Top 10 Ocean Survival Movies

Survival movies can take place in many different settings, but one of the most tension, fear and stress inducing locations for one such movie is by far the ocean. Sometimes the hero of the movie is stuck having to survive on a boat or a raft. and other times, they have to do so on an island. They might even encounter a shark along the way. Here are the best ocean survival movies ever made.
The Top Ten
1 Cast Away

One of Tom Hanks' most well-known and critically acclaimed movies is where he plays the role of FedEx executive Chuck Noland, who is going on an assignment in Malaysia when his plane crashes over the Pacific Ocean during a storm. He survives the flight and luckily washes ashore on a deserted island. The only friend he has to keep him company is a volleyball he named "Wilson".

A classic and incredible film.

2 Swiss Family Robinson

There have been many versions of this film, but this one is the 1960 version. The Robinson family is composed of the mother, father, and their three sons, Fritz, Ernst, and Francis. They were fleeing France from the reign of Napoleon to start a new life in New Guinea, but then their ship gets damaged, and the family takes refuge on a deserted island where they learn to survive.

3 Moby Dick

Moby Dick is a 1956 color film adaptation of Herman Melville's 1851 novel Moby-Dick. Captain Ahab, played by Gregory Peck, seeks revenge on the great white whale responsible for taking his leg. He embarks on a voyage aboard The Pequod along with a small crew to hunt down the whale in his obsessive quest.

4 Unbroken

This movie is based on the true events of Louis Zamperini's life. When World War II breaks out, Louie enlists in the military. After his plane crashes in the Pacific, he survives an incredible 47 days adrift in a raft until his capture by the Japanese navy. He is then sent to a POW camp.

Heart-wrenching movie about undying courage. Loved it.

It sounds really interesting!

5 Adrift

Adrift (2018) is based on a true story. The film is an adaptation of the 1998 book Adrift: A True Story of Love, Loss, and Survival at Sea written by Tami Oldham Ashcraft. Starring Shailene Woodley as Tami Oldham and Sam Clafin as Richard Sharp, the two find themselves stranded at sea on their sailboat after a hurricane, with Richard injured.

6 The Shallows

In this movie, Blake Lively plays the role of medical student Nancy Adams, who is in grief after the loss of her mother. She travels to a secluded beach to get some time to relax and clear her mind. Despite the danger of surfing alone, Nancy decides to soak up the sun and hit the waves. Suddenly, a great white shark attacks, forcing her to swim to a giant rock for safety. She is left injured and stranded 200 yards from shore.

7 In the Heart of the Sea

Starring Chris Hemsworth, this movie takes place in 1820 where a crew aboard the New England vessel "Essex" must survive adrift in the ocean after a huge and strong whale attacks the ship. The survivors have to face storms, starvation, panic, and despair.

8 The Beach
9 Life of Pi
10 Robinson Crusoe

Starring Pierce Brosnan as Robinson Crusoe, this movie is based on Daniel Defoe's novel of the same name. On the run from Britain after killing another man in a duel, Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked on a small island and forced to fend for himself. He eventually enlists the help of Friday (William Takaku), a native tribesman he has saved from being killed as a sacrifice. The two new companions forge a bond and must fight for survival against the elements and also Friday's dangerous tribe.

The Contenders
11 All Is Lost

The movie stars Robert Redford, who plays a veteran mariner on a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean. One day he wakes up to find that his boat was hit by a stray shipping container, which lets water leak into the boat and damages his radio and navigation equipment. He has to survive through a violent storm and somehow find his way back to civilization.

12 Lifeboat
13 The Reef

The Reef is a 2010 Australian survival/horror film. The film is about a group of friends who capsize while sailing to Indonesia. Deciding that their best bet for survival is to swim to a nearby island, they find themselves stalked by a great white shark.

14 Open Water
15 Against the Sun
16 The Finest Hours
17 Swiss Army Man
18 Triangle
19 The Blue Lagoon

A bit different from the other entries on this list, The Blue Lagoon is a 1980 romantic survival drama film. Seven-year-old cousins Emmeline and Richard, who are portrayed by two different sets of actors as they get older, survive a shipwreck and find themselves marooned on a beautiful island somewhere in the Pacific Ocean. Under the tutelage of a fellow castaway, Paddy Button, the two learn the basics of survival. When Paddy dies, however, the now adolescent Emmeline and Richard are on their own to discover things they have no understanding of like love and loneliness in a tropical paradise.

20 Jaws
21 The Deep
22 Seven Waves Away
23 Return to the Blue Lagoon
24 Three
25 Sweatheart
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