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Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World [2003] (REGION 1) (NTSC)


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

Aside from some gripping battles and a storm sequence to rival anything seen on screen, Peter Weir's Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is as much about daily shipboard life during the Napoleonic era--especially the relationship between Captain Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and Doctor Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany)--as it is about spectacle. Aubrey is a powerful figure whose experience and strength of character commands unwavering trust and respect from his crew; Crowe seems in his element naturally enough. Bettany, though, is his match on screen as Aubrey's intellectual foil. Director Weir successfully translates their relationship from novel to screen by subtly weaving in their past history and leaving viewers--whether they've read Patrick O'Brian's books or not--to do the thinking.

Although the film's special effects ate up a huge budget they never overtake the drama, with characterisation and painstaking attention to historical accuracy taking centre stage. Matching action to detail, drama to humour, and special effects to well-sketched characters, Master and Commander is a deeply satisfying big-screen experience, breathing a bracing gust of sea air into Hollywood megabuck filmmaking. --Laura Bushell


Fantastic epic
Review date: 2008-09-29 Rating: 10 out of 10

I only just caught up with this film on TV in 2008, and I LOVED it. There are not many films that can keep you gripped for two and a half hours with not a second of boredom (think Zhivago, the Godfather films and Lawrence), but this has to be added to the list. How on earth did this not get best picture instead of the cliched and awful Mystic River? I will certainly be buying the most comprehensive DVD version I can find so that I can rewatch it many times. And by the way, I'm a 45-year-old woman and I watched it on my own, dog tired, at midnight - and it was over far too soon. Great central performance from Russell Crowe, who actually looks tough enough for the job, unlike most Hollywood wimps.

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Reviews


Enjoyable Action Drama
Review date: 2008-08-19 Rating: 10 out of 10

Wacthing Master and Commander is like being transported back in time to the year 1805, as Britain and France fought for mastery of the Seas. It is one of the most realistic and atmospheric films I have seen in a long time, and part of the film's brilliance comes from Peter Weir's ability to create a detailed and believable world for the characters to occupy.

The film follows a cat and mouse chase between the Royal Navy Man-of-War, The HMS Surprise, and the French Privateer ship, The Acheron, as they stalk each off the coast of South America. At the Surprise's helm is Captain 'lucky' Jack Aubery, a veteran of the Battle of the Nile, and a brave and charismatic man who once served under Admiral Nelson. At his side is his best friend, the ship's doctor and physician, Dr. Stephen Maturin, a bookish and well learned man who enjoys playing the cello and likes to study natural history.
With their differing motives, interests and goals, Aubery and Maturin must band together and find a way to destroy or capture the Acheron. This will not be an easy task. The Acheron is larger, has a greater number of crewmen, and more firepower than the HMS Surprise.
Driven by an obsessive need to capture this elusive ship and preserve his honour, Aubrey leads his men on a difficult and dangerous journey, one that threatens to destroy his friendship with Maturin and cause a mutiny.

One of the film's great strengths is the relationship's between the characters. This is not so much a swashbuckling action adventure but a character driven drama that recreates life at sea 200 years ago.
The film is less concerned with the actual chase as it is with displaying the crew's moments at sea, from the terrifying storms, the camaraderie, the feuds, and the hardship. The film also goes on other diversions, such as Maturin's exploration of the Galapagos Islands, a good thirty years before Charles Darwin, and the drinking parties at the captain's table.

That said, when the film does get to the battles and the chases, it is nail bitingly suspensful and brilliantly filmed, from the short glimpses of the Acheron flitting between the fog, to the roar of thunderous cannon and flintlocks as the two crews engage. If you thought that musket and cannon warfare was rather quaint, this film will amaze you with its depcition of cannon balls crashing through ships, sending wood and shrapnel tearing through the crew. This film does to Napoleonic Warfare what Saving Private Ryan did to the Second World War, even if this film is a lot less bloody.

Overall, this an excellent film. The perfomances by the actors, especially Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany are brilliant and believable, and the film also has a wonderful soundtrack filled with contemporary folk songs and classical pieces. If you're expecting a swashbuckling adventure like Pirates of the Caribbean, then this film will disappoint, but if you want to see a brilliantly acted, suspensful, atmospheric and dramatic recreation of a world long ago, then Master and Commander is worth a watch.

Beautifully acted, beautifully filmed
Review date: 2008-06-09 Rating: 8 out of 10

If you had told me beforehand that I could have enjoyed a film which basically consists of one ship chasing another, I would have said you were insane, but this film is a gem. It's wonderfully atmospheric, with a sense of complete authenticity - the dangers at sea, the superstitions of the sailors, and the makeshift (and pretty gruesome) surgery. Paul Bettany shines like a beacon, and Russell Crowe reveals he's no makeweight in the acting stakes, managing to convey perfectly a man who both has trouble showing his feelings, and yet can also become completely obsessed with tracking down 'the enemy'. Terrific stuff!

Enjoyable, but how historically accurate?
Review date: 2008-06-02 Rating: 6 out of 10

Very enjoyable, but does this give us a true idea of life on a warship at the end of the 18c? I have only watched it once, and am no historian, but two things that were said didn't sound right. Firstly, they refer to the South American 'rain forest'. Surely this is a modern term; wouldn't they have called it the jungle? Secondly, when the Lord's Prayer is said it is an updated version, not that from the Book of Common Prayer ('who' instead of 'which' 'on' Earth instead of 'in'). Little things, but I would have got them right! If the script writers can't be trusted not to make obvious mistakes like these, what can we trust them with?

A superb piece of character drama, in the second half.
Review date: 2008-05-01 Rating: 8 out of 10

I had been putting off watching this film for some time, not for any other reason than I could not see when I would be in the mood for such a piece. However on watching it I was pleasantly surprised by what a great moment of cinema it is.
The story is simple in premise, however it flows consistently and the characters in this tale are a delight to follow. Great performances by Paul Bettany and Russell Crowe lay a solid foundation, however it is the supporting cast that truly make the piece an engaging adventure. Each actor seems to fit well into the role, and whilst they can sometimes seem simplistic in their methods I feel it is a good reflection of life as a seaman of the time.
The only downside to the film is that the first half, to me, did not have anything to truly grab the viewer. There are waves aplenty and lots of seamanship but it is only in the second half that the story really takes off, and when it does it really is worthy of praise.
In conclusion, if you can sit through the first half in knowledge that it indeed becomes a fantastic naval yarn then this film is very much worth a watch.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Billy Boyd
Russell Crowe
Edward Woodall
James D'Arcy
Paul Bettany

Creators:
Russell Crowe (Primary Contributor)
Paul Bettany (Primary Contributor)
Peter Weir (Writer)
Alan B. Curtiss (Producer)
Bob Weinstein (Producer)
Duncan Henderson (Producer)
Harvey Weinstein (Producer)
John Collee (Writer)
Patrick O'Brian (Writer)

Director(s):

Recording label: 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
EAN: 0024543114307
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 1
Format: Colour, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, Subtitled, NTSC,
Release date: 2004-04-20
Universal product code (UPC): 024543114307
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Region code: 1
Running time: 138 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2003-11-14
Language: English (Original Language)
Language: French (Original Language)
Language: Spanish (Original Language)
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: Spanish (Subtitled)
Language: French (Dubbed)
Language: Spanish (Dubbed)

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