Dead Calm (1989) Australia
Dead Calm Image Cover
Additional Images
Director:Phillip Noyce
Studio:Warner Home Video
Producer:George Miller, Doug Mitchell, Terry Hayes
Writer:Charles Williams, Terry Hayes
Rating:4
Rated:R
Date Added:2007-03-06
Purchased On:2007-06-03
ASIN:6305161933
UPC:0085391187028
Price:$9.98
Awards:5 wins & 5 nominations
Genre:Mystery & Suspense
Release:1999-12-13
IMDb:0097162
Duration:96
Picture Format:Widescreen
Aspect Ratio:2.35:1
Sound:Dolby
Languages:English, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround, French, Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround
Subtitles:English, French
Features:Anamorphic
Full Screen
Phillip Noyce  ...  (Director)
Charles Williams, Terry Hayes  ...  (Writer)
 
Nicole Kidman  ...  Rae Ingram
Sam Neill  ...  John Ingram
Billy Zane  ...  Hughie Warriner
Rod Mullinar  ...  Russell Bellows
Joshua Tilden  ...  Danny
George Shevtsov  ...  Doctor
Michael Long  ...  Specialist Doctor
Lisa Collins  ...  'Orpheus' Cruise Girl
Paula Hudson-Brinkley  ...  'Orpheus' Cruise Girl
Sharon Cook  ...  'Orpheus' Cruise Girl
Malinda Rutter  ...  'Orpheus' Cruise Girl
Benji (III)  ...  
Benji  ...  Dog (as Benji U.D., A.D.)
Comments: A Voyage Into Fear.

Summary: There are several occasions when this rousing Australian thriller from 1987 should have ended with a well-placed shot from a speargun or a stronger knot of rope, but you don't think about these nit-picky details when you're being scared out of your wits. In a role that catapulted her to international stardom, Nicole Kidman plays a young wife who's joined her husband (Sam Neill) on a yachting trip to recover from the tragic death of their son. Far out to sea, they encounter a sinking ship with one survivor (Billy Zane, ten years before Titanic), but inviting him aboard turns out to be a very bad mistake. While Neill attempts to salvage the sinking boat, Kidman is fighting for her life against the psychotic Zane--a villain so creepy that you eagerly look forward to his demise. By the time that moment arrives director Phillip Noyce has resorted to a typical slasher-movie climax (proving that no boat should be without a flare gun), but until then Dead Calm is a nail-biting thriller that's guaranteed to keep you in a state of nail-biting suspense. To accommodate the widescreen compositions on the open ocean, the DVD offers the film in its original 2.35:1 aspect ratio. --Jeff Shannon