MASTER and COMMANDER

A very nicely directed film, superbly accurate detailing and well cast - fantastic!!!

 

 

Possibly the most realistic and exciting sea saga to date.  If you get a chance to see this film at the movies, it is better to choose a state of the art theater. You'll know why five minutes in.  I was lucky enough to see this great film in Portsmouth after a day clambering over HMS Victory and HMS Warrior.  Hence, I had just become accustomed to the conditions onboard a real ship of the line, real cannons, etc.

The filming was technically perfect.  The direction fantastic.  Russell Crowe has been one of my favourite actors since Gladiator.  He simply needed to be himself to breath life into this part and I think he got it right.  It's stirring stuff, uncluttered by love, or indeed almost anything else, except the diverse onboard botanist's forays, which, being a scientist myself, I could forgive.  This must have been what it was like in the Royal Navy in 1805. One ship, 197 men, 4500 miles from home. Chasing a French ship twice her size. No retreat.

 

Master and Commander film, Russel Crowe

Russell Crowe - Magnificent

 

Plot Outline: During the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America

User Comments: The Most Realistic and Exciting Sea Saga to date.  


Cast overview, first billed only:

Russell Crowe

Capt. Jack Aubrey

Paul Bettany

Dr. Stephen Maturin, Surgeon

James D'Arcy

1st Lt. Tom Pullings

Edward Woodall

2nd Lt. William Mowett

Chris Larkin

Capt. Howard, Royal Marines

Max Pirkis

Blakeney, Midshipman

Jack Randall

Boyle, Midshipman

Max Benitz

Calamy, Midshipman

Lee Ingleby

Hollom, Midshipman

Richard Pates

Williamson, Midshipman

Robert Pugh

Mr. Allen, Master

Richard McCabe

Mr. Higgins, Surgeon's Mate

Ian Mercer

Mr. Hollar, Boatswain

Tony Dolan

Mr. Lamb, Carpenter

David Threlfall

Preserved Killick, Captain's Steward


Also Known As:  Far Side of the World, The (2002) (Australia) (working title) (USA) (working title)
MPAA: Rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences, related images, and brief language.
Runtime: 138 min
Country: USA
Language: English / French / Portuguese
Color: Color
Sound Mix: Dolby Digital / DTS
Certification: Argentina:13 / Australia:M / Brazil:14 / Canada:14A / Chile:TE / Finland:K-11 / Germany:12 (bw) / Hong Kong:IIA / Norway:11 / Singapore:PG / Spain:7 / Sweden:11 / UK:12A / USA:PG-13 (certificate #39922)



Pirates of the Caribbean was also a great film but for different reasons.  However, Master and Commander takes the biscuit for beleivability.  Real ships, real crews, real cannon, convincing characters and historical accuracy.

Director/ Peter Weir (Witness) has returned big time and, with this one film, revived classic Australian realism. This is not a fantasy film, but history - painstakingly recreated. Rousing history it is, with plenty of action. The adaptation by Weir and John Colley is right on target, brimming with great characters and scenes.  A real life .

What of Russell Crowe?  Gladiator converted me, where Connery, Clint, Willis, Niro and Cage were and are characters you could identify with.  Russell just gets better.  As to Beautiful Mind - this film demonstrates his flexibility.

Weir is one of our great directors.  Now he's been given all the toys Peter Jackson enjoys, and he uses them to great effect - recreating a nautical reality that lacks nothing except the need to wipe your face every ten seconds. The cutting of Russel Boyd's fabulous photography is perfect. You get to know every inch of the ship, topside and down below. You also get a strong sense of the social dynamics on board - how men got along with each other for so many months. I felt swept along in a perfect mix of virile action and characters I could get to know and care for. One thing I loved was the constant caring between many of the men along the rank and file. There's a strong sense of honor and decency in the film. Yet enough grog flows to keep things loose.

Congratulations to everyone involved.  Apart from the immense entertainment, I hope to see another film ASAP and would urge the film company to capitalise on a winning formula.

 


 


 

Has everything you'd expect from a high-seas adventure movie -- thrilling battles, threatening weather conditions, bravery, treachery and a wonderfully realized atmosphere where you can practically taste and smell the saltwater."
-- Glenn Whipp, LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS

  "A fine, handsomely crafted adventure film, but not much more."
-- Jeffrey Westhoff, NORTHWEST HERALD (CRYSTAL LAKE, IL)

  "Weir's finest film since the brilliant The Mosquito Coast. Bettany is terrific."
-- Gregory Weinkauf, NEW TIMES

  "It's quite easy to just sit back and enjoy Master and Commander as the refined spectacle it clearly is."
-- Scott Weinberg, EFILMCRITIC.COM

  "The arguments between Bettany and Crowe don't seem like typical leader-and-subordinate confrontations, but have real philosophical edge, and are beautifully played."
-- Ian Waldron-Mantgani, UK CRITIC

  "Ao tornar o espectador íntimo da tripulação do H.M.S. Surprise, Peter Weir confere uma dimensão adicional ao conflito."
-- Pablo Villaca, CINEMA EM CENA

