offer to hire Abigail as an assistant, rather than the finance to become her own person (or even no offer at all), is indicative of how out-of-touch they are with the struggles and experiences of Abigail and those like her.

Triangle of Sadness isn't some kind of power fantasy for disgruntled employees to imagine turning the tables on their boss, but there are definitely thematic elements of this in the plot. Painting Abigail as the villain is difficult because, when it boils down to it, her lived experience is far more relatable than that of her victims — especially since it was they who caused the Yacht to crash in the first place.

Abigail's actions aren't justifiable, but they are very understandable when put into the context of the rest of her life, and it's this that makes her so sympathetic and, ultimately, impossible to class as an outright villain despite her actions.

The 2023 Oscars were dominated by Everything Everywhere All At Once. Redoing the awards as if each movie can only win one Oscar makes it different.

The Movie Is Ultimately About Power Dynamics And Gender Roles

The Triangle of Sadness ending keeps it ambiguous whether Carl and Yaya reconcile, or become victims of the new power dynamic created by Abigail

The film's finale is ambiguous, but that doesn't mean it's without depth. One of the critical themes of the Triangle of Sadness ending is the privilege of the super-rich and what happens when that is taken away. At the start of the cruise, Paula tells her team to always say yes to the passengers.

This rule led to the yacht sinking since the kitchen staff were forced to participate in swimming instead of preparing dinner, leading to a 20-minute sequence of pure chaos. When the yacht sinks and the survivors are stranded on an island, former servant Abigail takes the opportunity to swap power dynamics and take charge.

While Triangle of Sadness has an ensemble cast, the central focus for much of the movie is the supermodel couple of Carl and Yaya. The couple already had problems, but they boil over on the island when gender roles are swapped, and Carl is made to exchange sexual favors with Abigail. The ending keeps it ambiguous whether Carl and Yaya reconcile, or become victims of the new power dynamic created by Abigail.

The Writer And Director Enjoys The Audience's Takes On The Meaning Of His Movie

Östlund seemingly regrets how far he went with the most memorable and talked-about scene of Triangle of Sadness

Östlund thinks that whether Abigail kills Yaya or not in the Triangle of Sadness ending doesn't matter and that what happens after the cliffhanger isn't important, though the playful filmmaker still has fun asking audience members what they think happens . Östlund revealed that most audiences believe Abigail kills Yaya (via The Wrap ). However, the director noted:

" People ask me what happens in the last scene, but I have not decided... In fact, I’m not so interested in the answer in my own mind. It is the possibility of her doing it – and how we can all relate to that – which is what I’m interested in. ”

More interestingly, Östlund seemingly regrets how far he went with the most memorable and talked-about scene of Triangle of Sadness . In the middle of the movie during the captain's dinner, a 20-minute diarrhea and vomit-filled sequence has audiences covering their faces. The sequence is so over the top and ridiculous in the most entertaining way possible, but Östlund thinks that might have been a mistake. The director revealed:

" When we had the first screening of the film, I realized, 'Oh s***, maybe I overdid it.' Maybe it was too much in the end. I apologized to the audience. But it was too late to recut the film " (via LA Times ).

Reviews Were Mostly Positive, But With Caveats

Triangle of Sadness received mostly positive reviews from critics, and the audience loved the movie even more. Critics offered up mostly positive reviews, with a 72% rating on Rotten Tomatoes , while fans offered the film a higher 80% fresh score. There were some audience members, though, who didn't understand the ending and wanted to see exactly what happened, with one audience member writing, " There is no ending. Did they run out of budget? " However, another fan disagreed:

"I absolutely loved this movie. I’ve watched it twice now. At first I was disappointed at the end but then I thought about it and it made it even more brilliant."

Interestingly, most film critics didn't talk much about the ending. The biggest praise went to the middle section, with the haves and haves not on the boat interacting, as it all spiraled into disaster. Entertainment Weekly film critic Leah Greenblatt wrote, " Triangle hits more marks than it misses, and in a somber, often underwhelming season of would-be arthouse hits, the movie is a bona-fide trip: not the funhouse mirror we need for these ridiculous times, maybe, but one we deserve. "

However, in his mostly negative review on IndieWire , critic David Ehrlich wrote that the third act was the " film’s shrewdest yet most underwhelming chapter. " He went on to write, " Some forms of beauty grow more valuable while others become a liability, yet the pecking order and power dynamics of the old world order remain the same even if the individual people have swapped places in that system. " In the Triangle of Sadness ending, nothing changes except who is on the controlling end of the power dynamic.

Triangle of Sadness

Not available

Triangle of Sadness is a film that takes a satirical approach to influencer and wealth culture, a black comedy film by Ruben Östlund. The film is seen primarily through the eyes of Carl and Yaya, two fashion models in a relationship who accept an invitation to partake in a trip on a superyacht filled with incredibly wealthy guests from different nationalities. Unfortunately, chaos ensues when a spoiled dinner makes several guests sick, and a storm suddenly overtakes the yacht, tossing everyone and the ship around. When the ship capsized the following day, a small group of survivors, including Carl and Yaya, made it to a deserted island, where a lack of critical life skills highlights the problems with living with unlimited privilege as they try to survive their new harsh conditions. 

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The Cinema Within: spectacle, labour and utopia in Michael Bay’s The Island

In this article, I will analyse Michael Bay’s The Island (2005) as a cinematic spectacle which, through its imaginating of a particular dystopian future, lays bare the machinery of spectacular visuality that is crucial to the mode of Hollywood spectacle cinema that Bay’s work is often held to exemplify. I will suggest that the formal apparatus of the utopia/dystopia, and of science fiction itself, allows for a reading of The Island as a kind of self-conscious critique of spectacle cinema within the formal apparatus of spectacle cinema, which works in part through thematising visuality and in part through making visible the very apparatus of cinematic production itself. In this, I will draw upon the work of Jonathan Beller, and in particular his book The Cinematic Mode of Production , and a mode of film theory and criticism in which cinema is foundationally implicated in the production of ideology. In Beller’s work, which draws on Guy Debord, Jean Baudrillard and Fredric Jameson, ‘cinema’ can be understood not only as an effect of the circuits of late capital, where spectacle is an extension of ideology, but as a means by which capital extends its operations into new productive domains, into attention and the ‘work’ of spectatorship. My reading of The Island suggests that it is a particularly important film in Bay’s oeuvre, in that it marks a point at which Bay’s visual strategies of cinematic spectacle turn back on themselves and the formal presentation of visuality within a utopian/dystopian paradigm affords the potential for critique, both within and without the film.

In ‘Entertainment and Utopia’, his landmark article on the relation between popular cinema and modes of reception, Richard Dyer traces a continuity between a form of utopian longing, ‘the image of “something better” to escape into, or something we want deeply that our day-to-day lives don’t provide’, and forms of entertainment produced within ‘patriarchal capitalism’. (1) The formal difference between entertainment and the formal utopia ‘is contained in the feelings it embodies. It presents, head-on as it were, what utopia would feel like rather than how it would be organized’. (2) Dyer does not present this potential unproblematically; he notes how in entertainment there is a ‘struggle between capital (the backers) and labour (the performers) over control of the product’, but that ‘as a relatively autonomous mode of cultural production, it does not simply reproduce unproblematically patriarchal-capitalist ideology’. (3) In this light, then, can we say that Bay’s The Island is able to negotiate a space of critique of contemporary conditions of spectacular capitalism? Does it have ‘relative autonomy’ to the economic and representational systems of which it both partakes and presents in estranged form? These are questions which this article will pursue, if not answer.

The Island deliberately re-works utopian and dystopian images and tropes, and has clear generic relations to literary works such as George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four and Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World . The first part of the film is located in a ‘utopia’ (clearly indebted in its mise-en-scéne to earlier dystopian films such as THX1138 (1970) and Logan’s Run (1976)), located in what seems to be a post-apocalyptic world where survivors of some kind of biological catastrophe are maintained inside a controlled environment. As the film progresses, the machineries of the controlled society are gradually revealed from the point of view of an increasingly alienated and questioning protagonist, the ‘agnate’ Lincoln Six Echo, played by Ewan MacGregor. The viewer, then Lincoln himself, become aware that the world of The Island is a simulacrum, a construction created by Dr Merrick (Sean Bean) to create and sustain clones of wealthy ‘sponsors’, which may be used for the purposes of organ donation, surrogate pregnancy, or other purposes. When the ‘citizens’ (the clones) ‘win the lottery’ and are relocated to The Island, the last uncontaminated spot on Earth, they are in fact taken out of the sealed environment and are subjected to medical procedures which inevitably result in their death. The second part of the film is an extended chase narrative, where the escaped Lincoln and his partner/ lover Jordan Two Delta (Scarlett Johansson) attempt to understand the ‘real’ (near-future) world into which they have escaped through a form of primal confrontation with Lincoln’s original or ‘sponsor’. I will read the first part of the film as an investigation into the hidden machineries of power and control which serve to construct a delusive world for the agnates to believe in, which operates as a staging of the apparatus of cinema as a technology of spectacle and ideological deformation; and I will then propose the second half of the film as a reversal of the terms of the first, as escape into the conditions of spectacle cinema, where cinema itself becomes a kind of utopia, an escape from work into leisure, pleasure or the delirium of Bay’s hyper-kinetic narrative.

To establish the relation between cinema and ideology that is at the centre of my reading of The Island , I will first turn to Jean-Luc Comolli and Jean Narboni. It should be understood that Comolli and Narboni, as does Jonathan Beller, use ‘cinema’ not simply to mean the dominant (Hollywood) mode of cinematic production, but as a structural term for considering the relation between ideology and representation. This article is self-consciously revisiting that mode of ideological reading of cinema, but I should say here that I am not making a case for a totalised and ahistorical characterisation of cinematic production. I would rather propose Michael Bay’s cinema as a particular instance of a contemporary ‘cinematic mode of production’, with Beller’s theoretical intervention strongly to the fore in reading spectacle and visuality as effects of the circuits of late capitalist production. Although writing in 1972, and therefore before the advent of Hollywood spectacle cinema in its effects-driven maturity (after Star Wars (1977)), Comolli and Narboni identify a fruitful ideological reading of cinema:

Clearly, the cinema ‘reproduces’ reality’: this is what a camera and film stock are for – so says the ideology. But the tools and techniques of film-making are a part of prevailing ideology. Seen in this light, the classic theory of cinema that the camera is an impartial instrument which grasps, or rather is impregnated by, the world in its ‘concrete reality’ is an eminently reactionary one. What the camera in fact registers is the vague, unformulated, untheorized, unthought-out world of the dominant ideology. (4)

Drawing upon an Althusserian definition of ideology, wherein ‘Ideology represents the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence’, Comolli and Narboni go on to suggest that ‘Cinema is one of the languages through which the world communicates itself to itself. They constitute its ideology for they reproduce the world as it is experienced when filtered through the ideology’. (5) Cinema becomes an ideological apparatus , in Althusser’s terms, presenting the ‘imaginary relationships of individuals to their real conditions of existence’. Comolli and Narboni (following Althusser) implicate cinema as ideology itself , a means by which the ‘imaginary relationships’ of ‘Ideology’ frame people’s understanding of the world.

How, then, to escape the all-encompassing determinism of an Althusserian Ideology, where cinema is always-already re-inscribed in the machinery of ideological reproduction and domination? Comolli and Narboni suggest that it is cinema’s status as a communicative act that allows the possibility of cinema to talk about itself , to assume a meta-critical discourse within the film itself:

The film is ideology presenting itself to itself, talking to itself, learning about itself. Once we realize that it is the nature of the system to turn cinema into an instrument of ideology, we can see the film-maker’s first task is to show up the cinema’s so-called ‘depiction of reality’. If he can do so there is a chance we will be able to disrupt or possibly even sever the connection between the cinema and its ideological function. (6)

In talking about itself, then, the film is able to demonstrate that it is talking ideologically. It cannot escape ideology, but it can bring its own ideological practices into view and thereby, for the viewer, allow a disruption between the ‘depiction of reality’ (or ‘imaginary relationships’) and the everyday ‘real’. This functions by way of estrangement which, in Darko Suvin’s famous definition of science fiction, is the genre’s ideological potential. Suvin defines science fiction as:

a literary genre or verbal construct whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence and interaction of estrangement and cognition, and whose main formal device is an imaginative framework alternative to the author’s empirical environment. (7)

Working also in a Marxian tradition, Suvin proposes that science fiction’s particular ability is that, through the presentation of a world alternate to the reader’s (or viewer’s) own ( estrangement ), the text is able to provoke a kind of thoughtful dislocation ( cognition ) in the reader/viewer in which the very ideological constructedness of the ‘real’ world is revealed through the presentation of an alternative other. This definition of the genre, very-well known and influential yet still controversial within the field (largely for what the definition excludes as sf), is partly a consequence of Suvin’s reading of science fiction’s generic history (itself still contested), in which he places the Utopian tradition at its core. Indeed, the similarity of Suvin’s definition of science fiction, above, to the definition of utopian fiction he offers, is manifest:

Utopia is, then, a literary genre or verbal construction whose necessary and sufficient conditions are the presence of a particular quasi-human community where socio-political institutions, norms and individual relationships are organized on a more perfect principle than in the author’s community, this construction being based on estrangement arising out of an alternative historical hypothesis . (8)

What science fiction and the utopian tradition share, then, is the potential for ideological work upon the reader (or viewer), in the potential for estrangement, for bringing Ideology into view. The Ideological ‘depiction of reality’ (in an Althusserian sense) may be disrupted by the very generic apparatus that forms the text.

