The 35 Greatest Movies Primarily Set at Sea
This list is of the greatest movies primarily set at sea was requested by C1. Their submitted prompt read: "I am a huge fan of Master and Commander - can you suggest other excellent films that are set at sea? Looking forward to setting sail based on your recommendations." The names that follow the release years are the respective director(s). This list was completed 09/09/2026.
Godspeed as you embark on this maritime filmwatching endeavor!
1. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003, Peter Weir)
2. Das Boot (1981, Wolfgang Petersen)
3. In Which We Serve (1942, Noël Coward & David Lean)
4. Jaws (1975, Steven Spielberg)
5. A Night to Remember (1958, Roy Ward Baker)
6. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935, Frank Lloyd)
7. Life of Pi (2012, Ang Lee)
8. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003, Gore Verbinski)
9. The Navigator (1924, Donald Crisp & Buster Keaton) [#9 is the final 4-star film, #10 is the first 3.5-star film]
10. Finding Nemo (2003, Andrew Stanton)
11. One Way Passage (1932, Tay Garnett)
12. The Sea Hawk (1940, Michael Curtiz)
13. Ponyo (2008, Hayao Miyazaki)
14. Captains Courageous (1937, Victor Fleming)
15. Monkey Business (1931, Norman Z. McLeod) [#15 is the final 3.5-star film, #16 is the first 3-star film]
16. Moana (2016, John Musker, Ron Clements, Don Hall (co-director to the primary directors) & Chris Williams (co-director to the primary directors))
17. The Ship That Died of Shame (1955, Basil Dearden)
18. The Caine Mutiny (1954, Edward Dmytryk)
19. The Hunt for Red October (1990, John McTiernan)
20. South (1919, Frank Hurley)
21. Treasure Planet (2002, John Musker & Ron Clements)
a. Admittedly a controversial pick, but all its space travel is transposing watercraft and standard water transportation methods/techniques to outer space, plus it’s adapted from Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic novel Treasure Island… so I’m including it here
22. Invention for Destruction (1958, Karel Zeman)
23. Below (2002, David Twohy)
24. The Meg (2018, Jon Turteltaub)
25. The Sea Wolf (1941, Michael Curtiz)
26. Mister Roberts (1955, John Ford)
27. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954, Richard Fleischer)
28. Triangle of Sadness (2022, Ruben Östlund)
29. Lifeboat (1944, Alfred Hitchcock)
30. Titanic (1997, James Cameron)
31. Muppet Treasure Island (1996, Brian Henson)
32. Kon-Tiki (2012, Joachim Rønning & Espen Sandberg)
34. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End (2007, Gore Verbinski)
35. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011, Rob Marshall)
The movies considered for inclusion that didn’t make the cut because they don’t spend enough time at sea (no matter how pivotal to the story that scene/scenes are to the overarching story), don’t utilize watercraft enough, or while being sea adventure-esque, are on a body of water that definitively is not the sea
(Just to provide a little extra quality watching 😊)
In alphabetical order:
Ø Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001, Gary Trousdale & Kirk Wise)
Ø Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966, Jun Fukuda)
Ø Finding Dory (2016, Andrew Stanton)
Ø Flow (2024, Gints Zilbalodis)
Ø History Is Made at Night (1937, Frank Borzage)
Ø The Little Mermaid (1989, John Musker & Ron Clements)
Ø Peter Pan (1953, Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi, Wilfred Jackson & Jack Kinney (uncredited))
Ø Plein Soleil (1960, René Clément)
Ø The Road to El Dorado (2000, Bibo Bergeron & Don Paul)
Ø Shark Tale (2004, Vicky Jenson, Bibo Bergeron & Rob Letterman)
Ø Tabu (1931, F. W. Murnau)
Ø They Were Expendable (1945, John Ford)
Ø Thunderball (1965, Terence Young)
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