It is Halloween, 1991. Near Gloucester, Massachusetts, the
six members of the Andrea Gail, a swordfishing boat, head
out to sea for their last trip of the season.
Unbeknownst to them, a shockingly
brutal storm is slowly gaining steam. Before the National
Weather Bureau has a chance to inform the crew of the
impending danger, it's too late. The resulting battle with
three merging weather fronts--an unheralded natural
disaster--is grueling and tragic. Wolfgang Petersen (DAS
BOOT) turns the action notch up a level with THE PERFECT
STORM, a thrilling film that was based on actual events.
Based on the engrossing nonfiction work by Sebastian
Junger about the Andrea Gail--a commercial swordfishing
boat that was lost at sea in October 1991--Wolfgang
Petersen's THE PERFECT STORM brings the pages to life. The
movie features a big-name cast (George Clooney, Mark
Wahlberg) playing the gruff, edgy fishermen in the
Gloucester, Massachusetts, port, as well as close-up
camera shots of the boats moored on the wintry docks.
Viewers are drawn into the closely knit New England
community that is struck speechless by a fierce nor'easter
made from three merging hurricanes. Meteorologists call it
the Perfect Storm.
Despite the weather forecast, skipper Billy Tyne (Clooney)
insists that his crew go out on one more 30-day
swordfishing trip before the winter sets in. At sea, a
series of tragedies ensues, including a man dragged
overboard by one of the 300-foot-long lines and a
bloodthirsty shark that gets reeled onto the deck
accidentally. What's worse, the skipper's right-hand man,
Bobby Shatford (Wahlberg), is homesick for his girlfriend
back onshore. But it is not until the storm finally hits
and the special effects--mountainous dark digitized
waves--take hold that the Andrea Gail is rendered helpless
even to Coast Guard helicopters and THE PERFECT STORM's
terrifying true-story tragedy becomes reality.
The movie grossed $41.5 million during the weekend after
its national release June 30, 2000.
Visual effects were provided by Stefen Fangmeier and
practical effects by John Frazier, both of whom also
worked on effects for TWISTER.
Wolfgang Petersen was nominated for two Academy Awards for
his 1982 submarine drama, DAS BOOT.
The filmmakers were opposed to using real swordfish for
the movie. They had Walt Conti at Edge Innovations (DEEP
BLUE SEA, ANACONDA) design 4 animatronic swordfish and 100
synthetic models of swordfish.
George Clooney spent three weeks (including a few nights
at sea) driving the Andrea Gail, a 72-foot-long commercial
fishing boat, in order to learn how to operate it.
The two actors who played the parajumper rescuers attended
an official training program in Arizona, where they
learned to fly a helicopter on a simulated mission, be
hauled from the water on a harness attached to a
helicopter, and use Night Vision Goggles.
Mark Wahlberg was recommended to Wolfgang Petersen for the
role of Bobby by Clooney. Clooney and Wahlberg had worked
together previously on THREE KINGS.
Mark Wahlberg is a native of the Boston suburbs, and his
accent in this movie proves it.
Warner Bros. Pictures' Stage 16 in Los Angeles, which is
where THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA starring Spencer Tracy was
filmed, was expanded to 95' x 100' x 22' with a depth of
22' for the filming of THE PERFECT STORM. With the
expansion, Stage 16 is now the largest soundstage tank in
the world.
The movie was filmed in L.A. in the summer of 1999 and on
location in Gloucester, Massachusetts, in the fall. The
Andrea Gail ship, which was purchased in Ocean City,
Maryland, and repainted in New Jersey, was driven to L.A.
for the first half of the movie, then back to
Massachusetts in the fall to finish the filming.
Hurricane Floyd was coming up to coast when the filming of
THE PERFECT STORM was taking place in September 1999.
After it passed, the cast and crew were able to get some
shots actually at sea with the big waves that had been
created by that storm!!
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- Attractive Retail Box
-
Genre: Action/Adventure, Drama, Fish
- Rating:
PG (Canadian
Home Video Rating)
- Rating Reason:
For Language and Scenes of Peril.
- Starring:
Karen Allen, George Clooney, William Fichtner, Bob
Gunton, John Hawkes, Josh Hopkins, Cherry Jones, Diane
Lane, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Dash Mihok, Allen
Payne, John C. Reilly, Rusty Schwimmer, Mark Wahlberg
- Directed By:
Wolfgang Petersen
- Release Information:
- Studio:
Warner Home Video
- Theatrical Release Date:
June 30, 2000
- DVD Release Date: September 14, 2004
- Run Time: 130 minutes
- Production Company: Warner Home
Video
- Package Type: Snap Case
- Dual-Layer Format
- DVD Features:
- Encoding:
Region 1 (U.S. and Canada
only).
This DVD will probably NOT be viewable in other
countries.
- Aspect Ratio(s):
- Widescreen anamorphic - 2.35:1
- Available Audio Tracks:
- English (Dolby Digital 5.1
EX Surround)
- French (Dolby Digital 5.1
Surround)
- Languages:
English and French (Dubbed in
Quebec)
- Subtitles:
English and French
- Closed Captioned:
Yes
- Bonus Features:
-
Three (3) Behind-the-Scenes Documentaries
-
Three (3) Feature-Length Filmmaker/Author/Craftsperson
Commentaries
-
Yours Forever Photo Montage
-
Conceptual Art Gallery with Director Commentary
-
Storyboard Gallery
-
Cast/Director/Screenwriter Filmographies
- Theatrical Trailer
-
A Tidal Wave of Advanced Features For Your DVD-ROM PC:
-
Virtual Theater and Other Web Events
-
Links to Exclusive Online Behind-the-Scenes
Documentaries
-
Chat Rooms
-
Original Theatrical Web Site
-
Sampler Trailers
- Interactive Features:
- Scene Access
-
Interactive Menus
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