The double movement of estrangement, in which the ‘real’ is recognised in the representation of another world/ time, and its familiar structures made strange, is not only an effect of science fiction or utopia, of course. Estrangement effects reveal the relation between text and world in Modernist fragmentation, in postmodernist ‘self-consciousness’ and meta-textuality, and in the formal apparatus of modes in which the system of representation leaves an aporia or absence where some matter has been ‘hidden’. In Stephen Heath’s ideological reading of cinema in Questions of Cinema , he proposes a ‘something else’ that is repressed by the film Touch of Evil (1958), a freight which is present and ‘which criticism does not fail to respond’ but which the film itself cannot explicitly acknowledge. (9) Deploying a Freudian discourse to a mixture of ideological and semiotic criticism, Heath rather poetically concludes his reading of the film by stating:

The something else, the other film of which this film says everywhere the slips and slides: the narrative of the film and the history of that narrative, the economy of its narrative production, its logic. To approach, to experience the textual system can only be to pull the film onto this double scene, this process of its order and of the material that order contains, of the narrative produced and the terms of its production. Analysis must come to deal with this work of the film, in which it is, exactly, the death – itself the disturbance – of any given cinema. (10)

For Heath, the film is a signifying system which hides or cannot acknowledge its symbolic freight, but which contains this ‘double’ signification, but within and without the film. The insistence on the work of the film – earlier, Heath argues that ‘the film must hang together; the narrative, therefore, must work’ – is both an ideological and a symbolic work, but one in which the very means of production of the film are hidden codes within it. (11)

As I suggested above, it is the particular function of the genres of science fiction and utopian fiction to bring the hidden ‘double’ of the text – the time and place of its own production – into view through estrangement. In Bay’s The Island , this is explicitly presented through the collision of two worlds – the underground ‘utopia’ in which Lincoln Six Echo lives – but also in the way in which visual technologies are themselves part of the fabric of the film, as a machinery through which the denizens of ‘utopia’ are deceived as to their condition and future. While I am not going so far as to suggest that The Island is a Marxian film, its playful mining of the tradition of utopia leads to the exposure of its own codes of production, which are explicitly spectacular. The very imaging technologies, operated by groups of undifferentiated technicians, which form the illusory Island are the very ones which produce The Island . In this way, Bay’s film stages the hidden codes that are outside itself, and performs a double estrangement: in terms of the narrative, and in terms of genre. I will return to this shortly.

Before doing so, I would like to explore in more detail the connection between ideology and spectacle, particularly through the influential work of Guy Debord and his text The Society of the Spectacle. Debord, a key member of the Situationist International, theorised a shift in the ideological construction of reality through the pervasive immersion of human beings in technological mediation. Debord’s fourth section of The Society of the Spectacle consists entirely of the phrase: ‘The spectacle is not a collection of images, but a social relation among people, mediated by images’. (12) This appears to be, if not a restatement of Althusser’s definition of Ideology as ‘the imaginary relationship of individuals to their real conditions of existence’, then at least a parallel statement of the interrelation between ideology and representation. The spectacle is not simply media, or film, or television, or advertising; it is a ‘social relation among people’, constructing the very experience of the real. Debord continues:

The spectacle, grasped in its totality, is both the result and the project of the existing mode of production. It is not a supplement to the real world, an additional decoration. It is the heart of the unrealism of the real society. (13)

The spectacle becomes the totality of social relations; it ‘is nothing other than the sense of the total practice of a social-economic formation […] It is the historical movement in which we are caught’. (14) Graham MacPhee, in The Architecture of the Visible (2002) suggests that ‘Debord’s account of the spectacle offers itself as an extension of [Georg] Lukàcs conception of reification to the realm of visual experience’. (15) Reification is a term used to theorise a reduction, in capitalist economies and modern systematization, of human social relations to a relation between things, an extension of commodification into lived experience. MacPhee suggests that Debord himself reduces Lukàcs’ conceptualization in ‘wholly identif[ying] spectacular vision with “the incessant spread of the precise technical rationality” of modern thought’; the consequences of this are that ‘[i]n identifying visual experience with systematic unity of modern thought, Debord not only accepts modern thought’s claims to unity and coherence, but also drastically reduces the possibilities of critique’. (16) The difference between Lukàcs and Debord is summarised thus: ‘the moments of incoherence [in lived experience] that Lukàcs saw as the opportunity for developing immanent critique are misrecognized by Debord as the necessary and unavoidable condition of reified experience’. This leads to what MacPhee diagnoses as the ‘unrelenting picture of total domination and total passivity implied by Debord’s account of the spectacle’. (17) Debord’s ‘spectacle’ presents the same problems for critique as does Althusser’s Ideology; but the potential of spectacle to lay bare its own visualising technologies is crucial to MacPhee’s reading of trompe l’oeil , and in particular Jean Baudrillard’s use of trompe l’oeil as a metaphor for simulation in Seduction . MacPhee notes that, in Seduction ,

Instead of seeing vision as a transaction which either returns the illusory substantiality of a ‘real’ world or the blank image of simulation, the unsettling effect of tromp l’oeil [ sic ] points to another experience altogether: what is returned or made visible within the jarring experience of tromp l’oeil are the conditions of visuality themselves. (18)

MacPhee suggests that, unlike Baudrillard’s theorisation of simulacra in Simulacra and Simulations , in which he famously (or notoriously) proposed the orders of simulation in which the contemporary mode of signification is one in which a free-floating sign-system of contemporary images becomes its own pure simulacrum, entirely free from the ‘real’, the idea of the trompe l’oeil is inherently estranging and offers a potential opening for critique. Baudrillard himself writes:

the trompe l’oeil does not seek to confuse itself with the real. Consciously produced by means of play and artifice, it presents itself as a simulacrum. By mimicking the third dimension, it questions the reality of this dimension, and by mimicking and exceeding the effects of the real, it radically questions the reality principle. (19)

Trompe l’oeil therefore oscillates between the ‘real’ and the ‘simulacrum’, and in this ‘mimicking’ introduces an element of estrangement. It is a double vision, both real and unreal, both material and artificial: ‘suddenly this seizure rebounds onto the so-called “real” world, to reveal that this “reality” is naught but a staged world’. (20) Trompe l’oeil is thereby a form of visual estrangement, and can be turned to purposes of critique.

Where The Matrix (1999) (wonderfully described by Jonathan Beller as ‘the late-capitalist social-realist film’ in The Cinematic Mode of Production ) self-consciously staged its world-games through Baudrillardian lenses, to the extent of referencing Simulations and Simulacra within the mise-en-scène , Michael Bay’s The Island instead relies upon the estranging double movement of the trompe l’oeil . (21) The scenario of The Island is that its inhabitants live in a post-catastrophe ‘utopia’ (a highly regulated and enclosed system) who are subject to a lottery wherein they have the chance to leave for ‘the Island’, the only remaining natural habitat outside of the walls of utopia that remains uncontaminated by whatever biological catastrophe is presumed to have befallen the human race and the Earth’s ecology. The Island is a green paradise set among crystal-blue seas, an idealised space that is first encountered at the very beginning of the film in a narrative sequence that is revealed to be a dream, experienced by Lincoln Six Echo. The escape to the Island is symbolically attached to dream-work, a crucial element of The Island (as I shall explore below); but it is also cinematic spectacle, presented to the viewer across several levels of the film’s diegesis (as Lincoln’s dream, as the illusory zone of escape within the machinery of utopia and, at the end of the film, as a ‘real’ space attained by Lincoln and his fellow escapee from utopia, Jordan Two Delta).

The mise-en-scène of The Island juxtaposes the lush, tropical Island, seen by the inhabitants on wall-sized television screens as well as through a ‘window’ onto an outside ‘reality’, with the blue/grey palette of the reinforced concrete, chrome and glass that make up the physical fabric of utopia, as well as the (branded) white Lycra sports gear that make up the inhabitants’ uniform. The ‘green world’ outside the (glass) walls of Utopia is a motif that derives, ultimately, from Yevgeny Zamyatin’s We , but where Zamyatin’s utopia used transparency as an index of the dystopian state’s surveillance and control by imagining apartment blocks made of strengthened glass, The Island ’s use of transparency is to do with the illusory imaging power of visual technologies: the seeming difference between the televisions and the windows masks their underlying equivalence. The ‘windows’ in fact look out onto a cylindrical holographic projection, visible from anywhere in ‘Utopia’, that acts as a 360° panorama, a visual prison that replicates the shape of Bentham’s Panopticon but reverses the direction of the gaze (as it does the direction of the gaze in We ): the subjects look out upon the spectacle presented to them as ‘real’, and it is their belief that this spectacle is real that controls them. The trompe l’oeil of the window is implicated in technological spectacle by its homology with the wall-sized television screens; when Lincoln and Jordan discover the holographic projection mid-way through the film, on effecting their escape from utopia, this completes a visual circuit for the viewer that had been suggested much earlier in the film.

The homology between the visualising technologies within the diegesis, and those that bring The Island to the cinema or television screen before the viewer, is the way in which Bay’s trompe l’oeil opens up the codes of cinematic spectacle (that is the currency of his films) to the possibility of critique. Just as Lincoln and Jordan are deceived by the power of the visual, so may we be; just as they are relieved of their delusions, so may we be. For the viewer, the narrative revelation that the ‘Utopia’ is a manufactured illusion is produced not only by identification with Lincoln’s trajectory of alienation from the codes and doxa of the Utopia in which he lives (doubts and questions that are shared among many of the inhabitants, it is suggested), but by the progressive revelation of the hidden machinery of Utopia which maintains the system. It quickly becomes apparent that Lincoln is able to access (albeit illegitimately) areas of ‘Utopia’ which are entirely staffed by ‘workers’, particularly in visiting Mac (Steve Buscemi), who operates the machinery of Utopia in levels or zones which are typically hidden from the denizens of Utopia.

This is curious, in some ways, because the guards, the medical staff, and the canteen staff are entirely visible to both Lincoln and the viewer, but are somehow unseen . These ‘visible’ workers are of the same status as those who work the machinery ‘behind the scenes’; although visible, they do not play the lottery, and are thereby workers not citizens . This implied hierarchy (of visibility) is a form of biopolitics, a distinction between zoē and bios , between ‘bare life’ and political existence, that Giorgio Agamben elucidates in Homo Sacer . Agamben suggested that a decisive transition in modernity can be said to come at the point at which ‘bare life’, zoē , previously excluded from ‘political life’ (the fully human), was drawn into the sphere of the political. Agamben writes:

the fundamental categorical pair of Western politics is not that of friend/enemy but that of bare life/ political existence, zoē / bios , exclusion/inclusion. There is politics because man is a living being who, in language, separates and opposes himself to his own bare life and, at the same time, maintains himself to that bare life in an inclusive exclusion. (22)

Modern democracy, then, ‘is constantly trying to transform its own bare life into a way of life and to find, so to speak, the bios of zoē ’. (23) The world of The Island is structured by a radical division between zoē and bios , between the ‘bare life’ of the workers (excluded from the possibility of escaping to the Island) and the ‘political existence’ of those who play the lottery: between exclusion and inclusion. The distinction between zoē and bios seems to be organized through the ascription of labour: in The Island , it first appears that it is work that separates ‘citizen’ from ‘worker’, those who may attain the state of natural grace symbolized by the Island and those who remain excluded from it.

Rather than being a privileged class that are sustained by the labour of a biopolitically-excluded working class, it is revealed that the white-clad inhabitants of Utopia, like Lincoln and Jordan, are ‘agnates’, clones that have been grown and nurtured within a closed social system in order to maintain their optimum biological health in order for that health (in the form of organs or, in one case, as a surrogate parent) to be harvested by the ‘sponsor’ or biological original. Just as the Eloi are fed and supported by the Morlocks as ‘product’ or as human cattle in H.G. Wells’ The Time Machine , the agnates are produced as disposable biological entities which act as a form of ambulatory insurance policies: against disease, accident, or other form of biological hazard. The biopolitical field is reversed: zoē becomes bios , the workers are the ‘true’ citizens, for they are not simply ‘product’ without the right to life. Mac, who helps Lincoln and Jordan when they escape, tells them: ‘You’re not human… not real… not like a real person, not like me… you’re clones… copies’; although, it must be added, that Mac’s own right to life is held to little account by those who are sent to retrieve Lincoln and Jordan, and he is murdered in helping them escape to Los Angeles.

The film striates the use of work or labour as a marker of zoē and bios in scenes where Lincoln, Jordan and others are put to work in the Department of Labor. This seems entirely redundant; what they do – squirt liquids into tubes, which are then fed down to developing agnates at levels hidden from them – could be much more easily and less problematically be accomplished by machine. Setting the inhabitants to work is clearly to do with the sense of purpose that Merrick suggests is crucial for the longevity of the human organism (experiments with agnates in a persistent vegetative state were unsuccessful); the sense of purpose and of hope that also necessitates the lottery for escape to the Island, one which also rationalizes the disappearance of fellow citizens when their ‘sponsors’ require their organs. The ‘real’ work of monitoring, guarding and feeding the inhabitants is invisible to them, while their own work operates somewhere between childish emulation/ play and routinized distraction. When Lincoln ascends the levels to find the other machinery of Utopia – the operating theatres and medical technicians who take organs from the ‘product’ and send them on to the sponsors – it reveals the true work or labour that he and his fellow inhabitants have been engaged upon: to develop and maintain physical health so this may be transmitted to the sponsor at a time of need. As we will see shortly, this biology exceeds its design parameters and the system that produces it, eventually destroying the system itself.

The connection between the hidden work and machinery of Utopia, and the trompe l’oeil spectacle of the Island, offers a potential to read The Island not as a political parable but as a critique of the power of spectacle itself, and in particular the imaging technologies of cinema that are themselves hidden in the construction of the spectacle film. Here, I wish to turn to the work of Jonathan Beller, in particular The Cinematic Mode of Production , as a means by which to articulate a critique of the nexus of work, visuality and spectacle, and how the work of the spectator , in terms of a burgeoning ‘attention economy’, is inscribed into the narrative of The Island . In The Cinematic Mode of Production Beller draws upon the work of Jonathan Crary (although he only cites his work a couple of times), in particular Techniques of the Observer and Suspensions of Perception to frame a Marxian reading of the relation between cinema and economy through regimes of attention. Crary, in both books, sets out a historical analysis of the shift in strategies by which the human sensorium was programmed to adapt to the repetitive tasks of industrial production, particularly during and after the 19 th century. Crary, in Suspensions of Perception argued that the idea of attention became increasingly investigated in the fields of both psychology and optics in the 19 th century because of the perceived tendency in human workers towards distraction , in what Crary calls ‘an emergent economic system that demanded attentiveness of a subject in a wide range of new productive and spectacular tasks, but whose internal movement was continually eroding the basis of any disciplinary attentiveness’. (24) The conditions of a ‘modern’, industrial, increasingly consumption– as well as production– oriented economy, pulled the human subject in two directions. Firstly, what Walter Benjamin called the ‘shock’ of modern existence (urban living, machinery, speed, advertising) creates an increasingly distracted subject in an increasingly kaleidoscopic world; and secondly, the very economic conditions that produce this kind of world require a working subject who is able to maintain long periods of attentiveness to complex and repetitive tasks (over a 10- or 12-hour working day in a factory, for instance). Beller extends Crary’s mode of analysis into a Marxian reading of contemporary capital which, he argues, is historically coterminous with the rise of cinema and the development of a society of the spectacle. Beller’s work is more than an elucidation of Debord, however; though he proposes ‘the cinema’ to mean ‘the manner in which production generally becomes organised in such a way that […] creates an image that […] is essential to the general management, organisation and movement of the economy’, the focus is upon production rather than alienation, and in particular the construction of a spectatorial subjectivity that is put to work . (25) As we saw above, Jean-Luc Comolli had asserted the relation between cinema and ideology and, as quoted by Beller, that ‘the spectator …works’. (26) Crucially, Beller identifies the turning of human attention to productive ends to be an effect of capitalist economies that seek new territories to exploit:

From a systemic point of view, cinema arises out of a need for the intensification of the extraction of value from human bodies beyond normal physical and spatial limits and beyond normal working hours – it is an innovation that will combat the generalized falling rate of profit. It realizes capitalist tendencies toward the extension of the work day (via entertainment, email), the deterritorialization of the factory (through cottage industry, TV), the marketing of attention (the advertisers), the building of media pathways (formerly roads), and the retooling of subjects. (27)

The spatial paradigm – territory, expansion, colonisation – is connected to a Marxian analysis of accumulation, wherein the exhaustion of resources and the ‘falling rate of profit’ necessitates the acquisition of new ‘territories’. The political collective RETORT, in their book Afflicted Powers: Capital and Spectacle in a New Age of War , read the ‘War on Terror’ following 9/11 and the 2003 invasion of Iraq in terms of Marx’s ‘primitive accumulation’, a return to an age of ‘violent expropriation’ that particularly marked the age of colonialism, but one that is marked by new conditions of mediation: ‘primitive accumulation is to be carried out in conditions of spectacle: that is the new reality in a nutshell’. (28) RETORT find a kernel of hope in this spectacular turn:

A new round of technical innovation has made alienation-into-a-realm-of-images a pervasive, banal, consistently self-administered reality . The dystopian potential of such an apparatus is sufficiently clear. But in present circumstances it has at least the benign side-effect of making control of imagery that is a necessity of war and occupation, as opposed to the tendential and structural ‘management’ of appearances appropriate to peacetime – truly hard to maintain. (29)

As with the trompe l’oeil , the conditions of visuality of the spectacle themselves offer the possibility of critique in their very visibility . Beller is critical of Afflicted Powers , and what he characterises as its weakness of ‘understanding of the relationship between media and what the collective calls “primitive accumulation”’, in its emphasis on 9/11 as a ‘huge blow to the state’s control and organization of the spectacle’ and its organisation of the invasion of Iraq as a ‘quasi-hysterical endeavour to overcome this defeat in the spectacle’. Beller’s focus, instead, is upon ‘the necessary daily calibration of spectators […] as well as the transformed proprioception of subjects’. (30) Where RETORT propose primitive accumulation operating on a macrocosmic or geo-political scale, expropriating the oil fields of Iraq, Beller suggests that it is the interior landscapes of subjectivity that are the focus of economic exploitation; the human body and the human sensorium are, for capital, ‘the next frontier’. (31) One should note that in his most recent book, 24/7 , Jonathan Crary has proposed a similar extension of disciplinary regimes (his approach is more overtly Foucauldian than Marxian) into previously ‘free’ areas: not only the elimination of ‘the useless time of reflection and contemplation’, but the extension of productivity through the minimising or evacuation of the need for sleep. (32) Crary juxtaposes the space/time of reflection with the imperatives of economic expansion and exploitation, wherein ‘reverie’ is outside the disciplinary regimes of labour: ‘[o]ne of the forms of disempowerment within 24/7 environments is the incapacitation of daydream or of any mode of absent-minded introspection that would otherwise occur in intervals of slow or vacant time. […] There is a profound incompatibility of anything resembling reverie with the priorities of efficiency, functionality, and speed’. (33) Where Beller differs is that in his analysis, unconsciousness and dream has already been produced by the conditions of cinema .

As I noted above, The Island begins with shots of a crystalline blue sea, a rocky coastline and islands, as something out of a tourist advertisement or glossy travelogue. This effect is magnified when a large, angular motor yacht appears, upon which Lincoln and Jordan pose in the sun. This scene, clearly imbued with jet-set fantasy, is then disrupted: anonymous threatening men appear, who push Lincoln from the boat and struggle with him underwater. After a rapid montage, Lincoln awakes in the utopian facility, and the foregoing sequence is revealed as a dream. Although dreams are monitored in The Island – Dr Merrick conducts analytical sessions with Lincoln, where the latter draws the boat – they are not manipulated within the minds of the inhabitants, and in fact operate as a separate and in some senses free space of unconscious drives. When trying to escape, Lincoln and Jordan fall into a conditioning room where recently birthed agnates are subjected to a barrage of televisual programming, broadcast by arrays of mini-monitors. In a clear reference to A Clockwork Orange (1971), the agnates’ eyelids are held open while the ‘messages’ are broadcast directly into their eyes, forming their subjectivity. If this acts as a kind of ‘unconscious’ sub-stratum of foundational conditioning, Lincoln’s dream-work exposes an unconscious beneath this unconscious, a double subjectivity which repeats his own condition as agnate/ clone. Dr Merrick begins to understand that what Lincoln Six Echo has been dreaming is built upon the memories of Tom Lincoln (also played by MacGregor, but with a Scottish accent, and as an amoral, exploitative, privileged creep), not the shallow draught of time in which Lincoln Six Echo has lived in the facility. These dreams, a ‘biological’ excess which compromise Lincoln’s status as ‘copy’ (to an extant that, during one of the later chase sequences, Lincoln is able to successfully imitate his ‘sponsor’ and avoid being killed), signify at once the irreducibility and transmissibility of dream-space and fantasy. It is not, ultimately, recuperable to the imperatives of control that are fashioned by Dr Merrick and which are continually administered by the hidden machineries of utopia/dystopia.

At the close of the film, where Lincoln and Jordan sit aboard the yacht in reality , the film closes by supplanting ‘the real’ with ‘the dream’, just as Lincoln and Jordan have supplanted their ‘real’ sponsors. In fact, the film suggests that Lincoln and Jordan are better human beings than their sponsors, and the fantasy mobility of the yacht can be considered some kind of reward. However, I think it is possible to argue, particularly in terms of genre, that an escape into fantasy has already been enacted much earlier in the film, at the point at which Lincoln and Jordan escape from ‘utopia’. The facility, it emerges, is underground, funded by the US Defense Department, and in the middle of the desert in the American South-West. Soon after ascending from the facility, Lincoln and Jordan come across a road, and it is the road of the American imaginary of automobility, Route 66: as they run down it towards the nearest town, the film shifts generically from dystopia to chase film, as Merrick engages Albert Laurent (Djimon Hounsou), a French Special Forces veteran, to track down and eliminate the fleeing agnates. Meeting Mac at a roadside bar, Lincoln and Jordan enlist his help in fleeing to Los Angeles to confront their sponsors. Even here, the visual register insists upon spaces ‘behind’ the public façade, the ‘hidden machinery’. Lincoln first catches up with Mac as he sits upon the toilet in the Men’s rest room; at a nearby Maglev station, pursued by Laurent’s henchmen, Lincoln and Jordan run into old workshops, junkyards and sheds, in order to escape. The transition from the ‘private’ (and securitized) space of the underground facility to the public spaces of the ‘real world’ is effected piecemeal, as the escaped couple are exposed to tracking technologies when in the open. In becoming fugitives, they exchange one form of enclosure and secured space for another.

In Los Angeles, Bay’s camera also becomes significantly more mobile. A long chase sequence along a freeway, where Lincoln tumbles large railway wheels from a flatbed truck onto the chasing cars, is madly kinetic and spectacular; when a flying ‘jetbike’ turns up, which is then used by Lincoln and Jordan, CGI becomes particularly intrusive. As the couple zoom among the towers of Los Angeles’ downtown, the CGI becomes ‘bad’, a visible rather than invisible trucage . This, however, is surely deliberate; just as Ewan MacGregor’s American accent as Lincoln Six Echo is considerably less authentic but more attractive than his ‘real’ Scottish one as Tom Lincoln (trading upon MacGregor’s star persona as Scottish ‘bloke’), and Lincoln’s impersonation of Tom Lincoln a crucial blurring (or more properly overturning) of agnate/sponsor, artificial/ real binaries, the intrusiveness of the ‘unreal’ CGI indicates that, in the rhetoric of the film, the fantasy supersedes or is ‘better’ than the real. Lincoln Six Echo and Jordan Two Delta, perfectly toned young adults, objects of the desiring gaze (doubly staged in the case of Johansson, who is the agnate of a film star/ Calvin Klein model who appears to be Johansson herself), are improvements (or upgrades) upon their sponsors, possessed of greater agency and ethical sense, whose affective superiority goes beyond Tom Lincoln’s amoral individualism towards both romantic love and a greater sense of collectivity. Before escaping into the fantasy mobility of Tom Lincoln’s motor-yacht and jet-set lifestyle, they return to the facility to free their fellow agnates.

When the two protagonists escape from Dystopia and enter Bay’s territory, the kinetic chase film, they are not escaping into the ‘real’ (as the freed clones seem to do at the end of the film); instead, they are escaping into cinema , into its fantasy or liberatory potential.While the ‘thriller’ elements of the chase narrative seem to infect the world of Merrick’s facility when he brutally kills another questioning agnate, Gandu Three Echo (Brian Stepanek), with a syringe to the neck, the condition of the trompe l’oeil that allowed the possibility of critique through the visibility of visibility in the ‘utopia’ also regulates the spectacle of the second half of the film. The very end of the film promises an escape from the regimes of work (administration, attention, the biological purpose of the agnates) into a fantasy of leisure and pleasure. The accelerated camera-movement and CGI is not simply a technical and structural element of Bay’s filmmaking, but a release from stasis into ecstatic movement, and the promise of a release from the (dystopian) work of cinematic production into the dream-work of fantastical spectacle. In a sense, The Island attempts to reverse the polarity of ‘spectacle’ itself: from Debord’s and Beller’s imaging system of production and consumption, implicated in opening out new productive territories and colonising subjectivity, spectacle instead becomes a means by which to induce dream, fantasy, a space outside of the regimes of administration and control identified by Beller and Crary.

To conclude, we can return to a much earlier mode of analysis of cinema, the relation of dreaming/ daydreaming and spectatorship proposed by Siegfried Kracauer in Theory of Film: The Redemption of Physical Reality . For Kracauer, cinema induces a state of daydreaming that exceeds the signifying economy of a particular film. ‘The moviegoer watches the images on the screen in a dream-like state’, Kracauer suggests:

[a] trance-like immersion in a shot or a succession of shots may at any moment yield to daydreaming which increasingly disengages itself from the imagery occasioning it. Whenever this happens, the dreaming spectator, who originally concentrated on the psychological correspondences of an image striking his imagination more or less imperceptibly, moves on from them to notions beyond the orbit of that image. (34)

This, then, is the capacity that confirms Lincoln Six Echo’s alienation from the dystopian system of the facility, the excess of dreaming which leads him behind the trompe l’oeil to the machineries. It is the importance of the cinema within , the fantasy/ dream imagery with which the film begins and ends, which propels Lincoln towards liberation, and that is what The Island proposes for its own spectators. As Kracauer proposes, ‘the moviegoer finds himself in a situation in which he cannot ask questions and grope for answers unless he is saturated physiologically’: that ‘unless’, the necessity for immersion in the dream, motivates the precedence of spectacle over narrative, fantasy over the ‘real’. (35) It is fantasy, the dream, that in The Island and in Bay’s cinema tout court , is the source and site of utopia. When Richard Dyer states, in ‘Entertainment and Utopia’, that the problem for conceptualising entertainment as utopia is that ‘entertainment provides alternatives to capitalism which will be provided by capitalism’, the ‘escape’ offered by The Island is thrown into stark relief (36); in a sense, for Bay, the solution to the problem of spectacle is spectacle, the way out of the cinematic mode of production is cinema itself.

This article has been peer reviewed. 

1 . Dyer, Richard. ‘Entertainment and Utopia’, in Only Entertainment . London: Routledge, 2002: 20.

4. Comolli, Jean-Luc and Jean Narboni. ‘Cinema/Ideology/Criticism’. In Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings , edited by Leo Braudy and Marshall Cohen. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999. 752-9: 755.

5. Ibid . 755

6. Althusser, Louis. ‘Ideology and Ideological State Apparatuses’. In Lenin and Philosophy and other essays , translated by Ben Brewster. London: NLB, 1971. 123-173: 153; Comolli and Narboni, 755.

7. Suvin, Darko. ‘Science Fiction and Utopian Fiction: Degrees of Kinship’. In Positions and Presuppositions in Science Fiction . Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1988. 33-43: 37.

9. Heath, Stephen. Questions of Cinema. London and Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1981: 143.

11 . Ibid. 134

12. Debord, Guy. Society of the Spectacle . Detroit: Red and Black, 1983. [n.p.]: section 4.

13. Ibid. section 6

14. Ibid. section 11

15. MacPhee, Graham. Architecture of the Visible: Technology and Urban Visual Culture. London and New York: Continuum, 2002: 72.

16. Ibid. 73; 74

17. Ibid. 74; 75

18. Ibid. 81

19. Baudrillard, Jean. Seduction. New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1990: 63.

21. Beller, Jonathan. The Cinematic Mode of Production: Attention Economy and the Society of the Spectacle. Lebanon NH: University of New England Press, 2006: 7.

22. Agamben, Giorgio. Homo Sacer: Sovereign Power and Bare Life . Translated by Daniel Heller-Roszen. Stanford CA: Stanford University Press, 1998: 12.

23. Ibid. 13

24. Crary, Jonathan. Suspensions of Perception: Attention, Spectacle, and Modern Culture . Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 2001: 29; Crary, Jonathan. Techniques of the Observer: On Vision and Modernity in the Nineteenth Century. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 1990.

25. Beller, op. cit. 10

26. Ibid. 11

27. Ibid. 13

28. RETORT (Iain Boal, T.J. Clark, Joseph Matthews, Michael Watts). Afflicted Powers: Capital and Spectacle in a New Age of War. London and New York: Verso, 2005: 75; 187.

29. Ibid. 187

30. Beller, op. cit. 284; 285

31. Ibid. 202

32. Crary, Jonathan. 24/7. London: Verso, 2013: 40.

33. Ibid. 88

34. Kracauer, Siegfried. Theory of Film: the redemption of physical reality. New York: Oxford University Press, 1960: 302; 166.

35. Ibid. 310

36. Dyer, op. cit. 27

50 Things We Learned from Michael Bay’s ‘The Island’ Commentary

“Normally on a movie I’ll break about 2 or 3 megaphones.”

Published April 16, 2019 Features , Movies By Rob Hunter Disclaimer When you purchase through affiliate links on our site, we may earn a commission.

Michael Bay ‘s filmography is filled with big blockbuster hits, and of his thirteen feature films all but two of them grossed more than twice their budget — with most earning 3 – 5x the budget. 13 Hours (2016) failed to find an audience, but before that gung-ho military debacle Bay’s only real box-office misstep was 2005’s The Island . It’s a shame too as it’s a fun movie. Seriously. Sure it’s over-edited, illogical, and fairly cheesy at times, but the action is stellar, the score is fantastic, and it has just enough of an ethical argument at its core to make it thought-provoking. And again, it’s fun!

Keep reading to see what I heard on the commentary track for…

The Island (2005)

Commentator: Michael Bay (director)

1. “I was adamant that we do this bizarre dream sequence,” he says referring to the opening scenes showing Lincoln ( Ewan McGregor ) on a boat before being tossed in the water and drowned by unexplained mutants.

2. The opening landscapes were filmed off New Zealand while the boat scenes were shot near Italy.

3. That’s a real boat called the Wally Power. It came from Italy and cost the owner $25 million. “A little too modern for my taste, but at least I got it before Michael Mann got it for Miami Vice .”

4. “Art, story, and design have very much to do with when I’m working on a script,” he says, adding that they worked to develop a visual language and studied architectural references from Japan and futuristic designs.

5. Bay “called in a favor” to get Michael Clark Duncan in the film for two days of filming. “I figured since I discovered him in a gym and put him in Armageddon , and he went on to do Green Mile and get an Academy Award nomination.”

6. Part of his sales pitch to Duncan when casting him in Armageddon apparently involved the line: “You are going to be the first black man that does not die first. You are not going to die, and that is a twist.” It’s unclear if this is Bay being funny or if he really just needs to watch more movies.

7. The underground compound design is based on ideas regarding bunkers made to keep the president and other government officials alive after an attack for up to two years. That bled into the story too as the company is meant to be in business with the Pentagon studying how to clone an army. “You’ll see little references to that fact in the movie later.”

8. He told the actors playing the clones that they were essentially children. “That’s why a lot of them have this kind of childish innocence here, and it was something fun for the actors to play.”

9. Bay’s office kept getting yachting brochures sent to them for some reason. “I’m not going to go on a yacht trip and rent it for a quarter million dollars for a week, you gotta be out of your mind.” They weren’t for him, but it did make him recognize how beautiful the boats were and decided to make Lincoln a boat designer. “That’s how you get ideas in movies, they just right from your real life.”

10. The shot starting at 15:53 of the nano trackers crawling into Lincoln’s eye was accomplished with a special bellow lens that required a tremendous amount of light. The closeup on his eye being held opened involved ILM digital work and string glued to McGregor’s eyelids and then pulled. “Quite painful process, fun scene to do though.”

11. “Certain people” at Dreamworks wanted him to take out the scene with Jones ( Ethan Phillips ) showing Lincoln his scribbled conspiracy notes. “I opted to keep it in because to me this is the One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest scene. This is the patient trying to figure out that something is wrong here, and I couldn’t have Lincoln be the only guy wondering.”

12. The scenes with Lincoln visiting James ( Steve Buscemi ) in the bowels of the facility were filmed in an old and unused power plant in Los Angeles. “Wouldn’t you know, the day we start shooting there, LA has some power outages and they called this generator plant to provide backup power.” It all powered on, and in addition to becoming so loud they had to wear “ear muffs” it also raised the interior temperatures to 110 degrees.

13. Bay felt that Caspian Tredwell-Owen ‘s original script was missing a scene showing how the clones are birthed and grow. “He thought it would be opening up Pandora’s Box to show that stuff, but I just think as a viewer it’s some of the cooler stuff to see.”

14. He credits Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci , who came on for rewrites, with adding a lot of great work to the second and third acts. The only specific example he gives, though, is the butterfly bit in the first act.

15. Some people seemed to think that all the product placements meant they “were whoring out the movie and making a commercial, but let’s face it guys, the world is focused on products. Products surround us, and for us to think in the year 2019 that we’re not going to still be focused and have products and labels flying at us from every different vantage point is just unreal.” That’s his official statement on accusations that he’s a whore.

16. The club scene took four hours to light, but when Bay arrived on set he felt it was “the unhippest place I’ve ever seen in my entire life.” The gaffer ( Michael Bauman ) and cinematographer ( Mauro Fiore ) were both new parents and were apparently unfamiliar with clubs. It’s at this point where Bay proceeds to mimic Fiore’s Italian accent.

17. The “dude” bit was an improv at his suggestion after realizing that the word has more than a dozen meanings.

18. Steven Spielberg said McGregor “looked like a young Harrison Ford when he saw the dailies.”

19. He thinks Scarlett Johansson is going to have an amazing career. “Not only is she a pain in the ass to work with, and I mean that in the best way, she is classy, she’s feisty, she’s just very daring.”

20. The original script was set one hundred years in the future, but they kept bringing it closer to the present for budgetary reasons.

21. The location where they filmed the medical hallways were shot in an unused headquarters built for a high-tech company for $250 million. They presumably went bust before being able to use the building.

22. The post-birth scene — the clone has given birth and the doctors are taking the baby and euthanizing the woman — was a major reason why Bay took on the film.

23. Editors for the airline version wanted to cut the scene above, but Bay said absolutely not. He insisted it stay, and they said at least remove the stirrups. He again said no, and they compromised by blurring them out.

24. McGregor improvised the slide along the floor at 40:23.

25. He was “the first guy in the country” to have the compact Arriflex 235, and he goes on to sing its praises for handheld shots.

Tagged with: Commentary Commentary Michael Bay The Island

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The 40+ Best Lost At Sea Movies

The best lost at sea movies of all time chart a course through the uncharted territories of human endurance, capturing the imagination with tales of survival, isolation, and the indomitable human spirit. Set against the vast, unforgiving expanse of the ocean, these films weave narratives that are as deep and poignant as the waters they traverse. They invite viewers into stories where the sea is more than just a setting—it's a character, challenging the protagonists in ways both terrifying and awe-inspiring.

Among these cinematic voyages, Cast Away stands out with its compelling portrayal of solitude and survival, anchored by Tom Hanks' unforgettable performance. Equally stirring, Adrift captivates with its harrowing true story of love and endurance against the merciless Pacific Ocean. These films, among others, beautifully navigate the tumultuous waters of hope, despair, and redemption, offering viewers an unforgettable journey into the heart of the human spirit.

This list wasn't cast adrift without direction; it was meticulously curated by a crew of movie experts who delved into the vast ocean of film to fish out the true pearls. From there, it was up to the watchers, those aficionados of the silver screen, to cast their votes and help steer this collection into the harbor of the must-watch, the best lost at sea movies of all time.

In this enthralling survival drama, director Robert Zemeckis captures the desperate struggle of Chuck Noland (played by Tom Hanks), a FedEx employee who gets stranded on a remote island after a plane crash. As the narrative unfolds, the audience bears witness to Chuck's intense emotional journey as he seeks to stay alive in an unforgiving environment – from his frantic attempts to signal rescue, to his bond with the enigmatic volleyball Wilson. The film's gripping blend of isolation and existentialism makes it a quintessential tale of being lost at sea.

• Released : 2000
• Directed by : Robert Zemeckis

Based on a harrowing true story, Adrift follows the lives of young couple Tami Oldham (Shailene Woodley) and Richard Sharp (Sam Claflin) as they embark on a sailing adventure across the Pacific Ocean. When they encounter a catastrophic hurricane, the pair must confront their own mortality and fight against all odds for survival. With its stunning visuals and exceptional performances, Adrift is a poignant and heart-wrenching take on love, loss, and resilience at sea.

• Released : 2018
• Directed by : Baltasar Kormákur

James Cameron's epic disaster romance Titanic revisits the infamous sinking of the RMS Titanic, blending historical events with the fictional love story of upper-class Rose (Kate Winslet) and working-class Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio). The film's groundbreaking special effects and set design transport viewers into the heart of the disaster, while the compelling narrative keeps them hooked. Regarded as a cinematic masterpiece, Titanic remains a testament to the power of love amidst chaos and the indomitable human spirit.

• Released : 1997
• Directed by : James Cameron

The Perfect Storm

Director Wolfgang Petersen brings Sebastian Junger's bestselling novel to life in The Perfect Storm , a thrilling drama about the ill-fated fishing vessel Andrea Gail and its crew during the “storm of the century.” Starring George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg, the film's relentless action and palpable tension make it a must-watch for fans of high-seas adventure. The gripping storyline, bolstered by a talented ensemble cast, ensures that The Perfect Storm is a stormy voyage worth taking.

• Directed by : Wolfgang Petersen

Captain Phillips

Paul Greengrass' thrilling biographical drama, Captain Phillips , recounts the incredible true story of the 2009 Maersk Alabama hijacking – the first American cargo ship hijacking in over 200 years. Tom Hanks delivers a powerful performance as the titular character, whose resourcefulness and bravery in the face of danger make him an unlikely hero. With its gripping narrative, stellar performances, and intense action, Captain Phillips is an enthralling portrayal of survival and human resilience in the open sea.

• Released : 2013
• Directed by : Paul Greengrass

All Is Lost

Robert Redford delivers a tour de force performance in J.C. Chandor's minimalist drama All Is Lost , playing an unnamed man who becomes stranded at sea after his sailboat collides with a shipping container. With virtually no dialogue, the film relies heavily on Redford's emotive acting and Chandor's masterful storytelling to convey the protagonist's desperation, resourcefulness, and resilience in the face of insurmountable odds. All Is Lost stands as a testament to the power of cinema to tell a compelling, human story with the barest of elements.

• Directed by : J.C. Chandor

Adapted from Yann Martel's novel, Ang Lee's visually stunning and spiritually resonant Life of Pi tells the extraordinary tale of Pi Patel (Suraj Sharma), a young Indian man who survives a shipwreck only to find himself sharing a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger. As they embark on a fantastical journey through a captivating oceanic world filled with wonder, peril, and self-discovery, Lee seamlessly weaves elements of magical realism, religion, and philosophy into an unforgettable cinematic experience. Life of Pi 's breathtaking visuals and profound themes make it an essential viewing for anyone seeking solace or enlightenment in a sea of uncertainty.

• Released : 2012
• Directed by : Ang Lee

In the Heart of the Sea

Ron Howard's visually striking and ambitious adaptation of Nathaniel Philbrick's nonfiction book, In the Heart of the Sea , delves into the harrowing true story that inspired Herman Melville's classic novel, Moby Dick . The film chronicles the brutal journey of the whaling ship Essex as it encounters a monstrous sperm whale, leaving the crew stranded in a merciless ocean with dwindling resources and a terrifying foe. With its stellar cast – including Chris Hemsworth star performance – and captivating storytelling, In the Heart of the Sea is a chilling and visceral tale of survival and bravery in the face of insurmountable challenges.

• Released : 2015
• Directed by : Ron Howard

The Poseidon Adventure

A seminal disaster film from the 1970s, The Poseidon Adventure follows the struggle for survival aboard the SS Poseidon after the luxury liner capsizes due to a massive tidal wave. Directed by Ronald Neame and starring an all-star ensemble cast – including Gene Hackman, Ernest Borgnine, and Shelley Winters – the film combines high-stakes action and gripping interpersonal drama, keeping viewers on the edge of their seats. For fans of classic cinema and maritime thrillers, The Poseidon Adventure is a must-see.

• Released : 1972
• Directed by : Ronald Neame, Irwin Allen

Loosely based on actual events, Open Water follows a couple left stranded in shark-infested waters after their scuba-diving excursion mistakenly leaves them behind. The film's gritty, low-budget approach captures the raw intensity of their struggle for survival, creating an unsettling sense of claustrophobia and dread. Directed by Chris Kentis, Open Water is a nerve-wracking, nail-biting thriller that serves as a sobering reminder of the perils of venturing into the unknown.

• Released : 2003
• Directed by : Chris Kentis

The Finest Hours

Based on the incredible true story of the Coast Guard's daring rescue attempt during the 1952 New England nor'easter, The Finest Hours , directed by Craig Gillespie, captures the courageous efforts of four men who risked their lives to save more than 30 stranded sailors. Featuring an exceptional ensemble cast led by Chris Pine and Casey Affleck, this film expertly weaves together thrilling action sequences and poignant character moments to tell a timeless tale of heroism and sacrifice. The Finest Hours ' gripping narrative and emotional resonance make it an unforgettable maritime adventure.

• Released : 2016
• Directed by : Craig Gillespie

Angelina Jolie's gripping biopic Unbroken tells the extraordinary true-story of Olympian and war hero Louis Zamperini (played by Jack O'Connell) and his unimaginable ordeal; from crashing into the Pacific Ocean during World War II to surviving 47 days adrift, only to be captured by the Japanese Navy. The film's powerful themes of perseverance, resilience, and the indomitable human spirit make it an inspiring and emotional watch. With its captivating narrative and standout performances, Unbroken is a compelling exploration of survival and redemption in the most trying of circumstances.

• Released : 2014
• Directed by : Angelina Jolie

Phillip Noyce's suspenseful thriller Dead Calm follows a grieving couple, played by Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman, as they seek solace on a sailing trip, only to encounter a psychotic man (Billy Zane) who has left a trail of destruction in his wake. As tensions rise and allegiances shift, the characters battle for survival in an increasingly dangerous game of cat and mouse. Dead Calm 's intense atmosphere, strong performances, and unpredictable twists make it an unforgettable addition to the lost at sea genre.

• Released : 1989
• Directed by : Phillip Noyce

In this chilling horror film, a salvage crew discovers the derelict ocean liner, SS Antonia Graza, and quickly becomes entangled in a web of supernatural terror. Directed by Steve Beck, Ghost Ship masterfully blends elements of maritime adventure and spine-tingling horror to create a uniquely terrifying experience. With its eerie atmosphere, tight pacing, and compelling story, Ghost Ship is perfect for those in search of a thrilling, ghostly adventure at sea.

• Released : 2002
• Directed by : Steve Beck

The 2006 remake of the classic disaster film, Poseidon focuses on a group of passengers aboard a luxury cruise liner who must fight for their lives when the ship is capsized by a colossal wave. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, who also helmed The Perfect Storm , this film boasts a talented ensemble cast and impressive special effects. Though the remake may not hold the same classic status as its predecessor, Poseidon still delivers high-stakes action and suspense, making it an enjoyable addition to the lost at sea genre.

• Released : 2006

The definitive cinematic adaptation of Herman Melville's classic novel, John Huston's 1956 film Moby Dick captures the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab (Gregory Peck) to seek vengeance on the great white whale that destroyed his ship and cost him his leg. With its stunning visuals, exceptional performances, and haunting score, this film dives deep into themes of obsession, revenge, and the unfathomable power of nature. Moby Dick is not only a timeless tale of maritime adventure but also a profound exploration of the human psyche.

• Released : 1956
• Directed by : John Huston

Based on a true story, The Reef follows a group of friends whose sailing trip takes a horrifying turn when their boat capsizes, leaving them at the mercy of a man-eating great white shark. Directed by Andrew Traucki, the film utilizes real shark footage to create a truly unnerving and authentic experience. With its relentless tension and harrowing depiction of survival, The Reef is a gripping and intense addition to the lost at sea genre.

• Released : 2010
• Directed by : Andrew Traucki

White Squall

Ridley Scott's nautical drama White Squall tells the true story of a group of teenage boys who embark on a six-month educational sailing expedition in the Caribbean, only to be caught in a devastating storm that tests their courage and unity. With its rich character development, breathtaking visuals, and heart-pounding action sequences, White Squall is both a thrilling high-seas adventure and a moving coming-of-age story that speaks to the resilience of the human spirit.

• Released : 1996
• Directed by : Ridley Scott

The Guardian

In this gripping action-drama, Kevin Costner stars as a legendary Coast Guard Rescue Swimmer who takes on the challenge of training a young and reckless recruit, played by Ashton Kutcher. The film delves into the perilous world of search and rescue, showcasing the physical and emotional challenges faced by those sworn to protect lives at sea. Directed by Andrew Davis, The Guardian is an engaging and inspiring look at the sacrifices and bravery of those who risk it all in uncharted waters.

• Directed by : Andrew Davis

The inspiring true story of Thor Heyerdahl's daring 1947 expedition across the Pacific Ocean on a balsa wood raft comes to life in this award-winning film directed by Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg. With its engaging characters, stunning cinematography, and thrilling action, Kon-Tiki is both an exhilarating adventure and a testament to the power of the human spirit in the face of adversity. The film's rich historical context and captivating storytelling make it an essential viewing for fans of maritime cinema.

• Directed by : Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg

The Shallows

In this tense and visually striking survival thriller, a young surfer named Nancy (Blake Lively) finds herself stranded on a rock just 200 yards from shore with a great white shark circling her. Directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, The Shallows is a tightly-paced, edge-of-your-seat experience that expertly combines beautiful cinematography with nerve-wracking suspense. As Nancy battles against time, the elements, and a formidable predator, The Shallows delivers a thrilling and visceral tale of resilience and determination.

• Directed by : Jaume Collet-Serra

In Wolfgang Petersen's taut and claustrophobic thriller, a German U-boat crew faces the perils of World War II below the surface while struggling to maintain their sanity within the confined space of their submarine. As the crew members are pushed to their breaking point, The Boat explores the psychological toll of warfare and the bonds forged amid adversity. With its authentic portrayal of life aboard a U-boat and its engaging character dynamics, this film remains a compelling and unique entry in the lost at sea category.

• Directed by : Winston Azzopardi

Satan's Triangle

This 1975 made-for-television horror film follows an investigation into the mysterious disappearance of ships and planes in the Bermuda Triangle. The survivors of a shipwreck are faced with supernatural occurrences and demonic forces that challenge their sanity and survival. With its eerie atmosphere and unique blend of horror and maritime adventure, Satan's Triangle remains a cult favorite for those seeking something beyond the typical lost at sea narrative.

• Released : 1975
• Directed by : Sutton Roley

In this mind-bending horror-thriller, a group of friends finds themselves trapped in a time loop while stranded on a seemingly abandoned ocean liner. Directed by Christopher Smith, Triangle combines elements of psychological horror and maritime adventure to create a haunting and disorienting cinematic experience. With its eerie atmosphere, complex narrative structure, and chilling twists, Triangle is an unconventional and unforgettable addition to the lost at sea genre.

• Released : 2009
• Directed by : Christopher Smith

K-19: The Widowmaker

Based on the harrowing true story of a near nuclear disaster aboard a Soviet submarine in 1961, K-19: The Widowmaker stars Harrison Ford and Liam Neeson as naval officers whose bravery and ingenuity are pushed to the limit in their desperate race against time. Directed by Kathryn Bigelow, this suspenseful and emotionally charged film delves into themes of duty, honor, and the sacrifices made in the name of global security. With its gripping narrative, strong performances, and historical resonance, K-19: The Widowmaker is an engrossing addition to the lost at sea genre.

• Directed by : Kathryn Bigelow

This inspiring documentary chronicles the remarkable journey of Laura Dekker, a 14-year-old sailor who sets out to become the youngest person ever to circumnavigate the globe solo. Directed by Jillian Schlesinger, Maidentrip captures the beauty, loneliness, and triumph of Dekker's incredible adventure with breathtaking cinematography and intimate personal footage. A testament to the power of determination and self-reliance, Maidentrip is a captivating and empowering look at the transformative potential of life at sea.

• Directed by : Jillian Schlesinger

In this gripping submarine thriller directed by Kevin Macdonald, Jude Law stars as a down-on-his-luck submarine captain who assembles a misfit crew to search for a sunken Nazi submarine rumored to be filled with gold. As tensions rise and alliances crumble, the crew finds itself battling for survival in the depths of the Black Sea. Packed with intense action, suspense, and top-notch performances, Black Sea is a taut and thrilling addition to the lost at sea genre.

• Directed by : Kevin Macdonald

Open Water 2: Adrift

In this sequel to the chilling 2003 thriller, a group of friends on a yachting trip finds themselves stranded in shark-infested waters after neglecting to lower a ladder before diving into the ocean. As fear and desperation mount, the friends must confront their darkest fears and make life-altering decisions in their struggle for survival. Though lacking the raw intensity of its predecessor, Open Water 2: Adrift offers a suspenseful and nerve-wracking exploration of the human psyche in the face of overwhelming adversity.

• Directed by : Hans Horn

Directed by Michael Goi, Mary tells the chilling story of a struggling family who buys an abandoned ship in the hopes of starting a new life, only to find that something sinister lurks within its depths. As the mysteries unfold and supernatural events occur, the film expertly weaves together elements of horror, suspense, and family drama to create a gripping and atmospheric maritime thriller. With its talented cast and eerie visuals, Mary offers a haunting journey into the heart of darkness at sea.

• Released : 2019
• Directed by : Michael Goi

Directed by the master of suspense, Alfred Hitchcock, this 1944 classic follows a group of survivors who find themselves confined to a small lifeboat after their ship is torpedoed during World War II. Hitchcock expertly manipulates the confined setting and tense character dynamics to create a suspenseful and engaging drama that explores themes of morality, survival, and the human capacity for cruelty and compassion in dire circumstances. A groundbreaking and thought-provoking entry in the lost at sea canon, Lifeboat remains an essential viewing for fans of the genre.

• Released : 1944
• Directed by : Alfred Hitchcock

Based on Peter Benchley's bestselling novel, this suspenseful thriller follows a vacationing couple, played by Nick Nolte and Jacqueline Bisset, who uncover a shipwreck filled with valuable treasures and become entangled in a deadly game of greed and betrayal. Directed by Peter Yates, The Deep expertly blends underwater adventure, gripping suspense, and riveting character drama to create a thrilling high-stakes journey into the depths of human ambition and desire. With its memorable performances, lush cinematography, and pulse-pounding action, The Deep (1977) remains an enduring entry in the lost at sea genre.

• Released : 1977
• Directed by : Peter Yates

• Released : 2023
• Directed by : Albert Pintó

This compelling biographical drama, directed by James Marsh, tells the tragic true story of amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst (played by Colin Firth), who attempted to circumnavigate the globe solo in an ill-fated 1968 race. The film expertly captures the psychological torment and isolation experienced by Crowhurst as he grapples with the consequences of his actions and the unforgiving power of the sea. Featuring standout performances and a poignant exploration of the human capacity for hope and despair, The Mercy offers a moving and sobering look at the darker side of the lost at sea narrative.

• Directed by : James Marsh

Two Came Back

Based on a true story and directed by Dick Lowry, this made-for-television drama follows five young adults who embark on a sailing trip that goes awry when they are caught in a devastating storm, leaving them stranded at sea for weeks. As the desperate crew battles hunger, thirst, and their own mortality, the film delves into themes of friendship, resilience, and the power of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity. With its gripping narrative and heartfelt performances, Two Came Back offers an inspiring and emotional addition to the lost at sea genre.

• Directed by : Dick Lowry

A Hijacking

Tobias Lindholm's tense and suspenseful drama A Hijacking follows the crew of a Danish cargo ship as they are taken hostage by Somali pirates, with the ship's cook serving as the primary focus of the story. As the tense negotiations between the ship owners and the pirates unfold, the film delves into themes of desperation, morality, and the human capacity for survival in extreme circumstances. A Hijacking 's realistic portrayal of modern-day piracy and its gripping narrative make it a must-watch addition to the lost at sea genre.

• Directed by : Tobias Lindholm

Souls at Sea

This classic 1937 adventure film, directed by Henry Hathaway, stars Gary Cooper and George Raft as two sailing buddies trying to thwart a brutal slave trader's nefarious plans. With its engaging characters, exciting narrative, and historical context, Souls at Sea offers an entertaining and action-packed look at maritime heroism in the age of sail. Its timeless themes of friendship, bravery, and justice make it a captivating entry in the lost at sea canon.

• Released : 1937
• Directed by : Henry Hathaway

Blue Miracle

Based on a true story, Blue Miracle follows a group of orphans and their guardian as they enter a big fishing tournament in the hopes of saving their cash-strapped orphanage. Directed by Julio Quintana, the film focuses on the inspiring journey of the underdog team and their determination to overcome their circumstances. With its heartwarming story, strong performances, and uplifting message, Blue Miracle is a touching and uplifting tale of hope and perseverance at sea.

• Released : 2021
• Directed by : Julio Quintana

For Those in Peril

This critically acclaimed British drama, directed by Paul Wright, tells the haunting story of a young man who is the sole survivor of a fishing accident that claimed the lives of his brother and several other men from his close-knit community. As he grapples with guilt, grief, and ostracism, the film delves into themes of loss, redemption, and the isolating power of the sea. With its raw performances, moody atmosphere, and emotional resonance, For Those in Peril offers a poignant and thought-provoking addition to the lost at sea genre.

• Directed by : Paul Wright

Deep Rising

In this action-packed sci-fi horror film, a group of mercenaries who commandeer a luxury cruise ship finds themselves terrorized by a monstrous sea creature that begins picking them off one by one. Directed by Stephen Sommers, Deep Rising combines elements of adventure, horror, and humor to create an entertaining and thrilling high-seas escapade. For fans of creature features and maritime mayhem, Deep Rising delivers a rollicking and suspenseful journey into the unknown.

• Released : 1998
• Directed by : Stephen Sommers

In this innovative and genre-defying survival horror film , a young woman named Jenn (Kiersey Clemons) becomes stranded on a remote island after a shipwreck, only to discover that she is not alone. As she faces off against a terrifying and mysterious creature, director J.D. Dillard masterfully blends elements of horror, adventure, and character-driven drama to create a unique and thrilling cinematic experience. With its strong performances, inventive storytelling, and chilling atmosphere, Sweetheart offers a fresh and engaging take on the lost at sea narrative.

• Directed by : J.D. Dillard

This Icelandic drama, based on true events, tells the harrowing story of a fisherman who miraculously survives a shipwreck off the frigid coast of Iceland, swimming miles back to shore in the treacherous waters. Directed by Baltasar Kormákur, The Deep delves into themes of survival, the power of the human spirit, and the resilience of the human body in extreme conditions. With its gripping narrative, powerful performances, and stark cinematography, The Deep (2012) is a poignant and intense exploration of human endurance in the face of incredible odds.

Speed 2: Cruise Control

In this high-octane sequel to the 1994 action hit Speed , Sandra Bullock reprises her role as Annie, who finds herself on a hijacked luxury cruise ship that is rigged to crash into an oil tanker. Directed by Jan de Bont, the film features thrilling stunts, non-stop action, and Willem Dafoe's formidable performance as the unhinged villain. Though it may not be as critically acclaimed as its predecessor, Speed 2: Cruise Control offers an entertaining and adrenaline-fueled adventure on the high seas.

• Directed by : Jan de Bont

In this atmospheric sci-fi thriller, a marine biology student aboard a fishing trawler encounters a mysterious and deadly creature lurking in the depths of the ocean. Directed by Neasa Hardiman, Sea Fever expertly blends elements of horror, suspense, and scientific intrigue to create a thought-provoking and chilling maritime adventure. With its strong performances, innovative storytelling, and eerie visuals, Sea Fever offers a unique and gripping take on the dangers lurking beneath the surface.

• Directed by : Neasa Hardiman

The Sea Beast

This animated adventure film follows a group of misfit marine creatures who band together to rescue their captured friend and bring him home from a sinister aquarium. Directed by Adam Bierman and Evan Tramel , The Sea Beast delivers a colorful, fun-filled, and heartwarming journey through an underwater world filled with humor, friendship, and action. With its vibrant animation, lovable characters, and engaging story, The Sea Beast is a delightful addition to the lost at sea genre for younger audiences.

• Released : 2022
• Directed by : Chris Williams
• Entertainment
• Watchworthy

In the middle of the ocean, no one can hear you scream.

Atlas & Boots

The UK's most popular outdoor travel blog

25 sailing movies for when you’re knot shore what to watch

We share some of our favourite best sailing movies, from Hollywood blockbusters and indie films to illuminating documentaries

I still hang on to the rather fanciful notion of sailing in the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race . Until I pluck up the courage (and the funds), I’ve been busying myself with more realistic nautical escapades.

From  tall ship sailing off the west coast of Scotland  to  sailing the Whitsunday Islands  in Australia , more and more of our travels have taken place on the water.

However, until I make the leap from weekend warrior to blue water sailor, I’ll have to make do with films, books and daydreams.

With that in mind, I’ve put together a list of the best sailing movies I’ve seen. What follows is a broad mix of modern and classic, indie and feature, drama and documentary film. Whatever their style, these flicks are thoroughly wet and wonderful.

And, I’m sorry about the pun, but you know, ship happens.

best sailing movies

Listed in no particular order, these nautical movies include terrifying ordeals of tragedy, inconceivable stories of survival, turbulent tales of adventure and wild journeys of discovery – perfect for a night in on a dry and comfy sofa.

1. Kon-Tiki (1950) Let’s start with one of the best sailing movies ever made. In 1947, Heyerdahl and five others sailed from Peru on a balsa wood raft. This is the classic Academy Award winning documentary of their astonishing journey across 4,300 miles of the Pacific Ocean.

Watch on Amazon Rotten Tomatoes IMDB

2. Red Dot on the Ocean (2014) Once labelled a ‘youth-at-risk’, 30-year old Matt Rutherford risked it all in an attempt to become the first person to sail solo non-stop around North and South America. Red Dot on the Ocean is the story of Matt’s death-defying voyage and the childhood odyssey that shaped him.

3. The Dove (1974) Produced by Gregory Peck, this coming-of-age adventure is based on the true story of Robin Lee Graham . At 16, he set sail in a 23ft sloop determined to be the youngest person to sail around the world.

4. Wind (1992) In over 140 years of competition, the US has lost the America’s Cup just once. This is a fictional story of the American challengers intent on winning back sailing’s top prize. A tale of money, power, love and ambition follows… oh, and some sailing.

5. Morning Light (2008) A riveting true-life adventure aboard the high-tech sloop Morning Light. Fifteen rookie sailors have one goal in mind: to be part of her crew, racing in one of the most revered sailing competitions in the world, the Transpac Yacht Race .

6. Between Home – Odyssey of an Unusual Sea Bandit (2012) An independent filmmaker’s account of his solo voyage from the UK to Australia, negotiating the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans en route. A trip that eventually takes over two years to complete.

Watch on Amazon IMDB

7. Styx (2019) When a lone yachtswoman comes across a sinking ship of refugees, she is torn away from her idyllic trip and tasked with a momentous decision. Should she act when authorities tell her to sail away?

8. Captain Ron (1992) After inheriting a yacht, a Chicago businessman enlists long-haired, one-eyed low-life Captain Ron to pilot the yacht from the Caribbean to Miami. During the voyage, the sailor frequently loses his way while becoming a hit with the businessman’s family. Goofy comedy starring Kurt Russell and Martin Short widely recognised as one of the funniest sailing movies ever made.

9. Maidentrip (2013) This riveting documentary chronicles the life and adventures of 14-year-old Laura Dekker who set out on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to be the youngest person ever to sail solo around the world.

10. Kon-Tiki (2012) A well-crafted retelling of the epic original and one of the best sailing movies ever made. This dramatised version is a throwback to old-school adventure filmmaking that’s exciting and entertaining in spite of its by-the-book plotting.

“But you can’t navigate a raft,” he added. “It goes sideways and backwards and round as the wind takes it.” – Thor Heyerdahl, Kon-Tiki

11. Abandoned (2015) Four men set sail on the trimaran yacht Rose Noelle . It capsizes in a storm, trapping the crew in a space the size of a double bed. After 119 days adrift, the yacht washes ashore. The crew’s story is extraordinary, but doubt is cast on their claims and they face hostility from the media and authorities.

12. Adrift (2019) There are far better films on this list, but Adrift is just about worth a watch. Based on true events, a young couple embark on an adventure of a lifetime that brings them face to face with one of the worst hurricanes in recorded history.

13. The Perfect Storm (2000) A skipper insists that his crew go out on a final fishing trip before winter sets in. Unknown to them, a brutal storm is on its way. While the special effects are excellent for the time, the film falls a little  short on characterisation.

14. Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World (2016) The vessel is Infinity, a 120ft hand-built sailboat, crewed by a band of miscreants. The journey, an 8,000-mile Pacific crossing from New Zealand to Patagonia with a stop in Antarctica .

15. Turning Tide / En Solitaire (2013) Franck Drevil is a star skipper, having won the latest Vendée Globe , the most prestigious round-the-world single-handed yacht race. However, with this year’s race approaching, a sudden accident forces Franck to withdraw.

16. Knife in the Water (1962) When a young hitchhiker joins a couple on a weekend yacht trip, psychological warfare breaks out as the two men compete for the woman’s attention. A storm forces the small crew below deck and tension builds to a violent climax.

17. Dead Calm (1989) This tense thriller tells the story of an Australian couple (Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill) whose yacht cruise is violently interrupted by the mysterious lone survivor (Billy Zane) of a ship whose crew has perished.

18. The Riddle of the Sands (1979) A classic British swashbuckling yarn based on the early English spy novel of the same name. In 1901, two British yachtsmen visit Germany’s Frisian Islands and accidentally discover a German plot to invade England.

19. Maiden (2019) The story of Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter boats, who became the skipper of the first-ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989.

20. White Squall (1996) Based on a true incident from 1960, White Squall is the story of the tragic sinking of the Albatross , a prep school educational two-masted schooner, during a Caribbean storm. Starring Jeff Bridges.

21. The Mercy (2017) Starring Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz, this is certainly no heroic tale. Instead, it’s the dramatisation of the bizarre story of amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst and his attempt to pull off one of the greatest hoaxes of our time: pretending to be the first to sail singlehandedly around the world!

22. Deep Water (2006) Following on from the above, Deep Water is a British documentary about the remarkable story of the first Golden Globe round the world yacht race , focusing on the psychological toll it took on its competitors – particularly one Donald Crowhurst.

23. Captains Courageous (1937) A spoiled brat who falls overboard from a steamship gets picked up by a fishing boat, where he’s made to earn his keep by joining the crew in their work. Based on the 1897 novel by Rudyard Kipling.

24. Open Water 2: Adrift (2006) A silly premise, but entertaining nonetheless. Six friends jump off a yacht without lowering the ladder first. With no way to climb aboard, it’s only a matter of time before bickering turns to terror.

25. Master and Commander – The Far Side of the World (2003) During the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain (Russell Crowe) pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel.

“Do you not know that in the service one must always choose the lesser of two weevils?” – Capt. Jack Aubrey, Master and Commander

Readers’ suggestions

Here’s what our readers have added to the list of the best sailing movies.

• Masquerade (1988)
• Violets are Blue (1986)
• Kill Cruise (1992)
• Message in a Bottle (1999)
• High wind in Jamaica (1965)
• Caddyshack (1980)
• O Mundo em Duas Voltas (The World in Two Round Trips) (2007)
• One Crazy Summer (1986)
• Coyote: The Mike Plant Story (2018)
• The Weekend Sailor (2017)
• Harpoon (2019)
• Waterworld (1995)
• Around Cape Horn (1929)
• Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
• Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)
• The Bounty (1984)
• All Is Lost (2013)

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Finding Fun in Michigan & Beyond

13 Of the Best Sailing Movies, You Can Watch Again and Again

I’m a recreational sailor. I’ve been sailing on Saginaw Bay since I was a little kid. We started off sailing Snarks and Sunfish. Our family loved sailing movies, and we watched them all. In the early 1970s, my dad took advantage of a marketing campaign by Kool cigarettes where we could purchase a Snark with the white and green KOOL logo on the sail. We still have this old boat and manage to bring her out to play with from time to time. One of the things that irk me is the lack of movie entertainment that revolves around my favorite pastime. I’ve managed to collect a few examples of movies with sailboats here.

Sometimes you can find these sailing movies streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime, or Hulu.

White Squall (1999)

The true story of a bunch of boys, a ship, and the sea.

The movie White Squall is based on the 1961 sinking of a brigantine named the Albatross—a two-masted sailing vessel with a fully square-rigged foremast—White Squall is an exciting tale of adventure, friendship, and tragedy. This sailing movie stars Jeff Bridges as Captain Christopher “Skipper” Sheldon, who takes his charges on an epic voyage around the world on the Albatross.

Along the way, the boys learn how to sail and how to work together as a team. They also develop life-long friendships and forge incredibly tight bonds that they can only get from being in such close quarters with each other.

But then tragedy strikes: A white squall appears out of nowhere, sending massive waves crashing down upon their beloved ship. With their lives on the line and all hope of survival seeming lost, Skipper urges his boys to keep fighting for their lives—and trust each other above all else, no matter what happens next.

Wind (1992)

Wind is a 1992 film directed by Carroll Ballard that follows Will Parker, played by Matthew Modine as he loses America’s Cup, the world’s biggest sailing prize, to the Australians and decides to form his own syndicate to win it back. Will hires Kate Bass, played by Jennifer Grey, to help him with his PR campaign.

The film co-stars Cliff Robertson as Morgan Weld, a businessman who offers to sponsor the team and pays for their yacht. Rounding out the cast is Jack Thompson as Michael “Brue” Brindley, a sailor who found success in racing and now manages an Australian team; Stellan Skarsgård as Bjorn Ericson, a Swedish sailor who sails for an American syndicate; and John McGlinn as Frank Hennessy, an Australian businessman who is investing in the Australian team.

All is Lost (2013)

All is Lost is one of the most harrowing survival stories ever committed to film, All is Lost is a minimalist exploration of a man’s struggle for survival in the face of adversity. In this case, “adversity” means “the Indian Ocean.”

The story begins with Robert Redford waking up halfway through a solo voyage across the Pacific. He finds that he has struck a floating shipping container, and his boat is filling with water.

Redford’s character is never given a name, but we do get to know him through his actions. He doesn’t panic when he discovers the leak; instead, he sets about repairing it as best he can. He rigs a jury-rigged sail to help him stay afloat while he waits out a storm. When the radio fails, there’s no bemoaning his fate; instead, he puts on his best poker face and keeps going. Each time he faces down yet another crisis and finds a solution, we learn more about him—and the stakes just keep getting higher.

Dead Calm (1989)

A young couple on a yacht trip in the South Pacific encounters a damaged ship and its only living inhabitant. He is looking for a ride home, so he can return to his wife and kids. The captain is suspicious and refuses to take him on board. As the story unfolds, it becomes apparent that the stranger was responsible for slaughtering the other crew members and that his wife may not be waiting for him at all.

The director depicts this story in an original way, shot completely on a boat, as it sails through the Pacific Ocean. Although the story is fictitious, it still gives us some real sailing skills and challenges of open water navigation.

This movie Dead Calm stars Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill, and Billy Zane.

Morning Light (2008)

Morning Light is a documentary that follows the youngest crew ever to compete in the Transpac sailing race. All crew members were between 18 and 23. The film follows the development of the Morning Light sailing team, their six months of sea training, and finally, the weeklong race across the Pacific between Los Angeles to Honolulu.

The film follows the young sailors as they develop their teamwork and learn to navigate under pressure and in high winds. The film also gives viewers a glimpse of the athletes’ personal lives: one woman struggles to find childcare so she can attend training while several others struggle with homesickness or the physical and emotional toll of leaving their families behind for months at a time.

The young sailors operate under incredible pressure: they are working hard to impress their sponsors (who have provided them with $2 million worth of equipment), they have only six months to learn how to sail, and they are constantly being compared to more experienced crews. They also must contend with a strict coach who pushes them harder than they’ve ever been pushed before.

Adrift (2018)

When you’re out on the open sea, you never know what fate may bring.

For Tami and Richard, it was a once-in-a-lifetime adventure—and one they’ll never forget.

Adrift is the true story of their journey to love and their battle with Hurricane Raymond in 1983, considered one of the most destructive storms ever recorded. Tami wakes up in the aftermath of the storm to find Richard seriously injured and their sailboat in shreds and sinking. Now, Tami must summon all her will and strength to save herself… and Richard, with no possibility of rescue.

Starring Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin, Adrift is an incredible tale for anyone who’s ever felt like they were fighting against the world.

Kon-Tiki (2012)

It’s not often that you can come away from a movie with a new appreciation for the world around you—but that’s precisely what happened when I watched Kon-Tiki!

The movie is based on an actual expedition led by Thor Heyerdahl, a famous Norwegian explorer, and ethnographer, in 1947. Thor theorized that South Americans had settled parts of the South Sea Islands, and he wanted to prove his point. So, after months of preparation, he and five other guys set sail from Peru on a balsa-wood raft. They planned to use natural elements (like stars and ocean currents) to navigate their way through the sea.

It sounds impossible, right? But they did it! And they didn’t even have modern equipment like GPS or maps—just a radio. It’s one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. You should watch this movie; it leaves you feeling inspired about what you can accomplish if you believe in your aspirations.

Maidentrip (2013)

The documentary, Maidentrip , chronicles the two-year journey of Laura Dekker as she attempts to become the youngest person to sail around the world. The video, directed by Jillian Schlesinger, is a testament to the human spirit and what can be accomplished when one pursues one’s ambition and works hard to attain it.

Dekker is depicted as a free-spirited outsider who finds her utopia in a never-ending sea. She is shown spending time with friends, getting tattoos, and enjoying life on her boat. While she does occasionally use bad language in the video, it never interferes with her message that you can accomplish anything you set your mind to if you are willing to work hard and overcome obstacles that may arise along the way.

The Endurance (2000)

The Endurance tells the story of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914-1916 journey to Antarctica, which is considered one of history’s greatest survival stories. Following the terrible death of legendary English polar explorer Robert Falcon Scott on his journey to the South Pole, Shackleton embarked on his third voyage.

Shackleton assembled a 27-man crew aboard his ship, Endurance, and set out in search of a new route across Antarctica from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea. The expedition was thwarted by ice near the Weddell Sea, and Endurance was trapped for nearly a year before being crushed by the ice and sinking. The men escaped with their lives onto the floes, where they remained for another five months before reaching Elephant Island. Five men stayed behind at the site of their camp as Shackleton sailed in a small boat with five others in search of help. He sailed 800 miles through dangerous seas to reach South Georgia Island, where he arranged for a rescue ship to save his stranded crew members. All 27 men survived this ordeal, which is considered an epic feat in polar exploration history.

Sea Gypsies: Far Side of the World (2017)

Picture this: a gang of roving miscreants, with no licenses or insurance and an almost non-existent budget, is bound towards the most perilous seas on the planet.

This is almost the polar opposite of what you may have learned in your sailing classes. But for the crew of “Sea Gypsies: The Far Side of the World,” their story is one of adventure, courage, and determination.

In this heart-pounding documentary, a group of friends takes on the challenge of a lifetime: sailing from New York to Japan without any formal training, using only an old wooden boat that they built themselves.

“We knew it was crazy,” says Timmy Sniffles, one of the participants. “But we threw ourselves at it anyway.”

With three cameras on board to capture every moment and a host of experts who explain the dangers, they faced along the way, “Sea Gypsies” is a real-life thriller that will keep you glued to your seat.

The Old Man and The Sea Return to Cuba (2018)

Finbar Gittleman is a 75-year-old master sailor. He has a mythical position among sailors in Key West and the Caribbean after living a rough and perilous life at sea. As he returns to Havana, Cuba for the first time since Castro’s revolution, this is his narrative.

The Old Man and The Sea Return to Cuba : Finbar Gittleman takes you on an adventure of sailing, perseverance, and self-discovery.

In this video, Finbar recounts his life at sea and how he came to be in Florida. He also shares some of the hardships he faced along the way as he struggled to make a living in the harsh environment of Key West.

He then describes the day when he decided to sail back home – through the dangerous reefs of Cuba – with nothing but his old boat, a compass, and some provisions.

The Mercy (2018)

Featured on the Today Show and in the New York Times, this extraordinary narrative of amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst’s effort to solo around the world in the first race of its type, the 1968 Sunday Times Golden Globe Race, is told in “The Mercy.”

Crowhurst was an amateur sailor who dreamed of winning the race. Struggling with his business and family life, he decided to enter the race. He convinced a local businessman to support him and set about building a boat for the race.

The race was ill-fated from the start: one competitor died at sea and another disappeared without a trace. Crowhurst became increasingly unstable as he sailed around the world; radio transmissions from him became more erratic as he sailed on.

He finally returned to England, where he was declared the winner of the race due to his competitors’ fates. However, it was discovered that he had never made it past the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa and had falsified his log entries. He returned home in disgrace and committed suicide shortly after his return.

The Weekend Sailor (2016)

It’s not often that a story like this comes along. “ The Weekend Sailor ” is a documentary about Ramon Carln, a Mexican man who, in 1974, wins the first crewed around-the-world sailing race on his boat Sayula II. The race is now known as The Volvo Ocean Race, and it takes place every three years.

The reason this story is so captivating? Carln wasn’t your typical sailor. He had very little experience with sailing, and he won the race with a crew of family and friends.

The film follows Carln’s journey: from his humble beginnings as a young boy when he began to dream of being a sailor, to his later years when he competed in the race and then won it (overcoming many obstacles along the way). It’s an inspiring story of determination and drive that you’ll want to watch with your whole family!

Related to Sailing Movies and Other Stuff

Upper Thumb Boating and Sailing – Here is another wonderfully produced video from LIVE Huron. This one focuses on Huron County boating and sailing opportunities with some great shots of Caseville harbor and breakwall

Interview with Author Jacki Howard – I reached out to Jacki Howard to see what she has done since the book was published 10 years ago. She is still involved with the book, but life has moved on. Like so many in the Thumb region, we are distant cousins. While we have never personally met, we found common ground with our interest in the “Dying Sparlings” Here is our exchange.

