In 2000, the German “Das Boot” and “In The Line Of Fire” director Wolfgang Petersen brought a real-life natural disaster to the cinema screens with “Der Sturm” and scored a big hit with it. In our official FILMSTARTS review, we give a whopping three and a half stars and call the disaster thriller a “thrilling action drama”. We also emphatically praise the hurricane scenes as particularly poignant.
“The Storm” can be seen on Arte on April 16, 2023 at 8:15 PM. There will be three reruns in total over the next week: April 18 at 2:20 PM, April 21 at 12:20 PM, and April 23 at 2:10 PM. If none of the dates suit you or you discover this article too late, there are of course other alternatives. You can stream the film at any time as part of your WOW (formerly Sky Ticket) and/or Prime Video streaming subscription.
Online retailers such as Amazon also offer the FSK 12 title as Blu-ray and DVD:
“The Storm” on Arte: That’s the story
1991: Times are tough for anglers like veteran captain Billy Tayne (George Clooney). He has just arrived in his home port of Gloucester, Massachusetts, on his boat, the “Andrea Gail”, and a few days later he has to leave again for another catch. Because the current catch isn’t even enough to pay its crew.
This time he wants to start before the game to have a better chance of full nets. Tayne sets sail with a crew of day laborers and his best friend, Bobby Shatford (Mark Wahlberg), and is actually quite successful at fishing. What the men don’t know yet, however, is that they’re heading straight for a storm that will go down in history as one of the most destructive on the American East Coast…
George Clooney instead of Harrison Ford, Nicolas Cage or Mel Gibson
Wolfgang Petersen’s film is based on the non-fiction book of the same name, written by journalist Sebastian Junger, and combines fact and speculation. This tells the story of the fate of the “Andrea Gail”, who ran into trouble in the nameless hurricane later popularly known as “The Perfect Storm” (which is also the original title of the movie).
Screenwriter William D. Wittliff’s adaptation of the book (“Legends of the Passion”) adopted most of the facts. However, as far as the relationships between different characters are concerned, much was fictionalized. Following its theatrical release, relatives of two of the people portrayed in the film filed lawsuits against the production. However, this did not detract from the worldwide gross of US$328 million.
Originally, George Clooney only wanted to play one of the supporting roles, as he was already preparing for his directorial debut, Confessions Of A Dangerous Mind. But when Harrison Ford, Nicolas Cage and Mel Gibson turned down the role of captain, the German filmmaker persuaded him to play the lead role.
The real stars of the film, however, are a production-lightened boat wreck that looks strikingly like the real Andrea Gail, and the excellent special effects. “The Tempest” still looks hauntingly authentic, even on today’s TV screens.
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