The Lightship

Didn't know or heard of this???I didn't either until I saw it, on VHS in the 80'sTransfer is adequate, the story is intriguing. 6 men on an anchoredship lighthouse....4 are crooks....one is obstinate.....one is magnificently stoic.....Have fun

Great acting by Duvall and Brandauer.Interesting story. A film about characters and a story.

Received.

Worst movie I have ever seen. I am a former lightship captain. This movie is a disgrace to the lightship veterans.

It is an interesting thriller, with the undertones of a philosophical allegory. The "lightship that doesn't move from its place" is a symbol of the biblical human values ("Don't kill!", for example) and the captain Miller is a guard of these values. As he says, the ship is the light for other ships in the darkness. Many of them crashed on the rocks because they didn't find that light! It explains his rather passive behaviour during the conflict between two groups of people on the vessel. Especially interesting is the last scene when mortally wounded captain still forbids to raise the anchor and set the ship free. Even in the face of death he refuses to betray his belief in human values and dignity. The last picture frame in the film is the lightship standing firmly on its permanent place to throw its light for the "seekers in the dark".The movie has its drawbacks. Several scenes of violence are not convincing and some dialogues sound very artificial. But on the whole it's a good film for a thinking person. Worth watching!

The movie takes place on a single set, a floating lighhouse (the lightship of the title ) moored off the coast of Virginia .The vessel is captained by Klaus Maria Brandauer and he has a crew of four, plus his teenage son .All the above have their own deep ,dark secrets and grudges which are brought to the surface when the ship is taken over by a trio of escaping bank robbers ,comprising two lunkhead and disturbed brothers plus Robert Duvall as the monomaniacal gang leader .They become trapped on the ship as a storm rages rages outside isolating them still further from the outside world.This was done so much better in the 40's in Key Largo and the movie sufffers badly by comparison .Stiffly acted by normally capable performers ,this movie is ultimately scuppered by pretentious dialogue and a striving for "significance ",.It should be tense ,claustrophobic and gripping but instead is slow ,limp and portentious .Avoid !

When I found this movie on VHS I was SO happy!!! I LOVE when I find movies I've never heard of before so I couldn't wait to get home & watch it.After watching it I see why I've never heard of it before.Robert Duvall & his 2 goons reminded me of the characters in The Ladykillers Even though Robert Duvalls Caspary was a psychotic nutjob, there are times where you can't help but almost laugh at him.His character is just way over the top.The movie is OK watching it once but after watching it once, I don't think it's something you'll ever watch again.The good thing about The Lightship is I never knew what a lightship was till I watched The Lightship

Mostly I agree with the points in Cricket and Crestwood's quite negative reviews, but still found it entertaining and would rate it a bit higher.The Duvall character was crazy enough to keep you guessing. Actually he sort of reminded me of Ledger as Joker in the Batman film. Which came first?I found it quite satisfactory for one watching but would be unlikely to watch it again. Okay for an evening as a suspense/adventure film. More interesting than most. But like most, once the characters have played themselves out and there are no more mysteries, the film is done. No truly memorable moments. The depth of the characters is not all that deep to go back and ponder another time. All in all an average decent film.

It is an interesting thriller, with the undertones of a philosophical allegory. The "lightship that doesn't move from its place" is a symbol of the biblical human values ("Don't kill!", for example) and the captain Miller is a guard of these values. As he says, the ship is the light for other ships in the darkness. Many of them crashed on the rocks because they didn't find that light! It explains his rather passive behaviour during the conflict between two groups of people on the vessel. Especially interesting is the last scene when mortally wounded captain still forbids to raise the anchor and set the ship free. Even in the face of death he refuses to betray his belief in human values and dignity. The last picture frame in the film is the lightship standing firmly on its permanent place to throw its light for the "seekers in the dark".The movie has its drawbacks. Several scenes of violence are not convincing and some dialogues sound very artificial. But on the whole it's a good film for a thinking person. Worth watching!

This DVD is based on a story by Siegfried Lenz and is adapted to an American location, but I found it very acceptable in its own right with the characters being well developed and the story unravels at its own pace. It is well worth watching.

This is a very good movie. I watched it a few years ago. When I saw for sale on Amazon I had to order it. We've watched it again - an excellent movie.

Sans doute pas le plus connu des films de Skolimowski, mais peut-être son meilleur avec Travail au noir. Tout se déroule en huis-clos sur un bateau phare, dont le capitaine doit affronter à la fois la haine naissante de son fils (qui le croit lâche et méprisable) et une attaque de malfrats venus s'emparer du navire à la faveur d'une tempête. Ceux-ci sont commandés par une sorte de dandy maniaque, clownesque et sadique, interprété par R. Duvall, qui signe là un de ses rôles les plus extraordinaires. Rien que pour cette incroyable performance d'acteur, il faut avoir vu ce film ! Un huis-clos virtuose, qui tricote deux intrigues à la fois et les dénoue avec maestria. Décors remarquablement exploités, belle photo. Bref, vaut le détour.Hélas, aucune version sous-titrée en français n'est disponible, et celle-ci n'est lisible que sur lecteur compatible zone 1.