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The Sea Wolf

The Sea Wolf

Adventure · Drama · 1941

Shipwrecked fugitives try to escape a brutal sea captain who's losing his mind.

Movie details

The Sea Wolf

“Jack London's great novel of terror afloat.”

1941 Adventure · Drama 1h 40m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

7.2 / 10

Community rating

Shipwrecked fugitives try to escape a brutal sea captain who's losing his mind.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Sea Wolf?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Adventure · 2003

After an abrupt and violent encounter with a French warship inflicts severe damage upon his ship, a captain of the British Royal Navy begins a chase over two oceans to capture or destroy the enemy, though he must weigh his commitment to duty and ferocious pursuit of glory against the safety of his devoted crew, including the ship's thoughtful surgeon, his best friend.

Greyhound

Greyhound

War · 2020

A first-time captain leads a convoy of allied ships carrying thousands of soldiers across the treacherous waters of the "Black Pit" to the front lines of WWII. With no air cover protection for 5 days, the captain and his convoy must battle the surrounding enemy Nazi U-boats in order to give the allies a chance to win the war.

Last Breath

Last Breath

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Seasoned deep-sea divers battle the raging elements to rescue their crewmate trapped hundreds of feet below the ocean's surface.

True Spirit

True Spirit

Adventure · 2023

When the tenacious young sailor Jessica Watson sets out to be the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop and unassisted around the world, many expect her to fail. With the support of her sailing coach and mentor Ben Bryant and her parents, Jessica is determined to accomplish what was thought to be impossible, navigating some of the world’s most challenging stretches of ocean over the course of 210 days.

Mutiny on the Bounty

Mutiny on the Bounty

Adventure · 1962

The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787. Its destination: to sail to Tahiti and load bread-fruit. Captain Bligh will do anything to get there as fast as possible, using any means to keep up a strict discipline. When they arrive at Tahiti, it is like a paradise for the crew, something completely different than the living hell aboard the ship. On the way back to England, officer Fletcher Christian becomes the leader of a mutiny.

The Poseidon Adventure

The Poseidon Adventure

Adventure · 1972

When their ocean liner capsizes, a group of passengers struggle to survive and escape.

H.M.S. Defiant

H.M.S. Defiant

Adventure · 1962

Defiant's crew is part of a fleet-wide movement to present a petition of grievances to the Admiralty. Violence must be no part of it. The continual sadism of Defiant's first officer makes this difficult, and when the captain is disabled, the chance for violence increases.

Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe

Adventure · 1954

The titular adventurer, after defying his parents to go to sea, survives a shipwreck and becomes a castaway on a deserted island for nearly thirty years, learning to build a new life from scratch, discovering companionship with a native man he names Friday, and eventually returning to civilisation a changed man, finding wealth and new challenges.

White Squall

White Squall

Drama · 1996

In 1960, a hardy group of prep school students boards an old-fashioned sailing ship. With Capt. Christopher Sheldon at the helm, the oceangoing voyage is intended to teach the boys fortitude and discipline. But the youthful crew are about to get some unexpected instruction in survival when they get caught in the clutches of a white squall storm.

In the Heart of the Sea

In the Heart of the Sea

Thriller · 2015

In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex is assaulted by something no one could believe—a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance.

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Michael Curtiz

Written by

Robert Rossen

Edward G. Robinson

Edward G. Robinson

'Wolf' Larsen

Ida Lupino

Ida Lupino

Ruth Webster

John Garfield

John Garfield

George Leach

Alexander Knox

Alexander Knox

Humphrey Van Weyden

Gene Lockhart

Gene Lockhart

Dr. Prescott

Barry Fitzgerald

Barry Fitzgerald

Cooky

Stanley Ridges

Stanley Ridges

Johnson

Court is in session

Put The Sea Wolf on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.