In the past, ships were once the only way how to travel long distances. It wasn't without its risks, but it helped people discover distant lands. Considering their importance for the development of humanity as a whole, it comes as no surprise that ships play an important part in the world of cinema as well.
Multiple movies have used ships as their primary setting, and it often led to a memorable story. When a movie is set on a ship, there's only a limited space which can make the atmosphere even stronger, and increase the sense of urgency. The best movies set on ships fit into different genres, so anybody's bound to find one or more that will interest them.
5 The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
Ship movies have been popular for decades now, and it's unlikely this will change anytime soon. Ships often play parts in disaster movies because so many things can go wrong when sailing at sea. In this case, the problem comes in the form of a tidal wave that causes the ship to sink and threatens to take people's lives.
It's difficult to guess who'll live and who'll die which brings a lot of tension to the movie. The movie offers strong performances as well as impressive special effects. It was nominated for eight Oscars and won one, for the best original song. The Poseidon Adventure has several sequels and remakes but the original version that's streaming on Disney Plus remains the best.
4 Jaws (1975)
Shark horror movies have become even more prominent in recent years thanks to movies such as Shallows or the critically shunned yet continued series Sharknado. But it was Steven Spielberg's movie Jaws that started it all, and to this day, it remains one of the best shark movies, if not the very best, and it won three Oscars. That's despite the fact that its story is somewhat simple. A group of people takes a boat to find and get rid of a dangerous shark that has been killing people.
The movie features familiar actors, but it's the atmosphere that's its strongest advantage. Even though the viewers don't see the shark as often as they might have expected, that doesn't make him any less scary - in fact, it's the opposite. An interesting and quite funny fact is that Steven Spielberg named the shark Bruce after his lawyer! Another thing that many people might not know about the movie is that it's based on a novel by Peter Benchley that's in return based on real events that happened in 1916.
3 Death On The Nile (1978)
Is it possible to kill someone on a relatively small ship and get away with it? Yes, but only if Hercule Poirot, the legendary detective isn't present! To this day, the 1978 version of Agatha Christie's novel Death on the Nile remains one of the best adaptations of her work. Played by Peter Ustinov, Hercule Poirot has to solve the mysterious murder of a rich young woman who had just recently gotten married. The natural suspect is her former best friend, but she has a perfect alibi.
The movie is full of excellent performances from legendary actors, such as David Niven, Maggie Smith, Bette Davis, and Mia Farrow. For those unfamiliar with the book, it will be interesting to watch how the story will turn out and who the murderer will be. The answer remains surprising to this day. The movie is also visually beautiful and while the ship goes on a cruise, it's easy to enjoy the settings just as much as Poirot and his fellow travelers seem to do. This story recently got a 2022 version with Gal Gadot, but the new version doesn't have such high ratings as its predecessor.
2 Titanic (1997)
As one of the few movies that won eleven Oscars, Titanic has become a legend since its release. It helps that it offers not only the touching and doomed love story between Kate Winslet's Rose and Leonardo DiCaprio's Jack but is also based on real events. The Titanic sank in 1912 which led to the death of more than one thousand passengers. The director James Cameron manages to capture the terror and fear, as well as the bravery of those, who faced their final moments on the ship.
Even though the characters of Jack and Rose are fictional, multiple characters in the movie are real people, including the ship's captain or several passengers who meet Jack and Rose (such as Jack's ally Molly Brown, portrayed by Kathy Bates). The 1997 movie isn't the only one portraying Titanic's sinking, but to this day, it remains the most famous one.
1 In The Heart Of The Sea (2015)
Even some MCU fans might be surprised to learn that the Avengers movies aren't the only time when Tom Holland and Chris Hemsworth appeared in the same movie. Their characters spent a lot of time together in this historical disaster movie, directed by Ron Howard. The movie tells the story of what inspired the legendary book, Moby Dick. A hunting ship Essex sails to hunt whales but when they encounter a huge whale, they have to fight for their lives.
Unlike other ship movies, In the Heart of the Sea doesn't have a typical happy ending since most of the characters the viewers meet and grow to care about die in the movie. The actors give excellent performances and their struggle to survive comes across as realistic. Interestingly enough, just like some of the best movies set on a ship, this one is also based on real events. That might explain why it's also so realistic in showing that even without getting attacked by whales, the life of a sailor wasn't easy in the past.