As the classic French film L'Atalante returns to cinemas for a special re-release, we embark on a voyage through cinema history to rank the very best films set predominantly on water. From treacherous oceans to peaceful canals, these twenty films prove that some of cinema's most compelling stories unfold aboard ships, boats, barges, yachts, steamers and trimarans.
Our one rule: submarines were banned from consideration as they operate primarily under water. What remains is a fascinating collection of maritime adventures, disasters, thrillers and dramas that have made waves throughout film history.
The Countdown Begins: Pulp Horrors and Whimsical Tales
Kicking off our list at number twenty is Stephen Sommers' 1998 sci-fi horror pulp Deep Rising. This entertaining B-movie follows a crew of mercenaries, played by scene-stealing character actors including Treat Williams and Famke Janssen, who discover that a giant mutant octopus has beaten them to destroying the luxury cruise ship Argonautica.
At nineteen comes Giuseppe Tornatore's 1998 whimsical drama The Legend of 1900, featuring Tim Roth as a gifted pianist who has spent his entire life aboard the transatlantic liner SS Virginian after being abandoned there as a baby. The film's highlight remains a spectacular piano duel between Roth's character and the legendary Jelly Roll Morton.
Number eighteen brings us to Kevin Costner's 1995 megabudget sci-fi Waterworld, which has developed a cult following despite its initial reception. Costner plays a samurai-like drifter with webbed feet navigating a flooded future Earth aboard his souped-up trimaran, while fending off Dennis Hopper's chain-smoking pirates in search of the mythical Dryland.
Disaster Epics and Tense Thrillers
James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster Titanic claims the seventeenth spot, with the director's spectacular recreation of the 20th century's most infamous maritime disaster redeeming what some might call the "tiresome canoodling" between Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet's characters.
At sixteen, Stanley Kramer's 1965 epic Ship of Fools presents a microcosm of 1933 society aboard a passenger ship sailing from Mexico to Europe. The film features Vivien Leigh in her final role, though it's Oskar Werner as the ship's doctor and Simone Signoret as a radical countess who provide the emotional core.
Phillip Noyce's 1989 thriller Dead Calm sits at number thirteen, serving as the film that truly put Nicole Kidman on the map. She and Sam Neill play a grieving couple whose Pacific yacht journey takes a terrifying turn when they rescue the seemingly harmless but actually psychotic Billy Zane from a sinking schooner.
The Ultimate Maritime Masterpieces
Breaking into the top five, Federico Fellini's 1983 masterpiece And the Ship Sails On takes number six. This gloriously artificial late-career work follows opera singers aboard the Gloria N as they journey to scatter a diva's ashes, with Freddie Jones as our guide to the increasingly surreal onboard happenings.
Francis Ford Coppola's 1979 Vietnam war epic Apocalypse Now claims the fourth spot, with its nightmarish journey upriver aboard the Navy patrol boat Erebus standing as one of cinema's most powerful depictions of descent into madness, inspired by Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness.
Alfred Hitchcock proves his mastery of confined spaces with 1944's Lifeboat at number three, keeping audiences utterly gripped despite the entire drama unfolding in a single lifeboat after survivors' ship is torpedoed during wartime.
The runner-up position goes to Peter Weir's 2003 nautical adventure Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, featuring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany as Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr Stephen Maturin aboard HMS Surprise during the Napoleonic Wars. The film creates an immersive world that feels authentically of its time, complete with sea shanties, cannon fire and naval tradition.
Topping our list at number one is Jean Vigo's 1934 masterpiece L'Atalante, recently re-released for new audiences to discover. This sublime work of visual lyricism follows a barge captain who brings his new bride to live on his canal boat, with Michel Simon delivering a memorable performance as the eccentric, cat-loving crew member Père Jules. Tragically, Vigo was suffering from tuberculosis during filming and died at just 29, never witnessing his film's eventual recognition as one of cinema's greatest achievements.
Whether you're drawn to disaster epics, intimate dramas, or thrilling adventures, this ranking offers something for every cinematic taste. From the terror of Jaws to the whimsy of The Maggie, these twenty films demonstrate that some of cinema's most compelling stories truly do find their sea legs.
