|
The captain and hero of the yarn is Lucky Jack Aubrey (Crowe)
a skilled sailor always eager to cross blades with the French.
His ship is the HMS Surprise, a nice-running vessel that
- like the captain - looks as if it has seen better days,
and few naval dramas have shown life at sea in the age of
fighting sail as realistically as Master and Commander.
The Surprise is cramped, men stoop while between decks and
the food is awful, but even more life-like is the destruction
that is wrought by 18 and 24-pound cannonballs as they smash
through oaken walls sending giant deadly splinters into bodies.
Much of the film's realism is due to the Patrick O'Brian
novels it is based on, and also to the excellent direction
of Peter Weir and the performances of the cast.
Aubrey's doctor and best mate is Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany)
who you would have to say ends the movie on equal-hero status
with his friend. Bettany is just terrific and the character
wonderfully rounded.
The storyline, too, is excellent with the Surprise hunting
down a French frigate that is thought to be heading towards
a British whaling fleet in order to plunder its cargo and
wealth.
But first our heroes find themselves in deep water as the
French become the hunters and Aubrey's crew find themselves
well and truly in harm's way.
The twists within the plot really give this movie a boost
and will have you on the edge of your seat at times.
So will the terrible seas the Surprise is forced to battle
rounding Cape Horn and the dramatic moments are taken to greater
heights by some stunning computer-generated graphics.
Apart from fantastic action scenes there is a huge amount
of humour - and tragedy too - that runs through Master and
Commander. Much of this due to Bettany and his dreadful run
of luck on the Galapagos Islands.
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is possibly
the best movie ever made about the Napoleonic Wars and one
can only hope that Hollywood turns its attention to a period
in history that is teeming with more adventures and characters
than there are fish in the oceans.
The video transfer on the DVD is utterly superb being sharp
and clear of any artefacts or aliasing. It has to be said
that those with home theatres will enjoy this more than people
watching on a small TV screen as Master and Commander begs
for large imagery. The sound is awesome and will give your
sound system a thorough 3-Dimensional workout.
The extras on the two-disc Master and Commander special edition
are excellent and include The Hundred Days, a massive 70-minute
behind the scenes feature, In the Wake of O'Brian 19-minutes
with Peter Weir as he gets in-depth about putting the movie
together, Cinematic Phasmids is half-an-hour on computer garphics,
Sound Design, Deleted Scenes, and a Multi-Camera Shooting
feature on filming battle scenes.
Excellent extras, brilliant movie.
Conclusion: Movie 95% Extras 90%
Continued:
DVD details at a glance >
|