  "While not a must see, this is a well made and entertaining film."
-- John Venable, SUPERCALA.COM

  "This is an epic film that takes the relations of these men (not a single woman aboard!) in a ‘floating wooden prison’ as a base for an impressive film well worth seeing."
-- Boyd Van Hoeij, BIBLOI.COM

  "Weir is the right director, Crowe is the right star. I can't think of another actor who could give Aubrey the physical authority, the credibility and the charm that he needs."
-- Gary Thompson, PHILADELPHIA DAILY NEWS

  "An exceptionally intelligent and robust old-fashioned maritime yarn that has the snap of fresh sea air...impeccably realized by a director of uncommonly good taste and style."
-- Frank Swietek, ONE GUY'S OPINION

  "While the work and expense clearly shows in every frame, it winds up being in the service of a film not quite worthy of it."
-- Peter Sobczynski, CRITIC DOCTOR

  "This is a film that is literally all about the journey, not the destination. It is, though, a rather entertaining journey at times, and never a dull one."
-- Eric D. Snider, ERICDSNIDER.COM

  "Just to be clear, "Master and Commander" is not a homosexual love story, or at least it's not intended to be..."
-- Vanessa Sibbald, ZAP2IT.COM

 "It’s The Perfect Storm with a far more rousing story, or U-571 with hugely better dialogue. I can’t help but love this one."
-- Brian Webster, APOLLO GUIDE

  "Bookended by pulsing, vigorous battle sequences, which, in wood-shattering detail, rival those of Saving Private Ryan."
-- Phil Villarreal, ARIZONA DAILY STAR

  "In a lot of ways, this film has what many of us wanted out of the third Matrix movie but didn't get: action, but with brains and actual characterization and without the ponderous, pseudo-spiritual mumbo-jumbo."
-- Jeff Vice, DESERET NEWS, SALT LAKE CITY

  "Event films need not cater to the lowest denominator, and 'action-packed' doesn't have to mean 'devoid of thought.'"
-- Rob Vaux, FLIPSIDE MOVIE EMPORIUM

  "The filmmakers rock us with each volley of cannon fire, storm-driven wave and grisly moment of hand-to-hand combat. They've made a thrilling traditional nautical picture from untraditional books."
-- Lawrence Toppman, CHARLOTTE OBSERVER

  "The seafaring adventure Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World has few 30-foot waves going for it, and very little else that would excite anyone but geeky 12-year-old boys who like to make sailing ships out of matchsticks."
-- Ella Taylor, L.A. WEEKLY

  "A rip-roaring adventure combining edge-of-your-seat battle scenes with vivid historical details and more fascinating characters than most action movies dream of."
-- David Sterritt, CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR

  "As Crowe works his magic in front of the camera, a meticulous production is at work beneath the surface."
-- Steven Snyder, ZERTINET MOVIES

  "Thoughtful and absorbing, "Master and Commander" will move deservedly into port this February, where it will wage its next battle at the Academy Awards. "
-- Christopher Smith, BANGOR DAILY NEWS (MAINE)

  "It’s not often we get a movie so masterfully commanded by its director...and so thoroughly inhabited by its star."
-- Randy Shulman, METRO

 

Master and Commander (Aubrey-Maturin (Paperback))  by Patrick O'Brian

 

 

 

 

A - Z ACTORS INDEX

 

 

 

Adam Sandler

Al Gore

Alec Baldwin

Angelina Jolie

Anthony Hopkins

Arnold Shwazenneger

Arnold Vosloo

Ashlea Kaye

Ben Affleck

Ben Stiller

Brad Pitt

Brendan Fraser

Bruce Willis

Burt Lancaster

Catherine Zeta Jones

Charlize Theron

Chris Cooper

Clark Gable

Clint Eastwood

Collin Farrell

Daniel Craig

Demi Moore

Dennis Hopper

Denzel Washington

Dermot Mulroney

Drew Barrymore

Dwayne Johnson

Eric Bana

Eva Green

George Clooney

Gerard Butler

Gerard Depardieu

Glen Close

Goldie Hawn

Gregory Peck

 

 

Gwyneth Paltrow

Halle Berry

Harrison Ford

Harvey Keitel

Hugh Jackman

Humphrey Bogart

Ian Holm

Ingrid Bergman

Jack Black

Jack Nicholson

James Caan

James Cromwell

James McAvoy

Jason Statham

Jean Reno

Jeff Bridges

Jeff Daniels

Jennifer Garner

Jim Carrey

Joaquin Phoenix

John Hurt

John Mcavoy

John Travolta

John Wayne

Johnny Depp

Judi Dench

Julia Roberts

Julie Andrews

Kate Hudson

Kate Winslett

Kathy Bates

Keanu Reeves

Keira Knightley

Kevin Spacey

Kim Basinger

 

