Watch
Lifeboat
Your probable score
?

Lifeboat

1944
Drama, War
1h 37m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 62.65% from 1029 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(1028)
Compact view
Compact view
Rated 06 Aug 2018
75
80th
Lifeboat is the movie Boat Trip wasn't.
Rated 06 Sep 2010
84
90th
I might have a soft spot for 'people trapped in small space' movies, but Lifeboat was pretty damn good. Sure, it has that whole anti-Germany angle, but it's understandable considering the period it was filmed. The premise is cool, there's a nice amount of tension and it never gets boring to watch these people, even if we've seen 'humans losing their humanity during stressful times'-type developments often enough.
Rated 05 Feb 2012
75
83rd
Finally a film that addresses the criminally underexamined "Should-we-kill-this-Nazi-or-can-he-steer-our-little-boat-for-us" demographic.
Rated 11 Apr 2012
80
86th
Maybe not top-tier Hitchcock (though it just about managed to crack my top-10 of his output), this is still a very well-done chamber drama. With the chamber exchanged for a boat, of course.
Rated 01 Jul 2012
94
99th
One of my favorite Hitchcock films, this movie is the epitome of tension. I get hooked every time I watch this. Everyone does an amazing job which is quite a feat since they are stuck in a small boat throughout the entire film.
Rated 21 Dec 2010
52
58th
does manage a fair bit of suspense, though nowhere near what hitchcock achieved in Rope. the main problem is i don't find any of the characters very interesting. Tallulah Bankhead is the best, and she's still a far cry from some of the amazing heroines in hitch's later work.
Rated 15 Mar 2011
32
6th
Hitchcock's direction falls as flat as his cameo, adding zero atmosphere or even a slight sense of danger - The cast seems hopelessly stranded in a studio, surrounded by rear projection and a director unable to stage the story properly and sound-people unable to do anything right... For shame, for shame!
Rated 15 Jun 2015
80
80th
Expertly crafted, exciting and fun to watch. So much of its time that I found some of the ideas more historically interesting that actually engaging. Great tension (as you would expect), pacing and overall presentation but parts of it felt a bit too whimsical or talky for me. Has a very manufactured feel that's not necessarily a bad thing but does make it harder to engage with although easier to admire on a technical level.
Rated 22 Apr 2012
85
90th
Maybe not the most subtle film in the world, but very tense and claustrophobic. The shoe-horned propaganda only really gets in the way in the final few minutes. Until then it's an interesting exploration of group morality, eventually turning into mob justice. I thought all the characters were fleshed out enough, with Bankhead and Bendix both giving stand-out performances. A little hokey, sure, but very enjoyable.
Rated 30 Mar 2010
80
42nd
Pretty dreary for a Hitchcock film, only redeemed by 1) a wonderfully world-weary performance from Tallulah, and 2) the accomplished way Hitchcock makes the camera work involving within the confines of a lifeboat.
Rated 07 Feb 2007
63
22nd
Horribly manufactured. Here's the part where they lose all the supplies, the part where they start bickering from hunger, the part where the opposites attract, the part where they talk about something trivial to get their minds off the situation. There's little subtlety in the script, the characterizations, or the performances. Still, some scenes are effective, and I rather enjoyed Hume Cronyn's performance.
Rated 03 Apr 2012
65
16th
Lifeboat is a dialogue-driven film that takes place entirely in one location - a boat - drifting about the seas. It has no major flaws, but is ultimately unthrilling and fails to invoke much excitement.
Rated 19 Sep 2009
80
78th
Solid acting by Cronyn, Bendix and the rest, though once again, it's the master who stands out by keeping the pace tight and the tension high while never moving from the one set.
Rated 24 Feb 2010
65
67th
Quite the propaganda piece for the US War Dept. Canada Lee impresses.
Rated 04 Aug 2012
84
69th
A film very much of its time, but the tension and the human drama still work.
Rated 08 Jan 2007
97
97th
Very entertaining and innovative. This is one of my favorite Hitchcock films even though it is probably underrated and under-seen.
Rated 28 Mar 2020
77
70th
77.3
Rated 25 Oct 2013
72
92nd
This film shows that you don't need special effects to make a good movie. The entire movie takes place in a small lifeboat. Within this limited space the human spirit is explored under stress.
