History Film / ThePerfectStorm

[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/2000_the_perfect_storm.jpg]]

* CueTheSun: See HopeSpot.

* FightToSurvive: After they are caught in the perfect storm. A DownerEnding, but not for lack of trying.

* GetItOverWith: Captain Tyne voluntarily sinks with the ship, knowing there is no hope of rescue. Only Shatford makes it to the surface -- and the last view of him is surrounded by 70+ foot swells in hurricane force winds, saying his good-byes to Christina Cotter.

* HopeSpot: The brief glimpse of the sun (actually the eye of the storm) they get right before things go downhill. They get another one when the skipper manages to get the boat around to run with the weather. For a moment, the seas are calmer -- then the rogue wave appears, which the boat ''nearly'' gets over before capsizing.

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Sully. Murph to a lesser extent.
* KillEmAll: Nobody survives that fateful boating trip.

* NotQuiteDead: This movie is either in love with this trope or owes it money. Every time it seems someone is a goner, it turns out they're not. Black Hawk helicopter gets pulled down by cable entangled in ''Mistral'''s mast and disappears behind a huge wave? It raises back up a few moments later. Shatford is thrown overboard? Few seconds pass and he grabs the railing, pulling himself onboard. Damaged stabilizer draws Tyne underwater? It's soon back up, with Tyne still clinging to it. Aforementioned helicopter pilot is apparently trapped in cockpit as the machine sinks? Nah, he managed to get out in time. And so on, and so on.
** All the loans are probably to make the HopeSpot payoff hurt that much more.

* TitleDrop: "What if Hurricane Grace runs smack into it? Add to the scenario this baby off Sable Island, scrounging for energy. She'll start feeding off both the Canadian cold front... and Hurricane Grace. You could be a meteorologist all your life... and never see something like this. It would be a disaster of epic proportions. It would be... the perfect storm."

* VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory: Enforced. The events of the voyage and sinking are unknown, due to none of the crew surviving.

----

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: According to ''[[http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/06/sports/boating-report-real-storm-skipper-crew-boat-all-survived.html The New York Times]]'', the portrayal of Leonard Ray and the ''Satori's'' voyage (''Mistral'' in the movie) is borderline character assassination.

** Averted by USCGC ''Tamaroa''. Though tossed like a bathtub in the heavy seas, the hardy Coast Guard cutter, which by that point had fought in WWII and had been in service for almost ''fifty years'', not only weathers the storm, but successfully rescues the New York ANG Black Hawk crew in the process.

* ArtisticLicenseShips: The CGI model of the Coast Guard cutter USCGC ''[[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/USCGC_Tamaroa_(WMEC-166) Tamaroa]]'' doesn't much resemble the real ship, which was built during WWII and extensively modified during her long service. The movie's version ironically looks more like a ''Legend''-class cutter, which wouldn't enter service for another eight years after the film's release.
* BigDamnHeroes: ''Mistral'' is in the middle of the storm, Melissa repeatedly calls for help via radio to no avail... until she finally gets response from USCG rescue unit. Cue Coast Guard jet flying overhead to quite [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic kickass music theme]], followed by timely arrival of Black Hawk helicopter about to save the yacht's crew.

* NotQuiteDead: This movie is either in love with this trope or owes it money. Every time it seems someone is a goner, it turns out they're not. Black Hawk helicopter gets pulled down by cable entangled in ''Mistral's'' mast and disappears behind a huge wave? It raises back up a few moments later. Shatford is thrown overboard? Few seconds pass and he grabs the railing, pulling himself onboard. Damaged stabilizer draws Tyne underwater? It's soon back up, with Tyne still clinging to it. Aforementioned helicopter pilot is apparently trapped in cockpit as the machine sinks? Nah, he managed to get out in time. And so on, and so on.

