"Master and Commander" was well worthy of its 10 Academy Award nominations. It is rare these days to come across a film that is this intelligently scripted and directed. It is wonderfully subtle, sensitive and powerfully moving at times, occasionally humorous, and yet tense and gripping at other times. The attention to visual and audio detail is incredibly rich and makes owning on DVD well worthwhile. Every time I have watched this I have discovered new details previously unnoticed.
I saw this film before I had read any of the Patrick O'Brian books upon which it is based, and I have to give Peter Weir and his crew even more credit after having become familiar with the novels. While the film borrows snippets from several of the books, and is only loosely based on "The Far Side of the World", I am extremely impressed with and appreciative of the attention that was paid to the characters' personas and relationships to each other. This film was obviously put together by people who greatly admired and respected O'Brian's creations.
Some naysayers here have accused this film of lacking plot, and I have to wonder if they understand what the word means. In addition to the main plot involving the tense and fascinating cat-and-mouse chase between the Surprise and the French privateer, there are various sub-plots involving the relationships between Captain Aubrey and Doctor Maturin as well as the other officers, midshipmen, and rest of the crew. There is something gripping going on in almost every scene, providing plenty of pace to the film.
The acting is excellent and the always charismatic Russell Crowe makes a perfect Aubrey in my opinion. The Maturin of the novels is a bit darker character than what is presented in the film, but Paul Bettany does such a wonderful job with the role that that is not even worth a criticism.
An excellent soundtrack employing lush, classical music adds to the enjoyment of the film.
My only regret is that they don't make nearly enough films of this kind any more...one of my top favorites in our DVD library.
I saw this film before I had read any of the Patrick O'Brian books upon which it is based, and I have to give Peter Weir and his crew even more credit after having become familiar with the novels. While the film borrows snippets from several of the books, and is only loosely based on "The Far Side of the World", I am extremely impressed with and appreciative of the attention that was paid to the characters' personas and relationships to each other. This film was obviously put together by people who greatly admired and respected O'Brian's creations.
Some naysayers here have accused this film of lacking plot, and I have to wonder if they understand what the word means. In addition to the main plot involving the tense and fascinating cat-and-mouse chase between the Surprise and the French privateer, there are various sub-plots involving the relationships between Captain Aubrey and Doctor Maturin as well as the other officers, midshipmen, and rest of the crew. There is something gripping going on in almost every scene, providing plenty of pace to the film.
The acting is excellent and the always charismatic Russell Crowe makes a perfect Aubrey in my opinion. The Maturin of the novels is a bit darker character than what is presented in the film, but Paul Bettany does such a wonderful job with the role that that is not even worth a criticism.
An excellent soundtrack employing lush, classical music adds to the enjoyment of the film.
My only regret is that they don't make nearly enough films of this kind any more...one of my top favorites in our DVD library.