Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World (Widescreen Edition)

MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD stars Russell Crowe as Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey, master and commander of the 'HMS Surprise,' on war patrol during the first worldwide war of the Napoleonic era (1805). Crowe is perfectly cast as Aubrey, an intelligent, erudite captain who can both inspire and lead his men with fairness and firmness, only occasionally resorting to the knout.

MASTER AND COMMANDER is gorgeously done, the ships are authentically recreated, and the atmosphere of the film never thins. For anyone familiar with the history of seafaring conditions in those days, the film is somewhat sparse in showing us the true underside of life before the mast on board a late eighteenth century/early 19th century British man-o'-war: A stinking, dirty, dark, dank, impossibly cramped and crowded space most often painted red to hide the bloodstains from work wounds, war wounds, and fights. Compared to the reality, the 'Surprise' might as well be the 'Mauretania,' but beyond this lapse, the film is an honest portrayal. Sailors, be they professional, military, or recreational, will love it.

Some reviewers have derided this film as being "boring." It is not. However, a drawback of making accurate films about the Age of Sail is that a jack tar's life in those years was defined by backbreaking, repetitive daily labor altogether adding up to long stretches of ennui, punctuated by short, incredibly violent and bloody exchanges with the enemy. To be an honest portrayal, a film cannot find its way around this central fact.

Captain Aubrey and his crew and ship, including his friend, Dr. Stephen Maturin, a surgeon and naturalist, are attacked by the French battle ship 'Acheron.' After being trounced, Captain Aubrey becomes as obsessed as Melville's Ahab with hunting down the adversary, and takes his vessel around Cape Horn, into the Southern Ocean, the Pacific, and to the Galapagos Islands to meet battle.

While at the Galapagos, Maturin discovers dozens of new species of life and formulates a theory regarding the origin of these species, but the demands of the service call the 'Surprise' away before he can collect specimens or coalesce his ideas, leaving it to Darwin to do so not many years later.

As the film closes, the 'Surprise' continues on her war patrol, leaving the door open for a sequel.

RECOMMENDED

After watching this movie, one can't help wondering how could a movie be both very very loud but so dull that you can fall asleep in the nonstop noise?

Story: D-
Acting: F

Version: U.S.A / Region-A
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50
Running time: 2:18:20
Movie size: 37,07 GB
Disc size: 44,16 GB
Average video bit rate: 27.86 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 4349 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio French 448 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 448 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz

Subtitles: English SDH / Chinese / Spanish / Korean

#Deleted Scenes (SD, 24 min.)
#Theatrical Trailer (HD, 3 min.)
#Historical and Geographical Trivia Track
#Pop-Up Map
#Search Content
#Personal Scene Selections
#D-Box Motion Code

Let me just start by saying that I love this movie already, and this bluray does not disappoint, epic sea battles in glorious hidef, whats not to love,if you like this movie buy this bluray, it is beautiful to watch.

Peter Weir is amazing. Utterly and absolutely amazing.

In the first 2 or 3 minutes of the movie, the only sound is the ocean. No music. No dialogue. Nothing loud. Simply the gentle susurration of the water. And yet, such an amazing amount of information is conveyed in that short period of time.

The opening volley - in the quite literal sense - was shocking. Completely shocking in its violence, its comprehensiveness. Even watching it tonight, for the n-th time, I am jolted from the mild, placid tension to a breathtaking, gut-clenching cringe from the screen. Yes, a feat of CGI; but the actual choice of imagery is the wonder.

People can drone on about the `accuracy' or `authenticity' of the visual presentation (sure, I can be one of them). But the more amazing feat is the astonishing amount of the story which is told without words. Either in a simple visual manner, such as the initial minutes of the film, or as a miscellaneous background, a subliminal presentation, such as the dinner with the captain in the middle of the film where he announces the Galapagos Is. as their destination. It isn't the dialogue here, but the simple manner in which the dinner occurs, with singing and drinking and drinking with everyone having a crewman behind his chair, with the absolute absence of any women (there are 2 on screen for about 30 seconds while they're picking up stuff in Brazil).

It is the manner in which Weir frames the dialogue, with images and motion, and music which make the film so powerful.

I've read all of O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin novels, and several of his others. (Did you know he wrote Bedknobs and Broomsticks??) When I realized "Far Side of the World" was being made into a movie, I swore in delight. I then swore in frustration. If I decide to see an adapted screenplay, I avoid reading the book, if possible. It lets me take the film on its own merits. I was only on no. 8; Far Side of the World is no. 10. I had to put off reading the rest of the novels for a year and a half. Argh!

Quite a bit is missing; several bits are from other novels in the series. E.g., Ensign Hollum jumps ship with the gunner's wife, whom he's gotten pregnant (she's not in the book). Dr. Maturin does name some huge tortoise after Capt. Aubrey, but it's a few novels earlier when they're somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Bits & pieces from other parts are in the movie, obviously taking the entire opus as the field from which to pick the best phrases or images.

With the whole concept of framing the story, the entire story is on ship, with a brief respite on the Galapagos Is. There is no world outside of the crew. And yet, with such a small, enclosed space, it is presented as just that, a world within itself. This will assuredly remain one of my favorite movies of all time. The judgment of which is whether or not I'll buy the next-generation of video medium (blue-ray HD DVD whatever).

The extra disc of "extras" is amusing and informative. It's quite long, giving you an opportunity to spend another couple of hours watching it. It's a pleasant addition to understanding how the movie was made, especially with Wier's discussion.

Elizabeth's rating:
Definitely go see it on the big screen at full price (if you ever get a chance)