I loved it. Absolutely.

207.67.53.106

Posted by Harmonia on December 6, 2005 at 14:10:08

In Reply to: "Master and Commander:" posted by tinear on December 5, 2005 at 16:33:45:

I suppose I've been a fan of O'Brien's novels since circa 1994. BTW, I do think these books are "literature" and highly recommend them to any fan of Jane Austen and/or sea tales, of which I suspect there are few on this forum :-)

I thought Weir did a fine job on M&C, which wasn't so much an adaptation of any specific book as much as it was a fantasia on the Aubrey & Maturin using themes and a rough outline from several. It really is the best movie of its type IMO, and true to the spirit of the novels, if not the precise letter. M&C isn't Alexander Nevsky but it is a well crafted adventure yarn - I call it an action pic for smart people. It is another universe from sand & sandal epics or MTV historicals like Gladiator.

I'm not a fan of Crowe personally (how????) but he gave a fine performance in this film, as did Paul Bettany.

The film itself, while a "rousing adventure" type of entertainment, was not particualarly dumbed down or Hollywood-ized IMO. In fact, it is anything but a typical adventuire flick and I'm sure the themes and pacing of the film were quite trying for those with short attention spans. M&C boasts a literate script, gorgeous cinematography, excellent supporting performances, amazing (and fairly accurate) production design and the best soundscape design I have ever heard in any film (and not just the battle scenes).

Speaking of battles - Victor - M&C isn't really about large, pitched sea battles a la Trafalgar et al. Those were actually quite rare. The "Surprise", the frigate commanded by Aubrey, was muich too small to take part in a fight of that sort. The plot of M&C is centers around the cat & mouse game played with a single ship, which is more the type of engagement Surprise would have encountered.

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Follow Ups Full Thread

Topic - "Master and Commander:" - tinear 16:33:45 12/05/05 (22)

The DVD has an excellent surround sound mix - grinagog 16:09:26 12/06/05 (0)

I loved it. Absolutely. - Harmonia 14:10:08 12/06/05 (0)

Re: "Master and Commander:" - rico 06:19:45 12/06/05 (0)

it was a decent flick - Mart 04:51:54 12/06/05 (1)

Agree. nt - clarkjohnsen 10:17:56 12/07/05 (0)

Re: "Master and Commander:" - patrickU 01:12:07 12/06/05 (0)

You appear to assume obviousness and unanimity... - EBerlin 23:18:13 12/05/05 (1)

A glass with you, my dear sir. - Hamonia 14:11:03 12/06/05 (0)

Master and Commander= Russell Crowe= overpaid/over-rated/overindulgent actor.... - TWB 22:43:12 12/05/05 (0)

Just curious... what made you want to see it again? - Victor Khomenko 17:46:43 12/05/05 (12)

Well, I remembered it took the pains to develop the characters - tinear 05:31:22 12/06/05 (9)

Re: Well, I remembered it took the pains to develop the characters - Victor Khomenko 06:21:50 12/06/05 (8)

I am not a huge fan of Crowe's, Vic, so I surprised myself - tinear 11:45:06 12/06/05 (7)

Re: I am not a huge fan of Crowe's, Vic, so I surprised myself - patrickU 12:34:05 12/06/05 (6)

I believe the proof of Crowe's masterful performance lies in the fact - tinear 14:32:10 12/06/05 (5)

Re: I believe the proof of Crowe's masterful performance lies in the fact - jamesgarvin 14:18:55 12/07/05 (4)

You think directors dictate to actors about how to interpret their roles? - tinear 14:28:37 12/07/05 (3)

You're incorrect about this. nt - sjb 12:54:22 12/08/05 (0)

Re: You think directors dictate to actors about how to interpret their roles? - jamesgarvin 08:19:44 12/08/05 (1)

Re: You think directors dictate to actors about how to interpret their roles? - AudioHead 08:44:43 12/12/05 (0)

Documentary Realism? - Bolt_Snypr 19:41:11 12/05/05 (1)

Re: Documentary Realism? - Victor Khomenko 06:28:01 12/06/05 (0)

Follow Ups

I loved it. Absolutely. - Harmonia 14:10:08 12/06/05 (0)

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