Best Sail Movies & TV Shows

It was one of humankind's most epic quests - a technical problem so complex that it challenged the best minds of its time, a problem so important that the nation that solved it would rule the economy of the world. The problem was navigation by sea—how to know where you were when you sailed beyond the sight of land - establishing your longitude. While the gentry of the 18th Century looked to the stars for the answer, an English clockmaker, John Harrison, toiled for decades to solve the problem. His elegant solution made him an unlikely hero and remains the basis for the most modern forms of navigation in the world today. This film will be both a celebration of Harrison's invention and an adventure story. An expedition on a period sailing vessel as it sails the open sea will demonstrate the life and death importance of finding your longitude at sea.

On a distant island a man waits. Robbed of his position, power and wealth, his enemies have left him in isolation. But this is no ordinary man, and this no ordinary island. Prospero is a magician, able to control the very elements and bend nature to his will. When a sail appears on the horizon, he reaches out across the ocean to the ship that carries the men who wronged him. Creating a vast magical storm he wrecks the ship and washes his enemies up on the shore. When they wake they find themselves lost on a fantastical island where nothing is as it seems.

In this set of three videotapes, writer Graham Hancock traverses the world and explains his controversial theory that an ancient civilization, highly intelligent people who sailed the planet as early as 10,500 B.C., spread advanced astronomical knowledge and built ancient observatories.

A young boy who grew up inside a talking whale sets sail for magical Candied Island, accompanied by Capt. K'nuckles, a crusty old pirate.

Five years after the war in the Falklands between Britain and Argentina, many facts were still wrapped in red tape. Many of the key figures had remained silent. No-one had been to Argentina to tell the other side of the story. For the majority of the British people, the war was another glorious chapter in their history. With flags waving and bands playing, British troops had sailed away to repel the invaders. Patriotic emotions were stirred as they returned victorious. Government MPs tried to get the film banned, but Yorkshire TV's telephones were jammed with messages of support from wives and mothers of those who died in the conflict. Called 'the documentary to end all documentaries about the Falklands War' in the British press, it was also described as 'more poem than polemic - a hymn against war'.

Handsome British officer, Lt. Brian Fleming is sent undercover to infiltrate a lively band of pirates.

In 1846, Anthony Hope sails into London with the mysterious Sweeney Todd, a once-naive barber whose life and marriage was uprooted by a corrupt justice system. Todd confides in Nellie Lovett, the owner of a local meat pie shop, and the two become partners, as Todd swears revenge on those that have wronged him and decides to take up his old profession.

It is 2014 and the machines have not taken over…yet. The newest, most technologically advanced series from H2™, Rise of the Machines, reveals how the inventions behind the world’s most extreme machines have enabled them to evolve beyond humanity’s wildest imagination. This visually stunning series uses mind-blowing CGI animations to reveal the extraordinary engineering at the heart of the world’s most extreme machines. From the world’s biggest mega truck to the world’s fastest train to a revolutionary heavy lift ship, ground breaking CGI animation explodes the machines apart to reveal the ingenious inventions hidden under their skin that enables the teams who drive, fly and sail them to be at the top of their game. This series takes us inside these machines in close up detail and explores what helps these elite ships, trucks, trains and aircrafts rise above all others.

When a rich woman's ex-husband and a tabloid-type reporter turn up just before her planned remarriage, she begins to learn the truth about herself.

The sinking of the Titanic is presented in a highly realistic fashion in this tense British drama. The disaster is portrayed largely from the perspective of the ocean liner's second officer, Charles Lightoller. Despite numerous warnings about ice, the ship sails on, with Capt. Edward John Smith keeping it going at a steady clip. When the doomed vessel finally hits an iceberg, the crew and passengers discover that they lack enough lifeboats, and tragedy follows.

From the bustling streets of Jerusalem to the raging Sea of Galilee, join Peter, Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene, and a multitude of others as they journey alongside the most famous person ever to walk the earth. Witness the most miraculous events in history as Jesus sets sail with fishermen, challenges the Pharisees, befriends the outcasts, and heals the hurting. The lives he touches will never be the same. Filmed in front of a live audience, Sight & Sound's spectacular original production has been experienced by over one million people live on stage.