** This mirrors a mention made by Sebastian Junger in his book about the ordeal of ''Contship Holland'' container ship, which weathered the same storm. She is 163 meters long, has 10000 ton displacement and it could easily take the whole ''Andrea Gail'' as cargo. Nevertheless, when she got into the storm, she took a hard beating, her course became dependent on the waves as she stopped responding to the helm at some point, and thirty-eight of containers she carried were swept into the sea like toys. Sebastian Junger outright stated that Billy Tyne was facing a storm which forced a 10000-ton container ship off course and made her crew struggle to keep it afloat.
** Averted by USCGC ''Tamaroa''. Though tossed like a bathtub in the heavy seas, the hardy Coast Guard cutter, which by that point had fought in WWII and had been in service for almost ''fifty years'', not only weathers the storm, but successfully rescues the New York ANG Blackhawk crew in the process.

* CueTheSun: See HopeSpot
* DownerEnding: See TrailersAlwaysSpoil.

** This mirrors a mention made by Sebastian Junger in his book about the ordeal of ''Contship Holland'' container ship, which weathered the same storm. She is 163 meters long, has 10000 ton displacement and it could easily take the whole ''Andrea Gail'' as cargo. Nevertheless, when she got into the storm, she took a hard beating, her course became dependent on the waves as she stopped responding to the helm at some point, and thirty-eight of containers she carried were swept into the sea like toys. Sebastian Junger outright stated that Billy Tyne was facing a storm which forced a 10000-ton container ship off course and make her crew struggle to keep it afloat.

* WorfEffect: Cleverly [[InvokedTrope invoked]] in a short scene where two large units we saw earlier -- ''Van Ruyn'' (an oil tanker) and ''Aeolis'' (a container ship) desperately call for help as they are being hit hard by the waves. It hammers home that if such big units are helpless against the eponymous storm, then Billy Tyne and his crew, on a mere 22-metre fishing vessel, are ''royally'' screwed.

* ArtisticLicensePhysics: When the boat goes up the nearly 90 degree wall of water that eventually topples it, they still have no problem standing upright.

* GetItOverWith: The captain voluntarily sinks with the ship, knowing there is no hope of rescue. Only the first mate makes it to the surface -- and the last view of him is surrounded by 70+ foot swells in hurricane force winds, saying his good-byes to his loved ones.

* RealityIsUnrealistic: One of the most common complaints about this movie is that ''Andrea Gail's'' crew was supposedly [[TooDumbToLive thoughtless and suicidal]] by trying to go straight through the storm, instead of staying where they were and waiting until it abates. This is in spite of the fact that those people not only did make such decision in real life, but there was actually nothing unusual about that. It is an occupational risk for fishermen to sail in bad weather and the ''Andrea Gail'' crew members weathered more than one storm before that. So it was fairly justified for them to assume that they can endure another one. According to one of Tyne's colleagues -- interviewed by Sebastian Junger for his book -- Billy made the exact same decision as ninety percent of his peers would make if they were in his position.

* TooDumbToLive: The crew of the ''Andrea Gail'', going straight through a storm they knew was bad to get home with little regard to actually surviving the trip. This is somewhat justified; Tyne was under intense pressure from the owner of the boat to bring in a catch, and at the time they made their decision, they had no idea just how severe the weather was going to get. They also never wore lifejackets on board, until it was too late for them to do any good anyway.
** [[RealityIsUnrealistic It's more than "somewhat" justified]]. It is an occupational risk for fishermen to sail in bad weather, the ''Andrea Gail'' crew members (especially Tyne) already went through more than one storm in their career, and it was not that unreasonable for them to assume that they can weather one more. It doesn't make them any more TooDumbToLive than a soldier going into a hot zone where he can get shot any time. According to Tommy Barrie, Tyne's fellow skipper from ''Allison'' (interviewed by Sebastian Junger for his book), Billy made the exact same decision as ninety percent of his peers would make if they were in his position -- he said to himself "screw this, I've been through worse", held the course for home and tried to endure.

* TheFilmOfTheBook
* ForegoneConclusion

* ImpaledPalm: One character gets his hand caught on one of a line of hooks running out to sea and gets dragged out with it.

