Indianapolis Synopsis & Summary

From the filmmakers behind Open Water comes the most harrowing tale of survival at sea ever to be recorded in naval history, the story of the USS Indianapolis. Famously recounted by Robert Shaw's Quint character in Jaws, the World War II tale surrounds a ship's sinking by a Japanese submarine as they were on their way back from a secret mission to deliver parts of the atom bomb. After five days in the water with no distress signal sent, malnourishment and scores of sharks decimated the 900 crewmen in the water before a patrol spotted the survivors and began the rescue. 317 men were pulled out alive, including Captain Charles Butler McVay III, whose controversial court-martialing and subsequent survivor guilt led him to suicide in 1968. - Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide