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Movies / On DVD / White Squall
White Squall

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White Squall (1996)

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Reviews Counted:29

Fresh:18

Rotten:11

Average Rating:5.8/10

Runtime: 2 hrs 8 mins

Genre: Action/Adventure

Synopsis: Eclectic director Ridley Scott here tries his hand at a coming-of-age tale, which stars Jeff Bridges as ship captain Christopher Sheldon. Based on a true story, the film is set in 1960 as a group... Eclectic director Ridley Scott here tries his hand at a coming-of-age tale, which stars Jeff Bridges as ship captain Christopher Sheldon. Based on a true story, the film is set in 1960 as a group of teenaged prep students signs on to Sheldon's floating summer school, conducted on a two-masted brigantine bound for South America. It soon becomes clear that the gruff but humane captain runs a tight ship as he drills his neophyte crew on the importance of teamwork and discipline. The boys possess a wide range of temperaments--there's the bully, the daredevil, the one plagued by insecurities, the one with demanding parents. Sheldon uses the shipboard chores as tools for dealing with their problems, reining in the obnoxious and encouraging the anxious. Since they are, after all, sailors, they also get a chance to get drunk in port and stop over at a whorehouse. Finally, the crew must confront the fabled white squall, a deadly storm so rare that even Sheldon has never experienced one. Bridges, Ryan Phillippe, Balthazar Getty, and Jeremy Sisto give fine performances in Scott's film of spectacular visual beauty. [More]

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Scott Wolf, Balthazar Getty, Caroline Goodall

Starring: Jeff Bridges, Scott Wolf, Balthazar Getty, Caroline Goodall, John Savage, Jeremy Sisto, Ryan Phillippe, David Lascher, Eric Michael Cole, Jason Marsden, David Selby, Julio Mechoso, Zeljko Ivanek, Ethan Embry

Director: Ridley Scott

Director: Ridley Scott

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Jun 15, 1999

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • White Squall
  • Hollywood favorite Jeff Bridges (THE BIG LEBOWSKI) stars in this thrilling high seas adventure! Bridges leads a crew of seafaring students (including Scott Wolf from TV's PARTY OF FIVE) on the voyage of a lifetime! But just before their return, nature teaches the toughest lesson of all ... turning this journey at sea into a test of the crew's courage and will to survive! From acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott (BLADE RUNNER) -- don't miss any of the pulse-pounding, edge-of-your-seat excitement that this breathtaking motion picture delivers!
  • Source: Buena Vista Home Entertainment.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for White Squall

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    21 - 35 (sorted by date)
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    The storm sequence is worth the wait, as scary and dramatically filmed as any ocean disaster you've seen in the movies, but the tribunal that follows is so muddled as to end the film in a great big anti-climax.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Barbara Shulgasser
    Barbara Shulgasser
    San Francisco Examiner

    The script is slow and tired. We've seen it all before, and the change of setting has little impact.

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Chris Hicks
    Chris Hicks
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City

    While the denouement is basically another bummer of a letdown, you'll still be coming off that adrenaline rush from the 'squall' scenes.

    Full Review Source: Filmcritic.com | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Christopher Null
    Christopher Null
    Filmcritic.com

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Rochester Democrat and Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jack Garner
    Jack Garner
    Rochester Democrat and Chronicle

    This film offers just about everything, including a twenty-minute white-knuckle sequence and a chance to shed a few tears. In short, it's first-rate entertainment.

    Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    James Berardinelli
    James Berardinelli
    ReelViews
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Director Ridley Scott, who more than anyone else founded post-1960s visceral filmmaking, is at the top of his form in White Squall.

    Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Jeff Millar
    Jeff Millar
    Houston Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Sacramento Bee | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Joe Baltake
    Joe Baltake
    Sacramento Bee

    The heavy-handedness of these final scenes will probably ruin the movie for some people, while others will enjoy its earnestness and energy. Count me among the latter group.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Kevin McManus
    Kevin McManus
    Washington Post

    The visuals throughout the movie are exhilarating, and the squall scene in particular is pulled off spectacularly (if a bit chaotically). The scene is so powerful, it almost washes away the taint of familiarity...almost.

    Full Review Source: Cinematter | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Madeleine Williams
    Madeleine Williams
    Cinematter

    Far too much of this handsomely mounted adventure is devoted to routinely dramatized adolescent minutiae.

    comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Mike Clark
    Mike Clark
    USA Today
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Peter Stack
    Peter Stack
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The movie's a shipload of coming-of-age blather, supplemented with enough rolling-sea footage to make the audience yearn for both Dramamine and a decent drowning scene.

    Full Review Source: Washington Post | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Richard Leiby
    Richard Leiby
    Washington Post

    I enjoyed the movie for the sheer physical exuberance of its adventure.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Sun-Times | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Roger Ebert
    Roger Ebert
    Chicago Sun-Times
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    This picture has nothing original to say, and the acting is way below par. Imagine making a show about kids and then not putting in a single kid (or adult for that matter) that you care about.

    Full Review Source: Internet Reviews | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Steve Rhodes
    Steve Rhodes
    Internet Reviews

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Detroit News | comment Comment
    01/01/00
    Susan Stark
    Susan Stark
    Detroit News
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
    21 - 35 (sorted by date)
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