Capt. Glenn Shephard and his crew set sail in a luxury sailing yacht to explore the crystal-clear blue waters of the Ionian Sea. The physicality of working on a sailing yacht brings new challenges to these young, attractive and adventurous yachties who are ready to work hard and play harder.

On holiday with their mother in the Lake District in 1929 four children are allowed to sail over to the nearby island in their boat Swallow and set up camp for a few days. They soon realise this has been the territory of two other girls who sail the Amazon, and the scene is set for serious rivalry.

Henry Drax is a harpooner and brutish killer whose amorality has been shaped to fit the harshness of his world, who will set sail on a whaling expedition to the Arctic with Patrick Sumner, a disgraced ex-army surgeon who signs up as the ship’s doctor. Hoping to escape the horrors of his past, Sumner finds himself on an ill-fated journey with a murderous psychopath. In search of redemption, his story becomes a harsh struggle for survival in the Arctic wasteland.

Sir Arthur Blake has inherited title and lands from his brother. He also has his orphaned nephew Benjamin working for him as a bonded servant. While he believes the lad was born out of wedlock and so cannot claim the inheritance, he is taking no chances. Benjamin eventually rebels against his uncle and sets sail to try and make his fortune. This may enable him to return to prove his claim to being the rightful heir to the estate.

British estate agent Renfield travels to Transylvania to meet with the mysterious Count Dracula, who is interested in leasing a castle in London and is, unbeknownst to Renfield, a vampire. After Dracula enslaves Renfield and drives him to insanity, the pair sail to London together, and as Dracula begins preying on London socialites, the two become the subject of study for a supernaturalist professor, Abraham Van Helsing.

In year 1250 B.C. during the late Bronze age, two emerging nations begin to clash. Paris, the Trojan prince, convinces Helen, Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus, and sail with him back to Troy. After Menelaus finds out that his wife was taken by the Trojans, he asks his brother Agamemnon to help him get her back. Agamemnon sees this as an opportunity for power. They set off with 1,000 ships holding 50,000 Greeks to Troy.

A group of down-and-out accountants mutiny against their bosses and sail their office building onto the high seas in search of a pirate's life.

When the tenacious young sailor Jessica Watson sets out to be the youngest person to sail solo, nonstop and unassisted around the world, many expect her to fail. With the support of her sailing coach and mentor Ben Bryant and her parents, Jessica is determined to accomplish what was thought to be impossible, navigating some of the world’s most challenging stretches of ocean over the course of 210 days.

Enjoy high-sea thrills as Barbie, Chelsea and the rest of the Roberts family set sail on an adventure cruise. "Barbie & Chelsea The Lost Birthday" tells the story of Chelsea, Barbie’s precocious youngest sister, and the rest of the Roberts family as they set sail on an adventure cruise for her seventh birthday. When they cross the International Date Line, Chelsea discovers her actual birthday has been lost and she embarks on a fantastical journey through an enchanted jungle island in order to save it.

A group of several thousand Africans migrate westward across northern Africa and sail across the Strait of Gibraltar to Europe. Their message is: "We are poor because you are rich."

When the SS Festivale sets sail from New York to France, its 3,000 passengers include Pulitzer Prize-winning author Harold Columbine and 146 members of the Church of the Cosmic Path, led by Father Craig Dunleavy, their charismatic messiah. Seizing control of the ship, Dunleavy demands $70 million in gold, intending to kill everyone onboard once it's paid. Without knowing which passengers are cultists and warned that 12 will die for every hijacker harmed, Columbine and the captain search for a way to save 3,000 lives before Dunleavy makes good on his threat. Based on a novel by screenwriter Ernest Lehman, this mini-series was broadcast over three nights in November 1979.

Has the famed Egyptian beauty, Queen Nefertiti, been found in a secret chamber deep in the Valley of the Kings? A Discovery Channel Quest expedition led by Dr. Joann Fletcher and a team of internationally renowned scientists from the University of York Mummy Research Team hopes to find out. If they find her, it will be one of the greatest archaeological discoveries since Nefertiti's stepson, King Tutankhamen, was discovered in 1922. The "Great Royal Wife" of the renegade Akhenaten, Nefertiti was a mother of six who helped lead a religious revolution that changed Egypt and the world forever. Yet after her death, her enemies destroyed all evidence of her life. Now, drawing on 13 years of research, Fletcher and her team bring Nefertiti's turbulent reign to life like never before with cutting-edge computer animations to recreate ancient Egypt's great temples, x-rays to reveal the telltale signs of foul play on her mummy, and forensic graphics to recreate the mummy's face.

