Fishing Frenzy

Whether it's the contrast of pounding surf against a clear blue sky, or watching man fight and win a battle with the challenges of a furious sea, we all like to sit safely at home and watch maritime nature unfold. If you ask ten people to name their ten favorite sailing movies, you will end up with a list of 100 movies with a marine theme.

Military stories are always popular for obvious reasons. They appeal to Navy veterans who enjoy reliving their exploits, while also being liked by those land-lubbing Army vets, who like to poke fun. Everybody likes a good maritime adventure, be it, "Das Boot, " the German serial drama about life on a submarine, or "Master and Commander, " with Russell Crowe in the starring role as an English sea captain in pursuit of a French vessel during the Napoleonic Wars.

Accidental misadventures are also popular. "White Squall" told the tale of a group of teenage boys on their maiden voyage. They got more than they bargained for by fighting for their lives in the storm of a lifetime. "Adrift, " on the other hand, is an equally harrowing story about a group of 30-somethings who manage to strand themselves off their boat when they dipped into the sea to cool off. Unfortunately, whoever drew up the chore rota for the day forgot to delegate someone to make sure they could get back on the boat. Now who was going to feed the crying baby on board?

The perennially popular five-feature film franchise, "Pirates of the Caribbean, " began with the "Curse of the Black Pearl, " and concludes (or does it?) in 2017 with, "Dead Men Tell No Tales." A sixth film is under consideration. The series is masterminded by the legendary Jerry Bruckheimer, the brains behind television hits such as "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, " and adventure movies, "The Rock, " "Con Air, " and "Top Gun."

Then there are the films about tough fishermen on a quest to pit their wits against the ones that got away. Examples here are "The Old Man and the Sea, " a dramatization of the book of the same title by Ernest Hemingway. There are now three versions of the fishy tale: the original 1958, featuring Spencer Tracy, a popular 1999 remake starring Anthony Quinn, and a 20-minute animation version, which was directed by Alexander Petrov.

"All is Lost, " is a harrowing 2013 film starring Robert Redford. The film has no dialogue, which is hardly surprising. Redford has enough on his plate colliding with a shipping container in furiously stormy seas without having to make idle chit chat.

Similar to "All is Lost, " "Dead Calm" offers viewers a similar heart-in-throat sensation, but for completely different reasons. In this tale, a grieving couple on a romantic voyage are cruising along happily until they take on psychopathic shipwrecked sailor, Billy Zane.

The sea lends a dramatic backdrop to any type of story, lending an added dimension to the characters and the action. With seagoing vessels tending to be relatively confined spaces, it allows the director the chance to develop characters and story lines without distractions of wardrobe or complicated scenery. Claustrophobic scenes aboard submarines allow the viewer to experience new levels of autonomic nervous system symptoms.