| The Perfect Storm | | Cast : | George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg | | Director : | Wolfgang Petersen | | Studio : | Warner Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen, Dolby | | Released Date : | June 30, 2000 | | DVD Released Date : | September 14, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language), French (Original Language), French (Subtitled) | | Audience Rating : | PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 01, 2005 | | Summary | Slightly disappointing- but worth seeing. | Content
 | Sebastian Junger's "Perfect Storm" was one of the most gripping adventure stories I'd ever read, and I was really looking for ward to seeing the movie... and I was let down. I suppose if I hadn't read the book I wouldn't have been bothered by all the fictional material, but even so, there were just too many flaws in what could have been a great movie.
The dialogue, for one. It's just full of hackneyed cliches ("It's the money, isn't it? It's always about the money!") and forced exposition ("and you, Linda Greenlaw, the only woman swordfish boat captain in Gloucester...") that makes you wonder if they couldn't perhaps have spent some of that special effects budget on the script. Some of the casting is a bit much as well; somehow we're supposed to believe that a fishing town is full of anorextic actresses with high cheeckbones and perfect skin and hair. If the real Linda Greenlaw had Karen Allen's physique she wouldn't be able to scoop goldfish out of a tank at the local pet store, let alone hauling lobster traps over the transom of her boat.
Even so, it's a thrilling movie, with incredible drama- the rescue at sea of a party of sailors, the loss of the Coast Guard helicopter- and the scenes of swordfishing on the deck of the Andrea Gail are startlingly realistic. And at what I paid for the DVD (under 5 bucks) well worth it. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 29, 2005 | | Summary | A summer movie getting in the way of a great story | Content
| "The Perfect Storm" is a great example of Hollywood taking a true event that needs no embellishment or standard schmaltz to make it engaging, adding the embellishment or schmaltz anyway, and ending up with a weaker product for it.
The storm of 1991 grabbed the attention of the nation for a reason. I watched all the reports of the storm from hundreds of miles away, spellbound and horrified.
This film, which purports to put us in the center of the storm, fails to do the same. The problem is that we've been lulled into "it's a typical Hollywood movie" coma by the ridiculous speeches put into the mouths of all the actors, particularly George Clooney, who is forced to act as though being the captain of a small commercial fishing vessel isn't work, but a higher calling akin to being a priest or a brain surgeon or a kindergarten teacher. Every character gets their moment in the sun so that we'll feel their loss when it happens, and as a result, the movie takes FOREVER before we get anywhere.
Ironically, the storm is somewhat skimped on: There's a brief scene which utterly fails to explain what the storm is, how it occurred and why it's noteworthy. Instead, we get every possible disaster at sea aboard the Andrea Gail first. Of course, since no one from the ship participated in the filming of this movie -- for obvious reasons -- the fact that the whole sequence has been made up out of whole cloth makes it even less engaging.
And for all the talk of how much money was involved in creating the special effects, it all looks remarkably like a Hollywood invention, not a real ship at sea -- unless ships at sea are now lit like Hollywood sound stages.
The poor actors trapped in this film do excellent work with the too-standard material, and make the film more watchable than it ought to be. But ultimately, I found myself wanting to watch "Jaws" again, or re-read "The Old Man and the Sea," the two stories the filmmakers desperately aped and swiped from, coming up with a product that measures up to neither.
This is a renter. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 27, 2005 | | Summary | Lacking Perfection | Content
| In this adapted true story, special effects are amazing especially during the time at sea. However by the end of the movie you will feel water logged. Story lines were not fully developed, or even fizzled to the side. I would suggest renting this movie because it is great as a one-time view but not good enough to purchase. |
| Rating | | | Date | July 23, 2005 | | Summary | Hello, George and Mark are in it... of course it's a good movie! | Content
| This is a great movie. George Clooney and Mark Wahlberg star in the movie as two fishermen that need to make a living. This is a very suspensful movie that takes place in Gloucster,Massachusetts. The fishermen recently come back off the sea and then learn that they must go back out on the Andria Gail ( the ship ). Little do they know...a hurricane is coming straight at them. They don't want to waist all the fish they have cought. They decide to drive through the storm. Sadly there is a 100 foot wave heading straight for them. You'll have to buy the movie to see the ending. This movie is based on a true story that actually happened in 1991 in Glouscter, Massachusetts. Fans of Mark Wahlberg and George Clooney should definetley buy this movie. ENJOY! |
| Rating | | | Date | July 11, 2005 | | Summary | Do You Think About Where Your Fish Comes From? | Content
| The Perfect Storm tells the true story about what happened when a fishing boat was caught at sea in October, 1991 in the largest storm in recorded history. This riveting story is based on a novel called The Perfect Storm: A True Story of Men Against the Sea by Sebastian Junger. Wolfgang Peterson directs, the special effects are superb, the casting is good. I cannot stress the realism of the effects, or the care and dedication that went into honoring the men of the fishing town of Gloucester, where the movie was filmed.
George Clooney stars as swordfishing boat Andrea Gail captain Billy Tine, who is leading a crew of five men in a late-season, last-ditch effort to get a good catch in what was a bad season for him. Mark Walbergh stars as his first mate Bobby Shatford, a young fisherman torn between his new love (Diane Lane) and the open sea. The incomparable John C. Reilly plays a gruff sailor. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio plays a female fishing boat captain.
The DVD has fascinating extras that lend depth to the film. Once you see the extras, you will not see the movie in the same light. The commentary with book author Junger is so riveting that I watched the whole thing in complete fascination. The depth of research Junger did for the book, the paranormal experiences of family of the crew and Junger himself, the recognition the book received, are so vivid and comprehensive, and will touch your heart. There is an HBO special preview, with comments from Clooney, Walbergh, and friends and family of the crew of the Andrea Gail. There is also commentary by Peterson, and other extras explaining the voraciousness of the Perfect Storm.
The next time you eat fish, think of those who died to catch it for you.
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