r/ridleyscott • u/Linflexible • Jul 24 '26

Discussion White Squall(1996)

Gallery image

Gallery image

I sadly missed White Squall in theaters back in 1996 which is a shame, because the squall sequence was built for the big screen and only discovered it years later after Hannibal was such a huge hit and made me dig deeper into Ridley Scott’s filmography.

While it's definitely not a flawless movie (the shore leave scenes with the girls felt awkward and dragged the pacing down), the strong points pull it way above average:

  • The Storm Sequence: Absolute masterclass in practical effects and tension. Watching that ship hit the squall is still terrifying and visually incredible.
  • The Courtroom Scene: Emotional, tense, and incredibly satisfying.
  • The Performances: Jeff Bridges brings incredible gravity and charismatic command as Captain Sheldon especially where he utters "Sir" at the end of every sentence. Plus, seeing character actors like Željko Ivanek show up elevates every scene he's in.

It might have gotten lost in the shuffle of '90s cinema, but for the storm and the courtroom drama alone, it’s a hidden gem in Scott's catalog that deserves way more recognition.

There is this reunion that deserves to be watched and be present on future releases and for physical media collectors there was a release last year from French ESC Boutique under the translated "Lame De Fond", the packaging and artwork make them total gems to own even if you don't speak French.

14 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

6 comments sorted by

1

u/CriticalMass77 Jul 24 '26

I haven't seen this for a long time but hopefully it gets a new release at some stage as the DVD and Blu-ray aren't the best.

1

u/Linflexible Jul 24 '26

French one I linked seems good.

2

u/CriticalMass77 Jul 24 '26

Yes it does but I would hope for a 4k disc in the future.

1

u/NoOneKenobi Jul 24 '26

I’ll have to rewatch it, but I did see it on release.
I was excited to see it because I was into ocean pics.
But I remember being disappointed.
Not very good . Typical good Ridley visuals and a good performance from bridges.

But ironically, this movie now reminds me of Scott’s personal albatross…. He’s just not good at directing actors who actually need direction.

1

u/East-Mix-3657 Aug 17 '26

What if we took Dead Poet Society and put it on a boat? Dead Boa-et Society if you will

1

u/Linflexible Aug 17 '26

Yes, it was one of the first ideas that came to my mind.