Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #17235 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-03-06
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Formats: Box set, Collector's Edition, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 139 minutes

Synopsis
Based on a series of books by Patrick O'Brian, and directed by Peter Weir, MASTER AND COMMANDER plunges viewers deep into the story of a British Navy ship at sea during the Napoleonic war. Russell Crowe stars as Aubrey, the charismatic captain who wrestles with issues like honour, pride, duty, sacrifice and loyalty while using ingenious tactics to engage his prey a much larger and better-equipped French Man o' War. Paul Bettany plays his friend, the ship's doctor, who cautions Aubrey about letting revenge cloud his judgement after the French Man o' War almost sinks them in an early battle. Before the incredibly intense final skirmish the men battle a raging storm, launch an excursion to the Galapagos Islands, find time for grog-enhanced merriment, and endure some primitive surgery. Weir fills the film with a rich wealth of period detail, convincing dialogue and the same haunting, dreamlike mood that has informed his best films, like PICNIC AT HANGING ROCK, THE LAST WAVE and THE TRUMAN SHOW. The wealth of sounds and sights on display are so evocative one can practically smell the salt air and feel the heave of the ocean beneath their seats. Russell is intense and inspiring as Aubrey and Bettany proves a worthy match. MASTER AND COMMANDER is another triumph for Weir, and further evidence of his ability to fuse poetic realism with rousing entertainment.

Customer Reviews

exquisite period piece, good swashbuckling adventure
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)

Crowe as Aubrey
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
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.