The Perfect Storm

The Perfect Storm (2000) is a survival drama directed by Wolfgang Petersen — watch online on iFILM. The film reconstructs what happened to the swordfishing vessel Andrea Gail in late October 1991, when three separate weather systems converged over the North Atlantic into a storm unlike anything on record.

George Clooney plays skipper Billy Tyne, who pushes the boat far from shore chasing one last haul before winter. The crew of six — including characters played by Mark Wahlberg and John C. Reilly — sails straight into it. Diane Lane waits onshore with the other families as the waves climb to 100 feet. Petersen builds the tension without any invented twists; the true story does that work. The screenplay is based on Sebastian Junger's 1997 non-fiction account of the disaster. Watch The Perfect Storm online on iFILM.