Kirk Douglas

Kirsten Dunst

Kristen Bell

Kurt Russell

Leonardo di Caprio

Liam Neeson

Linda King

Linda Kozlowski

Lindsay Lohan

Liz Hurley

Mads Mikkelsen

Marilyn Monroe

Mark Wahlberg

Marlon Brando

Matt Damon

Matthew McConaughey

Megan Fox

Mel Gibson

Michael Cain

Michael Douglas

Michael Fassbender

Michael J Fox

Michael Keaton

Michelle Pfeiffer

Mike Myers

Morgan Freeman

Naomi Watts

Nicholas Cage

Nicole Kidman

Orlando Bloom

Owen Wilson

Paul Bettany

Paul Hogan

Penelope Cruz

Pierce Brosnan

 

 

Rachel Weisz

Rebecca De Mornay

Reese Witherspoon

Rennee Zellweger

Richard Gere

Robert de Niro

Roger Moore

Russell Crowe

Sally Edwards

Sam Neil

Sam Worthington

Samuel L Jackson

Sandra Bullock

Scarlett Johansson

Sean Connery

Sharon Stone

Shia LeBeouf

Shirley Temple

Sigourney Weaver

Stanley Baker

Stephen Chow

Steve Martin

Steve McQueen

Steven Segal

Slyvester Stalone

Ted Danson

Tim Roth

Tobey Maguire

Tom Cruise

Tom Hanks

Tommy Lee Jones

Uma Thurman

Willem Dafoe

Will Smith

Yul Brynner

 

 

 

 

 

A - Z FILMS INDEX

 

 

 

13 GOING ON 30

16 BLOCKS

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA

A PERFECT STORM

ALIEN

AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

ATONEMENT

AUSTIN POWERS

BABE

BACK TO THE FUTURE

BATMAN

BIG MIRACLE

BRAVEHEART

BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S

BRIDGET JONES' DIARY

CASABLANCA

CASINO ROYALE

CAST AWAY

CATWOMAN

CHRISTINE

CON AIR

CROCODILE DUNDEE

DAREDEVIL

DEAD CALM

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

DIE HARD

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS

DISCLOSURE

DOLORES CLAIBORNE

DOLPHIN TALE

DR. NO

DUMB AND DUMBER

ERIN BROCKOVICH

FATAL ATTRACTION

FIRE ON THE AMAZON

FLIPPER

FLY AWAY HOME

FREE WILLY

FRENCH KISS

FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE

GLADIATOR

GOLDFINGER

 

 

GONE WITH THE WIND

HARRY POTTER

HORNBLOWER

INDIANA JONES

JAMES BOND

JAWS

JURASSIC PARK

JUST LIKE HEAVEN

KING KONG

KUNG FU HUSTLE

LEON

MAN ON FIRE

MASTER and COMMANDER

MEAN GIRLS

MEDICINE MAN

MEN OF HONOUR

MISERY

MISS CONGENIALITY

MOBY DICK

MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY

NAKED GUN

NATIONAL TREASURE

OUT OF TIME

OVERBOARD

PARENT TRAP

PAYBACK

PEARL HARBOUR

PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN

PLANET OF THE APES

PRETTY WOMAN

PROMETHEUS

PSYCHO

P2 DEAD MANS CHEST

QUANTUM OF SOLACE

RACE THE SUN

RAMBO

ROB ROY

ROBIN HOOD PRINCE OF THEIVES

ROBOCOP

ROXANNE

SCHOOL OF ROCK

SCOTT OF THE ANTARCTIC

 

 

SEABISCUIT

SHORT CIRCUIT

SKYFALL

SPEED

SPIDERMAN

STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN

STAR GATE

STAR TREK

STAR WARS

THE 39 STEPS

THE AVIATOR

THE COUNT OF MONTE CHRISTO

THE DA VINCI CODE

THE DAMBUSTERS

THE FLY

THE FOG

THE MASK

THE MATRIX

THE MUMMY

THE MUMMY RETURNS

THE PATRIOT

THE PERFECT STORM

THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS

THE SOUND OF MUSIC

THE TERMINATOR

THE THING

THE WITCHES OF EASTWICK

THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH

THE WORLDS FASTEST INDIAN

THUNDERBALL

TITANIC

TOMORROW NEVER DIES

TOP GUN

TRADING PLACES

TREASURE ISLAND

TROY

TRUE GRIT

UNFORGIVEN

YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE

WAR OF THE WORLDS  

WATERLOO BRIDGE

ZULU

 

 

 

 

Sectasaur

 

Scifi adventure set in the Antarctic where scientists discover giant insects from the age of dinosaurs. A deadly rivalry develops between expeditionary archaeologists, John Storm is hired by the UN for his DNA expertise, unaware of the dangers ahead.

 

 

Master & Commander   - Youtube

 

Two Weevils - Youtube

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Solar Navigator triple hull SWASH trimaran tank test model

 

The Solar Navigator - SWASSH (Small Waterplane Area Stabilized Single Hull) test model 2012

The latest Solarnavigator is a robot ship designed to be capable of an autonomous world navigation set for an attempt in 2015 if all goes according to schedule. The platform is also ideal for persistent monitoring 365 days year 24/7 - with data streamed back to your command HQ via satellite.

 

 

 

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