In 1839, the slave ship Amistad set sail from Cuba to America. During the long trip, Cinque leads the slaves in an unprecedented uprising. They are then held prisoner in Connecticut, and their release becomes the subject of heated debate. Freed slave Theodore Joadson wants Cinque and the others exonerated and recruits property lawyer Roger Baldwin to help his case. Eventually, John Quincy Adams also becomes an ally.

The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787. Its destination: to sail to Tahiti and load bread-fruit. Captain Bligh will do anything to get there as fast as possible, using any means to keep up a strict discipline. When they arrive at Tahiti, it is like a paradise for the crew, something completely different than the living hell aboard the ship. On the way back to England, officer Fletcher Christian becomes the leader of a mutiny.

When Jess sets sail on a yacht with a group of friends, she cannot shake the feeling that there is something wrong. Her suspicions are realized when the yacht hits a storm and the group is forced to board a passing ocean liner to get to safety, a ship Jess is convinced she’s been on before.

A monotonous life has pushed the unfulfilled Forrest (Todd Blubaugh) to a voyage of self-discovery by living aboard his sailboat on an alluring, Missouri lake. Soon he catches wind of the rebellious and free-spirited Everly (Nicola Collie) and their idealistic dreams align for a thrilling and thought-provoking, romantic adventure. Can they survive, reconnect with nature and rewrite their own rules of modern existence, or will they discover that society operates the way it does for a reason?

Wile E. Coyote uses, among other things, a dehydrated boulder to try to catch the Road Runner.

Camille wanders through the countryside talking with frogs and chickens: she sails through life as a carefree soul. But for her older sister, the introverted Mylia, things are more complicated. Mylia is lost between the uncertainty in her family life, the superficial atmosphere at her new school and her first experiences at house parties. It is Camille who eventually introduces Mylia to Jimmy. The boy from the nearby Abenaki reserve is different and he encourages her to break free.

Childhood friends Tracy Lord and C.K. Dexter Haven got married and quickly divorced. Now Tracy is about to marry again, this time to a shrewd social-climbing businessman. C.K. still loves her. Spy magazine blackmails Tracy's family by threatening to reveal her playboy father's exploits if not allowed to cover the wedding. A remake of the 1940 rom com The Philadelphia Story.

Henry, the pagan son of a white father and native mother, has inherited land and a store, but he prefers the simple life. When he falls in love with a native girl, her guardian, who is trying to bring her up as a 'proper' Christian, but who also lusts after her himself, plots to keep them apart.

The French Surete and private eye Higgins are after a killer who uses innocent young Americans in a crooked gambling racket, and who sets sail on an ocean liner that also carries inept scoutmaster Freddie Hunter and his troop of boys. Freddie, who's been a "boy scout" too long, has designs on gorgeous Duchess Alexandria. The boys, far better organized than Freddie, are determined to save him from himself. But who will save Freddie from being the killer's next victim?

Georgia Garrett is sent by jealous wife Elvira Kent on an ocean cruise to masquerade as herself while she secretly stays home to catch her husband cheating. Meanwhile equally suspicious husband Michael Kent has sent a private eye on the same cruise to catch his wife cheating. Love and confusion ensues along with plenty of musical numbers.

Dueling cat-and-mouse team Tom and Jerry hit the high seas on a hunt for buried treasure in this pirate adventure. The tale begins when crew member Tom sets sail with an infamous pirate and finds a treasure map along with stowaway Jerry. The furry swashbucklers race to a deserted island where X marks the spot, but along with battling each other, they must outwit ruthless buccaneers, angry monkeys and a giant octopus to strike it rich.

After a lengthy voyage, Capt. Bart docks his ship in a London harbor and is given a new mission by British Admiralty: capture the notorious Henry Morgan, a pirate who has been wreaking havoc throughout the Caribbean. After recruiting some former shipmates for his crew, Capt. Bart sets sail in search of the infamous buccaneer, and is joined by a beautiful female stowaway in the process.

In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex is assaulted by something no one could believe—a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance.

