Dead Calm (1989)
- Cody Iden
- Nov 2, 2021
- 3 min read
Release Date - April 7, 1989
Synopsis:
Following a tragedy a husband and wife embark to spend time isolated at sea but they soon encounter a stranger who has abandoned his sinking ship.
Directed by - Phillip Noyce
Screenplay by - Terry Hayes
Based on - "Dead Calm" by Charles Williams
Produced by - Terry Hayes, George Miller and Doug Mitchell
Cinematography - Dean Semler
Music by - Graeme Revell
Distribution Company - Warner Bros.
Cast:
Sam Neill - Capt. John Ingram, R.A.N.
Nicole Kidman - Rae Ingram
Billy Zane - Hughie Warriner
Run Time - 1 hr. 36 min. Rated - R
Budget - $10.4 million Gross - $7.8 million
Review:
Dead Calm is a well-crafted, edge of your seat thriller with great performances from Sam Neill, Nicole Kidman and Billy Zane all appearing just before they would reach major stardom in the 1990s. The story is relatively thin with a tragedy befalling early in the film that then sees Neill and Kidman's characters setting out on their boat to spend time isolated at sea only to encounter a crazed man who claims his ship is sinking and things just spiral out of control from there. The tension is high throughout most of the film and it really zips along as you are always anticipating what will happen next. The cinematography is excellent and really showcases the ocean views expertly and the soundtrack while fairly low-key for most of the movie really works here. The special effects are few and far between and a couple of them aren't very well-done but it's not an effects heavy story and it doesn't detract much from the viewing experience. Director Phillip Noyce ultimately delivers a gripping and exciting thriller that is well worth your time.
My Score: 86
Plot - 8 Cinematography - 9
Attraction - 8 Editing & Special Effects - 8
Theme - 9 Sound & Music - 8
Acting - 9 Directing - 9
Dialogue - 9 Enjoyability – 9
Trivia:
The source novel "Dead Calm" by author Charles Williams was based on the real-life murder of a family aboard their sailing yacht off the coast of Florida in 1961.
Orson Welles set out to direct an adaptation of "Dead Calm" starting in 1967 under the title The Deep. This production starred Welles himself along with Jeanne Moreau, Laurence Harvey, Michael Bryant and Welles' wife at the time, Oja Kodar. This project was filmed across 1967-1969 but was ultimately not completed as Laurence Harvey died before several scenes were completed. A rough cut of the footage was later released in more recent years though they feature rough audio and no music as the project never entered post-production.
Nicole Kidman was only 19 during production of this film while Sam Neill was 39. Neill has since stated he was uncomfortable with this situation but made it work.
Filming occurred across 6 months in Queensland, Australia's Whitsunday Islands in the Great Barrier Reef.
Sam Neill met his second wife during production, Noriko Watanabe. They were married in 1989 though they later separated in 2017.
Producer George Miller, best known for directing the Mad Max films, filmed a sequence in which Sam Neill's character is menaced by a shark. This scene was ultimately dropped from the finished film.
The film originally ended with Nicole Kidman's character bashing Billy Zane's character on the head with the spear gun and throwing him onto the raft where he is sent adrift and later presumably died. The studio disliked this ending and insisted on a more final resolution for the film's antagonist and thus the ending seen in the finished film was shot.
Availability:
Watched November 1, 2021
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