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Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World (Special Edition) [2003]


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exquisite period piece, good swashbuckling adventure
Review date: 2008-05-23 Rating: 8 out of 10

Albeit set in a totally male-dominated enviroment, "Master and Commander" should not be seen as a man's movie. Yeah, no women, no passion, no romance; but this is not merely a tale of shipful of intrepid swashbucklers in the age of sail. The film favors style and substance at the same time, working either a visual or emotional level which makes it appeal to all audiences. Good character development, subtle nuances and several subplots about "souls" aboard give the film a cerebral depth and dimension.

But, the real treat of the film is the cinematography and set-design. The photography is gorgeous from the first scene to the last. The attention to authentic details is fascinating. Roughness of sea life, ruthless measures of maintaining order & obedience, claustrophobic feel of being aboard, details of ships (e.g. rigging) and ambiance of naval warfares on high seas are so well presented that you'll smell the tang of salt spray, cannon powder, blood and sweat; experience the clang of swords, crack of rifles, roar of cannons and thrust of bayonets.

Battle scenes are exciting to watch, utilizing CGIs at proper place at proper dosage. The tempest which takes HMS Surprise's mast is one of the most impressive portrayed on a film I've seen for a long time. The beauty is everything looks all natural and it doesn't rely on the CGI crutch as much as " Pirates of the Caribbean " sequel did. Almost impossible to tell which scenes are real, which are computerized. Galápagos Islands and its fauna is impressive. The dialogue is authentic too, replete with naval jargon and salty language that might be confusing to landlubbers. On the other hand, I must say zillions of these colorful, intricate details which fills up nearly every scene make the film helluva tiresome to watch at times.

To sum up, though its ending is left in suspense and a sequel is implied, "Master of Commander" is a tiring but exciting movie to watch, albeit not Peter Weir's and Russell Crowe's best. (3.9/5.0)

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Reviews


Crowe as Aubrey
Review date: 2007-09-19 Rating: 10 out of 10

Who else with natural blond hair could have played Aubrey? Who else would have put on weight to play him (apart from de Niro in his pomp) bearing in mind Aubrey was always wrestling with his embonpoint? Who else would have stood in the crow's nest (think Nelson's column for height but waving around with the sea swell) just for a single shot? Who else could have that truculent, loveable, naive style about him? And as for his accent, the court's Hanoverian accent had not begun filtering down to give us those hard German consonants and roooouuund vowels we think of as the 'correct' upper-class English accent; his native Oz accent would probably be closer to the real thing! (Alarming...) It's a film I find myself returning to time and time again for its sense of a ship at sea, the community, the authenticity. Bettany is superb as ever though as Maturin is supposed to look like O'Brian, small, rather ugly, dark, spylike, quite miscast but who cares? Superb. The final scene, Maturin's Galapagos trip interrupted by the requirements of the service, Crowe's playful 'These birds are flightless?' and them playing that delightful music with the last shot of the Acheron in the distance is as moving to me as the last balloon shot at the end of 'Oh what a lovely war'... Please providence send some kind billionaire (there are enough of them these days) to finance a sequel from his/her ill-gotten sub-prime gains before Weir and Crowe sail out of our lives and into film history.Thank heavens for Weir, I say.

Tremendous period thriller
Review date: 2007-09-01 Rating: 10 out of 10

I gave this film a look on dvd having seen it at the cinema and felt vaguely disappointed as it didn't grip the throat like 'Gladiator.'

Glad I did. This is an excellent film, totally convincing in its period detail and exhilirating in its execution. The early shots, when french cannonballs rake through the HMS Surprise, are superb, wonderful.

Russell Crowe looks chunkier than he did in 'Gladiator', but he is still the Ultimate Warrior. As 'lucky Jack' Aubrey, he owns the screen. In particular, his speech to the men as they prepare to board the French ship that has been dogging them for weeks is perfectly delivered. 'Do you want guillotines in Whitehall?' he asks the men and gets a resounding 'no' In that brief exchange, you get a real sense of what motivated Englishmen to fight the Napoleonic wars. Very impressive.

Crowe has a problem in that he is matched with Paul Bettaney, the English actor who is practically Kevin Bacon-like in his ability to act anyone off the screen. Bettaney is brilliant. As the ship's doctor, he brings a humanity to the role which is like having a wet twenty-first century liberal in every scene - acting as our conscience - though still manages to be heroic and just ..... right.

The acting honours aside, where Master and Commander really scores is in the direction and cinematogrophy. Director Peter Weir is a master himself. He did Witness and Picnic at Hanging Rock and makes each scene tell, from the drunken ribaldry of the state room to the eerie silences of the fog.

Bettaney , Crowe et al are signed up for sequels, but that clause will never be activated as Master and Commander did not do the business at the box office. God alone knows why. Get this out, have a shot of grog and enjoy the best - absolutely the best - sea warfare film.

Not the best
Review date: 2007-05-12 Rating: 4 out of 10

This film was recommended to me as I put a good vote on Pirates of the caribean, though it is not by far the worst film i have ever seen it definitely is a film that I woulndt be slinging in my DVD player again in a hurry.

Russel Crowe plays the captain of a ship that takes a pasting of an enemy ship, and guess what he is going to chase that ship halfway round the world to pummel 7 shades into it! Almost as predictable as Titanic but for me a lot less vision!

A great idea that could have done with somthing to make it a bit special to set it out.

continental drift happens quicker then this film
Review date: 2006-12-24 Rating: 4 out of 10

Before we go much further, I will level with you and say that I am not a big fan of Russell Crowe. Since his breakthrough performances in LA Confidential (in which he was brilliant) and Gladiator (in which he was less brilliant but took to the role of screen icon with gusto), I think his star has been much on the decline, particularly in his choice of roles. So this struck me as being an attempt by him to return to doing the kind of thing that first made him a big star, namely a historical action adventure movie.
Unfortunately, in order for a film to be an action adventure movie, a film needs action and adventure, and this film has neither. Directed with foot dragging slowness by Peter Weir, it tells the tale of Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey, the commander of the HMS Surprise. The year is 1805, and Napoleon rules much of Europe, and stands ready to invade Britain. Of the coast of Brazil, the Surprise has been tasked with chasing down and either capturing or sinking the French privateer The Archeron, which is menacing British shipping. After an initial encounter, the Surprise spends the rest of the movie either chasing or being chased by the Archeron until the inevitable showdown, and herein lies the problem. Aside from a couple of sequences at the beginning and more or less the end of the film, there is very little by way of action in the movie, the plot concentrating instead on life aboard ship and the friendship between Aubrey and his ships surgeon Dr Maturin, an all round pacifist and amateur naturalist, played with charm and conviction by Paul Bettany, who is one of the few reasons for watching this movie. Whilst their friendship is interesting at first, providing much of the tension in the film as Maturins pacifist ideals come up against Aubreys desire for war and glory, it is not interesting enough to fill the time between encounters with the enemy ship.
Adapted from the books by Patrick O'Brien, and with a changed timeline (originally set in 1812, when the "baddies" where the Americans, but if they stuck with that it probably wouldn't play to well in the States, but no one minds if the enemies French), the film lacks pace and punch. Unfortunately, with a subject that promised so much, this film delivers very little.



Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Russell Crowe
Richard McCabe
Chris Larkin
Paul Bettany

Creators:
Russell Crowe (Primary Contributor)
Paul Bettany (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
EAN: 5039036026369
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 2
Format: Box set, Collector's Edition, PAL,
Release date: 2006-03-06
Audience rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 139 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2003
Language: English (Original Language)

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