Rated 17 Jan 2011
73
85th
Glistening silver sea-sprayed faces, off-kilter cuts and tin whistle German lullabies.
Rated 26 Aug 2014
4
91st
A strange mix of propaganda, stagey drama and Hitchcock, all at a good pace. The guys arguing who was in charge when the real captain was clear is what made it for me.
Rated 21 Mar 2011
86
76th
Good plot and set of characters for such a limited space. I am not sure this one was the first in the genre of paranoid closure but what Hitchcock did surely deserves praises.
Rated 30 Aug 2012
78
69th
Somewhat lesser Hitchcock due to some contrivances and the general propaganda aspects of it, but he still brings plenty of suspense. Great use of the camera to keep everything fresh despite the limited location.
Rated 18 Feb 2009
4
71st
"...with the psychological intrigue there is romance and wit."
Rated 21 Feb 2007
75
89th
Brilliant film.
Rated 21 May 2007
100
95th
Yet another Hitchcock suspense classic. All shot on that one tiny set, too
Rated 02 Nov 2013
80
66th
Another well-made Hitchcock film, who is the master of creating tension and claustrophobia in confined spaces.
Rated 11 Aug 2014
95
92nd
Hitchcock's cast is perfect, his pace is steady, never allowing a dull moment, not to mention does not let his imagination cease and give up his gimmick of appearing in the background somehow.
Rated 14 Aug 2007
67
57th
A pretty cool flick all in one place at sea. I'd recommend it, but I wouldn't stuff it down your throat or anything.
Rated 02 Jan 2014
81
65th
I've always liked films that are set in a single small setting, and Hitchcock of course is able to wring the maximum amount of drama and tension out of this premise. It falls short of a masterpiece for a number of reasons, mainly that it goes through all the obvious tropes associated with this kind of story and its "what do we do with the German?!" plot isn't powerful or satisfying enough. But it's a swift and entertaining drama with some good performances.
Rated 23 Nov 2014
3
45th
A potentially complex and multidimensional chamber drama that unfortunately settles for something more formulaic. The characters are, for the most part, fleshed out well enough (exceptions being a Nazi and a condescendingly portrayed black character). The cinematography is creative and ultra-expressive, and the performances are solid across the board.
Rated 20 Mar 2019
90
99th
If you ever gonna do a full movie in a claustrophobic little boat, then do it like Alfred Hitchcock and Lifeboat (1944). I totally LOVE this movie! Never a dull moment. Ton of personality, mystery and moral dilemmas. Not to mention the absolute rawness about it. Might not be the Hitchcock movie fans name first, but it's up there with his absolute best!
Rated 01 Oct 2020
73
45th
Kudos to Hitchcock for starting the film by throwing the audience into the deep end. Given his melodramatic flairs, one could've expected him to start with more soap opera backstory on the characters. Instead Steinbeck's story immerses us with ordinary people who find themselves in an extraordinary situation. At times the conflicts move at a slow pace--possibly fitting the lost at sea narrative. Still, I wish the ethnic and racial allegories had been a bit less muddled. Marginal recommendation.
Rated 12 Dec 2006
74
40th
Occasionally hammy acting and war propaganda aside, Hitchock does some good things with a very restricted set, and there is some interesting commentary on human interaction.
Rated 25 Sep 2007
90
95th
It gets a bit theatrical in places (otherwise I'd've scored it even higher).
Rated 18 Oct 2009
81
86th
Brilliant character driven masterpiece.
Rated 07 Nov 2012
87
56th
87.000
Rated 08 Jan 2009
2
13th
Slightly entertaining, I guess, but most of the time it's pretty boring and generic. The reactions and attitudes of the survivors, especially towards the very beginning, seemed entirely unrealistic.
Rated 17 Nov 2023
80
68th
What a great little film. I love a good confined space thriller, and this one is top notch. It's a good assortment of characters played by a great cast. It was filmed in a real boat in a big ass water tank, so it's pretty convincing. The lack of score is a good choice. Just one hell of a classy little production.
Rated 06 Aug 2010
77
65th
The boat isn't convincing, but everyone else is; they create a harrowing, captivating story of survival. Loses points for a few unnecessarily slow parts.
Rated 23 Nov 2010
79
20th
drifted off on me, nice Hitch cameo tho' and Tallulah is quite a presence......
Rated 14 Jun 2021
76
77th
A masterful use of a small setting to create drama and suspense, which Hitchcock does as well as anyone, but is seldom remembered for.
