| The Finest Hours | |
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 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Craig Gillespie |
| Screenplay by |
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| Based on | The Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue byMichael J. Tougias andCasey Sherman |
| Produced by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Javier Aguirresarobe |
| Edited by | Tatiana S. Riegel |
| Music by | Carter Burwell |
Production companies |
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| Distributed by | Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 117 minutes[3] |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $70–80 million[4][5] |
| Box office | $52.1 million[6] |
The Finest Hours is a 2016 Americanaction thriller film[7][8] directed byCraig Gillespie and produced byWalt Disney Pictures. The screenplay, written by Eric Johnson,Scott Silver, and Paul Tamasy, is based onThe Finest Hours: The True Story of the U.S. Coast Guard's Most Daring Sea Rescue byMichael J. Tougias andCasey Sherman.[9] The film starsChris Pine,Casey Affleck,Ben Foster,Holliday Grainger,John Ortiz, andEric Bana, and chronicles the historic 1952United States Coast Guardrescue of the crew ofSS Pendleton, after the ship split apart during anor'easter off theNew England coast.[10][11][12]
The Finest Hours was released on January 29, 2016. The film, which received mixed reviews from critics, was considered abox office flop for only grossing $52 million worldwide on a $70–80 million production budget.
Bernard "Bernie" Webber, a crewman atCoast Guard Station Chatham, Massachusetts, onCape Cod, has fallen in love with a local girl, Miriam Penttinen. The two plan to marry on April 16, but in accordance with Coast Guard regulations, Bernie must seek permission from the station's commanding officer,Chief Warrant OfficerDaniel Cluff. However, it is usually just a formality. On the day he is due to ask permission, February 18, 1952, the oil tankerSS Pendleton shears in half off the Chatham coast after getting caught in anor'easter. With the majority of the station's crew already underway with the rescue of the similarly damagedSS Fort Mercer, Bernie is dispatched to pilotmotor lifeboatCG 36500 to rescue the crew ofPendleton. Andrew Fitzgerald, Ervin Maske, and Richard P. Livesey volunteer to join Bernie on the rescue mission.
Meanwhile, thePendleton's engineer, Ray Sybert, as the surviving senior officer, organizes the surviving seamen to steer the sinking stern of the tanker onto a submergedreef, where it can lodge until rescuers arrive. Miriam learns that Bernie is leading the rescue effort and believes it to be a suicide mission. Few people in Chatham trust Cluff, thinking he cannot do his job because he is not from the area. Miriam drives to the station, demanding that Cluff call Bernie back. Cluff refuses and brusquely orders Miriam out.
Between Chatham Harbor and the open sea lies a bar, a series ofshoals that are very dangerous even in good weather. Bernie must time bursts of his engine to ride each approaching wave before it breaks as he pilotsCG 36500 across the bar. Although he makes it over the bar, he loses his compass.
Bernie steersCG 36500 to the stricken tanker. Although his boat's designated capacity is only 12 people, Bernie manages to rescue 32 crew members. The stern ofPendleton begins sinking more rapidly during the rescue and goes down shortly after the last crewman comes aboard Bernie's boat. Relying on his knowledge of the coast and prevailing winds in place of his compass, Bernie steersCG 36500 toward home—a task made more difficult as Chatham loses power. Miriam and the other townspeople drive their cars to the pier and turn on their headlights to guide Bernie in.
The end of the film shows photographs from the event that briefly document the aftermath of the rescue. Two months later, Bernie and Miriam married; they stayed together for 58 years until Bernie died in 2009. Bernie Webber and his crew receive theGold Lifesaving Medal.
Walt Disney Pictures acquired thescreen rights to Michael Tougias' 2009 book,The Finest Hours: The True Story of a Heroic Sea Rescue in August 2011.[11][22] Paul Tamasy and Eric Johnson wrote the script based on the book and interviews they conducted with survivors.[11][23] In May 2013,Robert Schwentke was hired to direct the film.[24] However, Schwentke left the project to directThe Divergent Series: Insurgent, and was replaced withCraig Gillespie in April 2014.[13] Casting was done from April through October 2014.[25]
Principal photography began on September 8, 2014, inQuincy, Massachusetts.[26] On October 27, the film was being shot atFore River Shipyard in Quincy aboardUSS Salem.[27] They were also set to film at variousSouth Shore locations and then move to Chatham, Massachusetts, in December.[27][28] In early December, filming was taking place in the town ofMarshfield.[29] Affleck was seen playing piano atSymphony Hall inBoston on December 12, during the Chatham shoot,[30] and expressed to theBoston Globe that his experience shooting the film was "one of [his] best".[30] Production designerMichael Corenblith reproduced the interior ofPendleton.[31] Post-production lasted a year, with the film requiring nearly 1,000 visual effects shots.[5]Moving Picture Company (MPC) was responsible for creating the majority of those shots.[32]
The film score is composed byCarter Burwell, which was performed by theHollywood Studio Symphony.[33] Portions of Carter Burwell's score were replaced with music composed byPhilip Klein, who had served as arranger on Burwell's score. Burwell chose to include two of Klein's tracks on the album. The album also includes five tracks that Burwell recorded but which were replaced in the finished film.[34]Walt Disney Records released the score on January 29, 2016.[35]
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures originally setThe Finest Hours for release on April 15, 2016, and then October 9, 2015,[36] until announcing a final release date of January 29, 2016.[37] The firsttrailer for the film was released on July 8, 2015.[38] A second trailer was released on November 11, 2015.[39]The Finest Hours opened the Coronado Island Film Festival on January 15, 2016.[40] The film held itsworld premiere at theTCL Chinese Theatre inHollywood, California, on January 25, 2016.[41]
Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released the film onBlu-ray, DVD, anddigital download on May 24, 2016.[42]
The Finest Hours grossed $27.6 million in North America and $24.5 million in other territories for a worldwide total of $52.1 million.[6]
The film was released in North America on January 29, 2016, alongsideKung Fu Panda 3,Fifty Shades of Black, andJane Got a Gun. The film was projected to gross $10–13 million from 3,143 theaters in its opening weekend.[43][44] The film grossed $375,000 from its Thursday night previews and $3.3 million on its first day.[45] It went on to gross $10.3 million in its opening weekend, finishing 4th at the box office.[46]
In March 2016,Variety reported Disney was expecting losses of around $75 million from the film.[47]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 63% based on 201 reviews, with an average rating of 6/10. The site's consensus states, "Old-fashioned to a fault,The Finest Hours will satisfy those seeking a traditional rescue drama – but may leave more adventurous viewers wanting more."[48] OnMetacritic, the film has a score of 58 out of 100, based on 39 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[49] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A−" on an A+ to F scale.[46]
The daring rescue of those mariners is the subject of a forthcoming Disney movie, 'The Finest Hours.' The first trailer for the film was released last week, underscoring the bravery of the Coast Guardsmen involved in the Feb. 18, 1952, recovery.
The Finest Hours was a chick magnet drawing 51% females per CinemaScore with 82% 25 and up. Both gave it A-. The movie's subject matter was the big draw here at 61%.
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