The story behind the major motion picture from Disney--starring Chris
Pine, Eric Bana, and Casey Affleck--written by a recognized master of
the genre--"a blockbuster account of tragedy at sea" (The Providence
Journal).
It's the winter of 1952 and a ferocious Nor'easter is pounding New
England with howling winds and seventy-foot seas. Two oil tankers get
caught in the violent storm off Cape Cod, its fury splitting the massive
ships in two. Back on shore are four young Coast Guardsmen who are given
a suicide mission. They must save the lives of the seamen left stranded
in the killer storm, and they have to do it in a tiny lifeboat. The crew
is led by Bernie Webber, who has to rely on prayer and the courage of
his three crewmembers to pull off the impossible. As Webber and his crew
sail into the teeth of the storm, each man comes to the realization that
he may not come back alive. They've lost all navigation and have no idea
where the stranded seaman are, and have no idea how to get back home.
Whether by sheer luck or divine intervention, the crew stumbles upon the
wounded ship in the darkness. More than thirty men appear at the
railings of the SS Pendleton, all hoping to be saved. Once again, Webber
and his crew face a daunting challenge. How can they rescue all these
men with their tiny lifeboat?
Dripping with suspense and high-stakes human drama, The Finest Hours
has incredible and astonishing true-to-life heroism and action-packed
rescue scenes. This "marvelous and terrifying yarn" (Los Angeles
Times) "deserves a place as a classic of survival at sea" (The Boston
Globe).