Rated 10 Mar 2012
60
23rd
This wasn't that good. There is really nothing to see and I didn't think the performances were great. Steinbeck himself didn't like it, and I don't blame him. I'd rather reread The Moon is Down than watch this again.
Rated 02 Jun 2013
40
27th
Hokey and contrived. A large group of shipwreck survivors on a lifeboat spending most of their time chatting and bickering, and almost oblivious to the matter of survival, even after losing their water supply. Features such ridiculous "coincidences" as a storm appearing out of nowhere just when someone starts to strangle another. Watch Kaneto Shindo's Ningen instead - it is better in every way.
Rated 13 Jan 2010
72
51st
Pretty good movie with a very limited set. But too much propaganda.
Rated 10 Oct 2013
87
91st
86.500
Rated 07 Apr 2017
60
24th
Not one of my favourite Hitchcocks. I found it very hard and frustrating to watch. And personally I think it was a missed opportunity to make the German U-Boat captain a manipulative monster instead of emphasising his humanity, but the critics of 1944 clearly disagreed with me there. :P
Rated 15 Mar 2014
70
57th
Although conventionally plotted and questionable about racial policies, "Lifeboat" is an almost start-to-finish engrossing, impeccably staged and executed potboiler. Significantly aided by typically proficient direction, an able cast and a script that at least attempts to add some psychological insight, this isn't riveting but tense and entertaining all the same. The 'all Germans are backstabbing pigs' vibe is understandable given the zeitgeist, but strikes as a shaky political stance today.
Rated 29 Jun 2016
80
75th
A technically brilliant movie with great characters that manages to be just well-written enough for suspension of disbelief.
Rated 29 Dec 2008
50
31st
I found it kind of dull and obvious. I like almost all of the Hitchcock films I've seen, but not so much Lifeboat.
Rated 19 Aug 2013
85
59th
Anchored by Hitch's fantastic direction and kept afloat by Tallulah Bankhead's sexy charm and a great cast, Lifeboat sails to classic status.
Rated 03 Jun 2012
65
35th
not very entertaining not to mention the disgusting view on germans. hasnt aged well.
Rated 25 Dec 2010
87
85th
86.875
Rated 09 Apr 2016
72
37th
The very premise of this movie survives on its characters, which is precisely why I was not sure why Hitchcock didn't work with his screenwriters on fleshing out the characters more, specifically Joe. Still had very good directing from Hitchcock, which I'm learning to almost always expect. Tallulah Bankhead (Connie Porter), John Hodiak (Kovac), and William Bendix (Gus) gave good performances as well.
Rated 01 Mar 2019
83
18th
82.67
Rated 18 Jun 2019
66
39th
Lacked the Hitchcock suspense
Rated 17 Jan 2020
80
60th
Hitchcock’un savaşın devam ettiği 1944 yılında çektiği filmde,Alman bir denizaltının bombaladığı gemiden filikayla sağ kalan bir grup insanın hikayesi anlatılıyor.Yönetmenin baştan sona suyun üstüne bir filikada çektiği bu film,sinemada sonraki yıllarda çokça örneğini gördüğümüz tek mekan filmlerinin öncüsü olduğunu söyleyebiliriz.
Rated 26 Dec 2021
81
56th
Very unusual that the Nazi is actually the most interesting character on the boat
Rated 31 Dec 2021
80
78th
I've always liked the cram-people-together-and-have-them-resolve-something genre (Michael Crichton seemed to make a career out of it), and this one certainly does its job well: nobody's really sure about anything except the need to get back home. The tension is pretty solid throughout even when it has to rely on then-current politics.
Rated 13 Jan 2023
70
72nd
Thrilling survival flick with a bunch of truly tense, hard-hitting moments -- mob attacking the german survivor and killing him near the end, the prayer for the mom and her dead baby, the tattoo made with lipstick.
Rated 12 Jan 2024
85
78th
Um barco e nove destinos tinha sua première há 80 anos em New York. Esse filme foi meio vilanizado quando lançado porque acharam muito simpático com os alemães, o que é uma visão bem esquisita já que o Willi foi evidenciado como filho da puta. É o primeiro filme do Hitchcock com espaço restrito e é bem deslumbrante o que o cineasta faz com isso, mesmo assim acho um Hitch menor, mesmo comparando com os clássicos dele nos anos 40 (acho os anos 50 o pico dele como cineasta). YTS.
Rated 20 Jan 2024
88
88th
A single-set WW2 character drama with a standout performance by Tallulah Bankhead.

Collections

(36)
Compact view
Showing 1 - 24 of 36 results

Similar Titles

Loading ...

Statistics

Loading ...

Trailer

No Trailer