''The Perfect Storm'' is a 2000 DisasterMovie, directed by Creator/WolfgangPetersen and adapted from the nonfiction book of the same name by Sebastian Junger, which dramatizes the "Perfect Storm" that hit the Atlantic coast of North America in October 1991, and speculates on the fate of the crew of the ''Andrea Gail'', a fishing boat based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, that was lost in the tempest. It stars Creator/GeorgeClooney, Creator/MarkWahlberg, Creator/WilliamFichtner, Creator/JohnCReilly, Allen Payne, Creator/JohnHawkes, Creator/DianeLane, Creator/MichaelIronside, Karen Allen, Creator/MaryElizabethMastrantonio, and Creator/CherryJones.

* HopeSpot: The brief glimpse of the sun (actually the eye of the storm) they get right before things go downhill. They get another one when the skipper manages to get the boat around to run with the weather. For a moment, the seas are calmer -- then the rogue wave appears.

* JerkWithAHeartofGold: Sully. Murph to a lesser extent.

* TheCameo: Creator/ChristopherMcdonald plays [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Todd_Gross Todd Gross]], the meteorologist at WHDH-TV in Boston who predicted the storm.

In September 1991, the ''Andrea Gail'' returns to port with a poor catch, leading Capt. Billy Tyne to take the boat out for one final fishing run, heading out past their usual fishing grounds. However, when their ice machine breaks, they must hurry back to shore in order to preserve their catch, but they discover that between them and safe harbor lurks a confluence of two weather fronts and a hurricane, creating the titular Perfect Storm. Caught in the teeth of the storm, the crew is forced to fight for their lives and for their only chance to get home...

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: [[http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/06/sports/boating-report-real-storm-skipper-crew-boat-all-survived.html According to the New York Times]], the portrayal of Leonard Ray and the ''Satori's'' voyage (''Mistral'' in the movie) is borderline character assassination.

* HopeSpot: The brief glimpse of the sun (actually the eye of the storm) they get right before things go downhill. They get another one when the skipper manages to get the boat around to run with the weather. For a moment, the seas are calmer - then the rogue wave appears.

* TestosteronePoisoning: The crew engages in nearly every bout of masculinity short of taking a tape measure to the biceps. So much so - and so much of the "reconstructed" story - that several next-of-kin sued over the portrayals (they lost).

* TooDumbToLive: The crew of the Andrea Gail, going straight through a storm they knew was bad to get home with little regard to actually surviving the trip. This is somewhat justified; Tyne was under intense pressure from the owner of the boat to bring in a catch, and at the time they made their decision, they had no idea just how severe the weather was going to get. They also never wore lifejackets on board, until it was too late for them to do any good anyway.

** Subverted in the case of ''reviewers'', who generally refrained from giving away the ending. One even article openly stated that "for their own reasons, none of the ''Andrea Gail'''s original crew have offered comment" on the film's accuracy.

''The Perfect Storm'' is a 2000 DisasterMovie, directed by Creator/WolfgangPetersen and adapted from the nonfiction book of the same name by Sebastian Junger, which dramatizes the "Perfect Storm" that hit the Atlantic coast of North America in October 1991, and speculates on the fate of the crew of the ''Andrea Gail'', a fishing boat based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, that was lost in the tempest. It stars Creator/GeorgeClooney, Creator/MarkWahlberg, Creator/WilliamFichtner, Creator/JohnCReilly, Allen Payne, Creator/JohnHawkes, Diane Lane, Creator/MichaelIronside, Karen Allen, Creator/MaryElizabethMastrantonio, and Creator/CherryJones.

''The Perfect Storm'' is a 2000 DisasterMovie, directed by Creator/WolfgangPetersen and adapted from the nonfiction book of the same name by Sebastian Junger, which dramatizes the "Perfect Storm" that hit the Atlantic coast of North America in October 1991, and speculates on the fate of the crew of the ''Andrea Gail'', a fishing boat based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, that was lost in the tempest. It stars Creator/GeorgeClooney, Creator/MarkWahlberg, Creator/WilliamFichtner, Creator/JohnCReilly, Allen Payne, Creator/JohnHawkes, Diane Lane, Creator/MichaelIronside, Karen Allen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Creator/CherryJones.

* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent: Creator/GeorgeClooney, to his credit, doesn't attempt a Massachusetts accent. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, however, does an accent that is guaranteed to make viewers from Massachusetts cringe. Mark Wahlberg, a Massachusetts native, speaks with his natural accent.

** Linda Greenlaw, the only female captain in the American swordfishing fleet and one of the key players in the narrative of both the book and the movie versions of ''The Perfect Storm''[[note]]She's the character Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio portrays[[/note]], wrote a SpiritualSuccessor of a book called ''The Hungry Ocean'', using as its plot a fishing trip that occurred several years after the events in ''The Perfect Storm'', as a way to show what a typical commercial fishing voyage would look like. She has since gone on to a career as a writer, with several more books having already been published.

* TooDumbToLive:
** The crew of the Andrea Gail, going straight through a storm they knew was bad to get home with little regard to actually surviving the trip. This is somewhat justified; Tyne was under intense pressure from the owner of the boat to bring in a catch, and at the time they made their decision, they had no idea just how severe the weather was going to get. They also never wore lifejackets on board, until it was too late for them to do any good anyway.
** The helicopter crew, dropping a basket on a line over the heavily-rocking Mistral.

''The Perfect Storm'' is a 2000 film, directed by Creator/WolfgangPetersen and adapted from the nonfiction book of the same name by Sebastian Junger, which dramatizes the "Perfect Storm" that hit the Atlantic coast of North America in October 1991, and speculates on the fate of the crew of the ''Andrea Gail'', a fishing boat based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, that was lost in the tempest. It stars Creator/GeorgeClooney, Creator/MarkWahlberg, Creator/WilliamFichtner, Creator/JohnCReilly, Allen Payne, Creator/JohnHawkes, Diane Lane, Creator/MichaelIronside, Karen Allen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Creator/CherryJones.

''The Perfect Storm'' is a 2000 film by Creator/WolfgangPetersen which dramatizes the "Perfect Storm" that hit the Atlantic coast of North America in October 1991, and speculates on the fate of the crew of the ''Andrea Gail'', a fishing boat based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, that was lost in the tempest. It stars Creator/GeorgeClooney, Creator/MarkWahlberg, Creator/WilliamFichtner, Creator/JohnCReilly, Allen Payne, Creator/JohnHawkes, Diane Lane, Creator/MichaelIronside, Karen Allen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Creator/CherryJones.

''The Perfect Storm'' is a 2000 film by Creator/WolfgangPetersen about the "Perfect Storm" that hit North America in October 1991, which speculates on the fate of the crew of the ''Andrea Gail'', a fishing boat based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, that was lost in the tempest. It stars Creator/GeorgeClooney, Creator/MarkWahlberg, Creator/WilliamFichtner, Creator/JohnCReilly, Allen Payne, Creator/JohnHawkes, Diane Lane, Creator/MichaelIronside, Karen Allen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Creator/CherryJones.

[[quoteright:250:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/perfect_storm_6583.jpg]]

''The Perfect Storm'' (2000) is a film by Creator/WolfgangPetersen about the "Perfect Storm" that hit North America in October 1991, and speculates on the fate of the crew of the ''Andrea Gail'', a fishing boat based out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, that was lost in the tempest. It stars Creator/GeorgeClooney, Creator/MarkWahlberg, Creator/WilliamFichtner, Creator/JohnCReilly, Allen Payne, Creator/JohnHawkes, Diane Lane, Creator/MichaelIronside, Karen Allen, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, and Creator/CherryJones.

* GetItOverWith: Most of the crew voluntarily sink with the ship, knowing there is no hope of rescue. Only the first mate makes it to the surface -- and the last view of him is surrounded by 70+ foot swells in hurricane force winds, saying his good-byes to his loved ones.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory: [[http://www.nytimes.com/2000/08/06/sports/boating-report-real-storm-skipper-crew-boat-all-survived.html According to the New York Times]], the portayal of Leonard Ray and the ''Satori's'' voyage (''Mistral'' in the movie) is boarderline charater assassination.