Movies like Sailor's Diary (2012)
The best movies like Sailor's Diary (2012) are True Spirit (2023), Lord Jim (1965) and Treasure Island (1934). If Sailor's Diary hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPersuasion (2007)7.2/10 from 289 votes
- NewestA Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)Released 2025
True Spirit (2023)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLord Jim (1965)
After being discredited as a coward, a 19th century seaman lives for only one purpose: to redeem himself. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with Sony Pictures Entertainment in 2000.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTreasure Island (1934)
In this early film adaptation of the classic novel by Robert Louis Stevenson, young Jim Hawkins is caught up with the pirate Long John Silver in search of buccaneer Captain Flint's buried treasure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
Zack Mayo is an aloof, taciturn man who aspires to be a navy pilot. Once he arrives at training camp for his 13-week officer's course, Mayo runs afoul of abrasive, no-nonsense drill Sergeant Emil Foley. Mayo is an excellent cadet, but a little cold around the heart, so Foley rides him mercilessly, sensing that the young man would be prime officer material if he weren't so self-involved. Zack's affair with a working girl is likewise compromised by his unwillingness to give of himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTreasure Island (1972)
Young Jim Hawkins finds himself serving with pirate captain Long John Silver in search of a buccaneer's treasure, in this short adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic tale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisAnna Christie (1930)
Old sailor Chris Christofferson eagerly awaits the arrival of his grown daughter Anna, whom he sent at five years old to live with relatives in Minnesota. He has not seen her since, but believes her to be a decent and respectably employed young woman. When Anna arrives, however, it is clear that she has lived a hard life in the dregs of society, and that much of spirit has been extinguished. She falls in love with a young sailor rescued at sea by her father, but dreads to reveal to him the truth of her past. Both father and young man are deluded about her background, yet Anna cannot quite bring herself to allow them to remain deluded.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisH.M.S. Defiant (1962)
Defiant's crew is part of a fleet-wide movement to present a petition of grievances to the Admiralty. Violence must be no part of it. The continual sadism of Defiant's first officer makes this difficult, and when the captain is disabled, the chance for violence increases.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharlie St. Cloud (2010)
Accomplished sailor Charlie St. Cloud has the adoration of his mother Claire and his little brother Sam, as well as a college scholarship that will lead him far from his sleepy Pacific Northwest hometown. But his bright future is cut short when tragedy strikes and takes his dreams with it. After high school classmate Tess returns home unexpectedly, Charlie grows torn between honoring a promise he made four years earlier and moving forward with newfound love. As he finds the courage to let go of the past for good, Charlie discovers the soul most worth saving is his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Sea (2014)
A rogue submarine captain pulls together a misfit crew to go after a sunken treasure rumored to be lost in the depths of the Black Sea. As greed and desperation take control on-board their claustrophobic vessel, the increasing uncertainty of the mission causes the men to turn on each other to fight for their own survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDr. Terror's House of Horrors (1965)
Five train passengers are joined by a mysterious fortuneteller who offers to read Tarot. A quintet of stories unfold: an architect returns to his ancestral home to find a vengeful werewolf; a doctor suspects his new wife is a vampire; an intelligent vine takes over a house; a jazz musician plagiarises music from a voodoo ceremony; and a pompous art critic is pursued by a disembodied hand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025)
Sarah and David are single strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding and soon, through a surprising twist of fate, find themselves on a funny, fantastical, sweeping adventure together where they get to re-live important moments from their respective pasts, illuminating how they got to where they are in the present... and possibly getting a chance to alter their futures.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFool's Gold (2008)
Treasure hunter Ben "Finn" Finnegan has sunk his marriage to Tess and his trusty boat in his obsessive quest to find the legendary Queen's Dowry. When he finds a vital clue that may finally pinpoint the treasure's whereabouts, he drags Tess and her boss, billionaire Nigel Honeycutt, along on the hunt. But Finn is not the only one interested in the gold; his former mentor-turned-enemy Moe Fitch, hired by rapper-turned-gangster Bigg Bunny, will stop at nothing to beat him to it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisCutthroat Island (1995)
Morgan Adams and her slave, William Shaw, are on a quest to recover the three portions of a treasure map. Unfortunately, the final portion is held by her murderous uncle, Dawg. Her crew is skeptical of her leadership abilities, so she must complete her quest before they mutiny against her. This is made yet more difficult by the efforts of the British crown to end her pirate raids.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Philadelphia Experiment (1984)
Based on an "actual event" that took place in 1943. About a US Navy Destroyer Escort that disappeared from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and sent two men 40 years into the future to 1984.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhite Squall (1996)
In 1960, a hardy group of prep school students boards an old-fashioned sailing ship. With Capt. Christopher Sheldon at the helm, the oceangoing voyage is intended to teach the boys fortitude and discipline. But the youthful crew are about to get some unexpected instruction in survival when they get caught in the clutches of a white squall storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNight Tide (1961)
A young sailor is enamored with a mysterious woman performing as a mermaid on the local pier. As their existences become entwined, he comes to suspect the woman might be a real mermaid who lures men to a watery death during the full moon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoby Dick (1956)
In 1841, young Ishmael signs up for service aboard the Pequod, a whaler sailing out of New Bedford. The ship is under the command of Captain Ahab, a strict disciplinarian who exhorts his men to find Moby Dick, the great white whale. Ahab lost his leg to that creature and is desperate for revenge. As the crew soon learns, he will stop at nothing to gain satisfaction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAntwone Fisher (2002)
A sailor prone to violent outbursts is sent to a naval psychiatrist for help. Refusing at first to open up, the young man eventually breaks down and reveals a horrific childhood. Through the guidance of his doctor, he confronts his painful past and begins a quest to find the family he never knew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead Sea (2024)
Stranded in the open sea after a fatal accident, a young woman and her two friends are rescued by a fishing vessel's captain, unaware that the ship harbors a chilling secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPersuasion (2007)
Anne Elliot was once in love with Frederick Wentworth, a commander in the Royal Navy who was rejected by her snobby parents eight years ago. When the family hits hard times and are forced to rent out their mansion to his brother-in-law, Frederick returns as a captain - but will he remember Anne?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sailor's Diary?
The closest matches to Sailor's Diary are True Spirit (2023), Lord Jim (1965) and Treasure Island (1934). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sailor's Diary?
Start with True Spirit (2023), the closest match to Sailor's Diary.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sailor's Diary?
Persuasion (2007), rated 7.2/10 by 289 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sailor's Diary?
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Sailor's Diary?
Yes: True Spirit (2023), Lord Jim (1965) and Treasure Island (1934).
How are movies similar to Sailor's Diary chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sailor's Diary, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.