Angelique's Isle is a harrowing tale of perseverance and survival that unfolds during the great copper rush of 1845. Newlyweds Angelique, a young Ojibway, and Charlie, her voyager husband, are left stranded throughout a brutal winter on Lake Superior's Isle Royale where Angelique is ultimately forced to face her inner demons and beliefs as the unbelievably beautiful, yet treacherous wilderness threatens to claim her.

After losing his wife seven years earlier, the eccentric Dr. John Dolittle, famed doctor and veterinarian of Queen Victoria’s England, hermits himself away behind the high walls of Dolittle Manor with only his menagerie of exotic animals for company. But when the young queen falls gravely ill, a reluctant Dolittle is forced to set sail on an epic adventure to a mythical island in search of a cure, regaining his wit and courage as he crosses old adversaries and discovers wondrous creatures.

During a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, a veteran mariner awakes to find his vessel taking on water after a collision with a stray shipping container. With his radio and navigation equipment disabled, he sails unknowingly into a violent storm and barely escapes with his life. With any luck, the ocean currents may carry him into a shipping lane -- but, with supplies dwindling and the sharks circling, the sailor is forced to face his own mortality.

Captain Alan Gaskell sails the perilous waters between Hong Kong and Singapore with a secret cargo: a fortune in British gold. That's not the only risky cargo he carries; both his fiery mistress and his refined fiancee are aboard!

The trials and tribulations of the Mayflower Pilgrims in the New World; men, women and children who sailed on a chartered ship for a place they had never seen.

A woman and her daughter charter a sail boat while on spring break only to discover the captain has plans to make sure they never return home.

This film charts the inside story of the race to raise and re-float the stricken Costa Concordia. The colossal cruise ship crashed into rocks and capsized on the island of Giglio in Italy in a tragic disaster in which 32 people lost their lives trying to escape. This film uses stunning CGI animation and unique access footage to reveal the incredible innovations and technological breakthroughs needed to make 114,000 tons of mangled metal sail again.

Robert Ballard has been living and breathing the Titanic since he was part of the team that discovered it in 1985. In Save the Titanic With Bob Ballard, he revisits the iconic ship in an entirely different way—from the perspective of those who set sail on it some 100 years ago. Ballard travels to the shipyards of Northern Ireland to retrace the path of the doomed ship from its very incarnation. Throughout his journey, Ballard is driven by one personal question—will the Titanic survive another 100 years? As evidence mounts that the ship is under siege by natural forces, careless visitors, and even rogue salvage operators, the man who found it teams with the families of victims and survivors to protect the legacy of history’s most famous ship.

16-year-old Robin Lee Graham aims to become the youngest person to sail around the world in a 23-foot sloop named "The Dove". On his journey, he meets and falls in love with Patti Ratteree, who is also traveling around the world. As Robin sails around the world to many beautiful locales, he grows from a boy to a man, finds himself, and finds the love of his life.

After his proposal to sail west to the East Indies is rejected by Portugal, Columbus overcomes court intrigue in Spain to gain support for his expedition.

Young Jim Hawkins, while running the Benbow Inn with his mother, meets Captain Billy Bones, who dies at the inn while it is beseiged by buccaneers led by Blind Pew. Jim and his mother fight off the attackers and discover Billy Bones' treasure map for which the buccaneers had come. Jim agrees to sail on the S.S. Espaniola with Squire Trelawney and Dr. Livesey to find the treasure on a mysterious isiand. Upon arriving at the island, ship's cook and scaliwag Long John Silver leads a mutiny of crew members who want the treasure for themselves. Jim helps the Squire and Espaniola officers to survive the mutiny and fight back against Silver's men, who have taken over the Espaniola.

At his court-martial, an American Army officer renounces his country. For his punishment he is ordered to spend the rest of his life on a ship that sails all over the world, but he will never be allowed to set foot on his country's soil. nor come within site of it, nor be allowed to know anything about the country

After tragedy strikes Henry and Penny, he befriends a tenacious young girl and discovers she is constructing a raft to sail across the Atlantic to find her lost father. Together, along with some unlikely friends, they set forth to construct the vessel and subsequently rebuild their lives.

Left only with their yacht after going broke in the Great Depression, a high-society family sets sail for the South Seas. Screwball comedy, with songs.