Boat Names – Transom Charm – The boat name you select may not seem like an important thing, but most of us feel that selecting the right name for our boat is important.

A Kool Little Cigarette Sailboat – In 1971 KOOL Cigarettes ran a unique marketing campaign. Magazines around the country ran an ad that if you sent in $88 and one box end from a carton of Kool cigarettes that this fully functional sailboat would be shipped to your door.

Michigan Monday – Saginaw Poet Theodore Roethke – Regarded as one of the most accomplished and influential poets of his generation, Roethke won the Pulitzer Prize for poetry in 1954 for his book The Waking.

The Amazing Michigan Photography of Steven Donahue – Steven was born and grew up on his family farm near Port Hope. He moved away and started studying the arts, including photography, in Chicago. He was in the military during the Vietnam War and became an MP. Part of his job was to photograph deaths and burials. A job I’m sure was not pleasant.

Michael Hardy

Michael Hardy is the owner of Thumbwind Publications LLC. Michael was born in Michigan and grew up near Caseville. In 2009 he started this fun-loving site covering Michigan's Upper Thumb. Since then, he has authored a vast range of content and established a loyal base of 60,000 visitors per month.

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3 thoughts on “ 13 of the best sailing movies, you can watch again and again ”.

Substitute “Captain Ron” for “All is lost” and I am all aboard.

Charlie St Cloud was a recent movie with some sailing focus.

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20 Best Sailing Movies of all Time

If you have been looking forward to curling up on the couch, grabbing a bowl of popcorn, and watching some captivating movies, this can be a good time. A good sailing movie can be perfect given that you'll hear a few lines that you're already familiar with when on the dock or setting sail.

This can be a perfect time to binge-watch some of the best sailing movies.

So in no particular order, we'll highlight 20 of the best sailing movies of all time. From the brutal and dramatic tales of man vs. sea to inspirational explorations and expeditions, we've covered it all. Keep reading and you'll be inspired while waiting to get off dry land when it's safe to do so.

Table of contents

All is Lost (2013)

For lone sailors, All is Lost is probably the best movie to give you a glimpse of what might go wrong for you if you decide to sail the big blue ocean alone. With a near-mute performance as an old man who loves sailing alone, Robert Redford puts in an almost quasi-silent performance by portraying the ordeal of what a lone sailor can undergo when the sea turns on you.

Directed by JC Chandor, there's only one person on the screen throughout the film. He's all alone in the vast sea with his damaged boat. He has to become tough, resourceful, and calm even when things turn against him. Single-character movies are a rarity even today but this is a great survival film that perfectly depicts what could happen even to the hardest lone sailors out there.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Directed by the talented Peter Weir, this critically-acclaimed movie was nominated for 10 Oscars and won for best cinematography and sound editing. Depicting the return of the high-seas adventure, this movie is skillfully and meticulously adapted from the historical novel by Patrick O'Brian set during the Napoleonic Wars and starring Russell Crowe.

Crowe plays an arrogant captain who pushes his ship crew to the limits while trying to capture a French warship. This movie offers action-packed battle scenes that will keep you on the edge of your seat. This movie gives you an insight of what sailors undergo in their struggles to make it through the high-seas alive.

Captain Ron (1992)

With little sailing experience but with an inherited yacht moored on an offshore island Martin Short hires charismatic Captain Ron to take them back to Florida. The voyage isn't as easy as they expected as they have to face pirates, breakdowns, and other obstacles. They all get more than what they bargained for.

Portrayed by Kurt Russell, Captain Ron depicts the misadventures of a nominal sailing character that is hired by an upper-middle-class father to guide a yacht through the Caribbean. From the marine accidents, pirates, guerilla carnivals to malfunctioning equipment, and Russell's croaked absurdities, this movie is just full of double humor and worthy performance. 

Wind (1992)

As one of the biggest races in competitive sailing, America's Cup is often associated with rich people competing in weird-looking boats. But this movie changes this as it takes viewers through the eyes of tanned and rugged Will Parker as played by Matthew Modine. He's hired by a self-made millionaire (Cliff Robertson) to lead his crew in the competition.

Together with his girlfriend Kate who is an equally skilled sailor, Parker intends to win America's Cup but Kate is thrown off the crew leaving Parker angry. When the crew loses America's Cup to the Australians, Parker decides to form his own syndicate to win back the cup. 

White Squall (1996)

This movie follows a young man's adventure movie that follows a group of high school students who boards the brigantine ship called Albatross for their senior year at sea. They sail to the tip of South America and back. They get to accept responsibility, learn how to be sailors, and grow up.

The skipper of the ship, Christopher Sheldon together with the 13 teenage boys set sail for an eight-month voyage. The boys soon discover Sheldon's psyche gradations, rattling tension, and freak storms that sink the ship. As a sailor, you'll be disturbed by the fact that four students and two crew members drown, leaving skipper Sheldon facing a fierce tribunal, tortured conscience, and grieving parents and students.

Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

As one of the greatest epic movies of the 1960s, English Captain Bligh is on a sea voyage to transport breadfruit from England to Jamaica. He is so abusive that he gets on the nerves of his crew members, especially 1st Lieutenant, Fletcher Christian.

Tension eases when they reach Jamaica and the crew indulges in the island's lifestyle but the captain claps some members of his crew in irons as they try to desert. Further abuses lead Fletcher to inspire a mutiny against the Captain. Fletcher and his men set the Captain and his loyal members afloat in a rowboat. This movie offers a realistic depiction of a larger-than-life character that most sailors are known for. 

Dead Calm (1989)

Starring Billy Zane, Nicole Kidman, Sam Neil, and a gorgeous 60 ft. ketch, Dead Calm revolves around a mass-murderer who kidnaps and seduces a young beautiful woman after leaving a husband to die on a vessel whose crew he has just murdered.

This movie was filmed in the Whitsundays Islands of Australia, which is one of the best sailing destinations in the world. Bringing forth an epic combination of deadly sailing conditions , complete isolation from the rest of the world, and a skillful villain aboard the vessel, this movie is thrilling and will leave you looking behind your back whenever you're out there on the sea.

The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)

This adventure-comedy follows the high journeys of Steve Zissou, a character adaptation of French oceanographer Jacques-Yves Cousteau. It follows his ocean expedition when tracking the ‘jaguar shark' that apparently ate his partner, Esteban.

Esteban had been working with Zissou on a documentary about mysterious circumstances by a shark. This is a sharp film with lots of fun and adventure on the sea.

Kon-Tiki (2012)

Legendary Norwegian explorer and ethnographer Thor Heyerdahl believes that the South Sea Islands were originally colonized by South Americans. Thor, who fears water and doesn't know how to swim, partakes on a voyage in 1947 to prove his belief. Together with five crew members, set sail from Peru on a balsa-wood ancient raft.

Even though their only modern equipment is a radio, they have to navigate through the ocean while relying on stars and ocean currents and they achieve the impossible after exhausting three months at the sea. This is a very spirited adventure that depicts what's possible when we believe in our dreams. 

Maidentrip (2013)

A 14-year-old sailor by the name Laura Dekker sets sail on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to become the world's youngest sailor. Laura sets out from Holland and sails throughout the world. Apart from the occasional foul language that Laura uses now and then on the documentary, this is an excellent film that shows what one can achieve when he/she lives her dream and works hard towards achieving it.

The documentary, however, doesn't suggest that Laura is alarmingly young to sail across the unforgiving Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Instead, she's depicted as an independent outsider who is looking for paradise in a never-ending sea. 

Adrift (2018)

In most cases, sailors seem to never anticipate that they may sail directly into a catastrophic hurricane and this is exactly what Richard Sharp and Tami Oldham do when they sail directly in one of the worst hurricanes ever recorded in history.

Tami awakes in the aftermath of the hurricane to find their boat in ruins and Richard is badly injured. And because they do not have any hope that they would ever get help or get rescued, Tami is left with two options: sit there and perish or find strength and determination to save herself as well as the only man she's ever loved.

Turning Tide (En Solitaire) (2013)

In this daring tale, this movie portrays how a fearless sailor known as Yann Kermadec finds a lot of obstacles in his biggest race as a two-hander named Turning Tide falls flat. In a nail-biting tension, the story begins when Kermadec replaces the main skipper in the Vendee Globe on short notice.

After some smooth sailing, things go eerily wrong for the sailor as his ship is damaged and he's forced to anchor off the Canary Islands to repair it. When he gets back on his journey, he soon discovers that a Mauritanian teenage boy has sneaked inside the boat and he has no option but to sail with him at least until they cross the Atlantic Ocean.

The Old Man and the Sea (1958)

An old Cuban angler known as Spencer Tracy is so unlucky that he hasn't caught any fish in 84 days. And despite the commitment of a young boy to bring him food, the angler fears that he's forever lucky but catches a small fish on his 85th day, so he decides to keep fishing.

When one of his many fishing lines hooks a large marlin, he decides not to go back to the shore until he reels it in. For almost two days and nights, he has no choice but to sit there and do everything he can to redeem himself from what seems like a perpetual failure.

Morning Light (2008)

By entering the TRANSPAC, which is one of the world's best open-ocean competitions, 15 young men and women prepare for a sailing adventure of their lives. With world-class teachers, these sailors begin intense training in Hawaii but only reach a climax in an elimination process that comes in the form of who-stays-and-who-goes process.

This documentary follows these sailors for six months as they embark on a 2,300-mile sailing ordeal, which starts in Los Angeles and ends in Honolulu.

The Perfect Storm (2000)

Created by Wolfgang Petersen, The Perfect Storm is a blockbuster that's big on visuals and depicts an action-packed escapade on the water as Captain Billy Tyne and his crew set on a fishing expedition aboard a ship known as Andrea Gail.

They're soon caught up in a catastrophic destructive storm when they decide to risk the storm and have to deal with a very powerful hurricane. At the height of their fishing expedition, their ice machine breaks down and the only way to ensure that their catch doesn't go stale is by hurrying back to the shore to sell their catch. This is exactly why they decide to risk their lives and it doesn't turn out as they expected.

Captain Phillips (2013)

When Captain Richard Phillips takes command of an unarmed container ship known as MV Maersk Alabama from the port of Salalah in Oman, they anticipate that they'll be attacked by Somali Pirates on their way to Mombasa, Kenya.

They attack the ship and Captain Phillips has to use his wits and diplomacy to negotiate with the pirates and save his crew. 

Maiden (2018)

As the saying goes; what a man can do a woman can do even better. This is exactly what's depicted by this sailing movie that follows the life of Tracy Edwards as she leads the first all-female crew when competing in the Whitbread Round the World Race.

Covering 33,000 miles and lasting for nine months, this is a truly grueling race that depicts the corrosive sexism that still exists in the sailing world as well as the ocean terrors that sailors have to deal with during voyages or competitions. 

Chasing Bubbles (2016)

This is a captivating documentary that follows the journey of Alex Rust who is a free spirit who gives the normal life to sail around the world. Alex is brought up as a farm boy but becomes a stock trader in Indiana. At the age of 25, he decides to abandon his life in Chicago, buys a modest sailboat known as Bubbles and embarks on a very unique free-spirited voyage. It takes him three years to sail around the world and to quench his insatiable curiosity while meeting great people and fulfilling his lifelong dream of becoming a free soul.

This is a breathtaking travelogue that depicts the sailing life of a truly absorbing character.

180° South (2010)

Directed by Chris Malloy, this is a sailing documentary that covers the journey of Jeff Johnson as he travels from Ventura, California to Patagonia in Chile. He does this to retrace the same trip covered by Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins in 1968.

While the two initial explorers made the journey on the land, Johnson travels by sea using a small boat.

Deep Water (2006)

This movie follows the true-life story of Donald Crowhurst, an inexperienced British sailor who enters the Golden Globe, which is the first nonstop boat race in the world. Donald puts up his home as collateral to gain financial backing to compete in the race but soon finds himself on the wrong end of things as he enters the race under-prepared.

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Daniel Wade

I've personally had thousands of questions about sailing and sailboats over the years. As I learn and experience sailing, and the community, I share the answers that work and make sense to me, here on Life of Sailing.

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24 Movies Trapped At Sea

Water, water everywhere, and not a damn way to get home. That’s this week’s gallery theme: Movies where we see people trapped on the open seas, inspired by  Adrift , starring Shailene Woodley and Sam Claflin as two young lovers whose boat is incapacitated after sailing directly into a catastrophic hurricane (and with Claflin’s character suffering from a life-threatening injury). Likewise, the movies in this gallery see heroes under immense pier pressure when their boats get hijacked, destroyed, or worse of all, disappeared all together.

Note: Because a lot of movies fall under this theme, we’re not including submarine movies ( Das Boot ,  Below ,  Black Sea ) or movies where the heroes can generally head home at any time ( Jaws ,  The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou ).

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