“The Finest Hours” on Home Video (Jason’s 1st Impressions)

“The Finest Hours” is now on home video.  The film is based on the true story of a U.S. Coast Guard rescue of a crew from an oil tanker that split in half during a bad storm in February of 1952 off the coast of Cape Cod.     The story follows the rescue from the point of view of Bernie Webber who was the captain of the 36ft life boat that set out for the rescue as well as from those onboard the ship waiting to be rescued.   They managed to bring 32 survivors back onboard the 36ft boat which by itself is an amazing story.

We have previously posted a report from a round table discussion of some who worked on the film and two reviews of the film, so if you would like to hear more about the movie itself.

• Disney’s Finest Hours – Round Table Discussions
• Disney’s “The Finest Hours” – Teri’s Take
• Disney’s The Finest Hours (Maggie’s Review)

I missed seeing the film in theaters for a variety of reasons so the small screen was my first viewing.  I enjoy movies based on real events so in addition to being entertained I learn a little history too.   “The Finest Hours” delivers on this front. It is an engaging story of some true heroes in the Coast Guard that set out against the odds to help others.

The question that arises usually is how close to reality is the movie.  I found two articles talking about “The Finest Hours” and it appears that the key points and basic story are true to history.  Here is a NavyTimes article and another from TIME if you are curious.  They point out some Hollywood liberties were taken with the love story aspect of it but the rest was more historically accurate.

After watching the film I was anxious to watch the bonus material.  I was anticipating learning more about the actual event and crew as well as some movie magic.   The bonus offerings on this release disappoint.  The only one of substance is a 14minute featurette on Bernie Webber.  There were two deleted scenes (no introduction, context or other info with them), then four shorter featurettes that I think were released online around the time the film to help promote it, I felt like I had seen them all before.  The Bernie Webber Story was interesting and it gave some context of the small town and of the actual story through the eyes of residents that had experienced the events or were relatives.    I would have liked to have seen the piece extended a bit more and maybe a complementary piece on some of the other people featured in the film.    I would have also really have liked to have seen some of the making of.  I know a lot was computer generated but I am sure there were some physical sets and other effects used.  I also thought the other featurettes were on the short side and would have liked to have seen and heard more from the modern Coast Guard people they interviewed for example.

If you were like me and missed the film in theaters (which looking at the box office totals it appears a majority of people fit into this category) you may want to consider watching the home video release.  The story is interesting and inspirational.    If you are looking for more background on the events or the film itself you will likely be disappointed with this offering.

For more details on the home video release click here for the initial press release with details on “The Finest Hours” home video release.

Click here to view all posts tagged as “The Finest Hours” here on disneygeek.com