Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Director:

Peter Weir

Writers:

Patrick O'Brian (novels)
Peter Weir (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

The Courage To Do The Impossible Lies In The Hearts of Men.

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Shot In The Head | Shot In The Stomach | Blood | All Male Cast | No Opening Credits

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 55 nominations

Cast

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:

The Far Side of the World (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

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES | Dolby Digital EX | SDDS

Certification:

France:-12 (DVD rating) | Portugal:M/12 | Malaysia:U | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | South Korea:12 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39922)

Filming Locations:

Mexico

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

Coincidentally, during the film's pre-production, the replica of Captain James Cook's ship, HMS Endeavour, was circumnavigating the globe. The production was able to fly 2 cameramen to the ship as it was about to sail round the bottom of South America, a route the HMS Surprise takes in the film. Thus, the footage of the stormy seas from that part of the voyage is genuine.

Goofs:

Factual errors: In many scenes HMS Surprise/HMS Rose is clearly motoring, as the sails are either hanging limp or aback. In one scene the ship seems to be making at least 5 knots with all sails backed.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Preserved Killick, Captain's Steward: [taking egg from chicken coup] Come on, come on. It's all right.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 61st Annual Golden Globe Awards (2004) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Adagio from Concerto Grosso Op. 6, no. 8 in G Minor Christmas Concerto

I wish they'd make a dozen of sequels

Peter Weir has directed a bunch of will-be-Oscar-nominated movies. For me, this is not a merit for a filmmaker, since Oscar-dramas are usually 95% of entertainment, which by itself isn't interesting. His style is very compromising and clean, you are not surprised by originality, but you can enjoy the professional touch he has in his work.

Another Australian, Russell Crowe is also a professional, but has some weak points in his acting, mainly caused by certain machismo he desperately tries to maintain in all his characters.

Rest of the cast was unfamiliar to me and I had not read any Patrick O'Brian books. But the sea itself, tall ships and the Napoleonic Wars are of course great elements to base the story on, especially for a amateur war historian and summertime sailor like me.

I was surprised, how truly good Master and Commander was. A true adventure! I enjoyed the whole film and could not find anything I wouldn't like. Things were different in back then and Master and Commander presents its version of the Napoleonic Era. It looks very rich and detailed. Undoubtedly O'Brian novels form a fine background for the excellent screenplay. Soundtrack is very well done too, and musical scenes with Aubrey and Maturin playing duet with violin and cello ties their friendship. One of the best things in Master and Commander is the heartwarming friendship between these two characters.

It's like Weir and Crowe were born and trained to do this movie. And obviously I have born to watch it, since I've seen it five times so far. A perfect jewel of its kind. Oh, how I wish they'd make a dozen of sequels, especially since the end was sort of open and had a sense of continuation. If I had watched this movie when I was 12 I probably would have had a career in the navy...