Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World [Blu-ray]

Director: Peter Weir Peter Weir

Overview

Director Peter Weir's first turn behind the camera since 1998's critically acclaimed The Truman Show, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is based on two Napoleonic War-era adventure novels in author Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin series, Master and Commander and The Far Side of the World. Russell Crowe stars as Captain Jack Aubrey, a high-seas adventurer who maintains a strong bond with ship-surgeon Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany). After conquering much of Europe already, Napoleon's forces have set their sights on taking Britain, so Aubrey and the crew of his ship, the HMS Surprise, take to the Pacific to intercept any attacking ships from the French fleet. When Aubrey eyes a renegade French super-frigate, the Surprise pursues, leading to an adrenaline-charged chase through the distant reaches of the sea. Edward Woodall, James D'Arcy, and Lee Ingleby also star as members of the Surprise's crew.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/13/2008
UPC:	0024543014102
Original Release:	2003
Source:	20Th Century Fox
Language:	English
Time:	2:18:00
Sales rank:	1,156

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Russell Crowe	Capt. Jack Aubrey
Paul Bettany	Dr. Stephen Maturin
James D'Arcy	1st Lt. Thomas Pullings
Edward Woodall	2nd Lt. William Mowett
Max Pirkis	Blakeney
Jack Randall	Boyle
Max Benitz	Calamy
Lee Ingleby	Hollom
Richard Pates	Williamson
Robert Pugh	Mr. Allen
Richard McCabe	Mr. Higgins
Ian Mercer	Mr. Hollar
Tony Dolan	Mr. Lamb
David Threlfall	Preserved Killick, Captain's Steward
Billy Boyd	Barret Bonden, Coxswain
Bryan Dick	Joseph Nagle, Carpenter's Mate
Joseph Morgan	William Warley, Cpt. Of Mizzentop
George Innes	Joe Plaice, Able Seaman
William Mannering	Faster Doudle, Able Seaman
Patrick Gallagher	Awkward Davies, Able Seaman
Alex Palmer	Nehemiah Slade, Able Seaman
Mark Lewis Jones	Mr. Hogg, Whaler
Ousmane Thiam	Black Bill, Killick's Mate
Thierry Segall	French Captain
Chris Larkin	Captain Howard
John DeSantis	Padeen, Loblolly Boy
Aidan Black	Pvt. Trollope, Royal Marines
Iva Davies	Composer
Christopher Gordon	Composer
Richard Tognetti	Composer

Technical Credits

Peter Weir

John Collee

Patrick O'Brian

Peter Weir	Director,Screenwriter,Casting,Producer
John Collee	Screenwriter
Daniel W. Barringer	Stunts
Doug Coleman	Stunts
Alan B. Curtiss	Executive Producer,Producer
Stefen Fangmeier	Special Effects
Samuel Goldwyn Jr.	Producer
Duncan Henderson	Producer
Nathan McGuiness	Special Effects
Mary Selway	Casting
Robert Stromberg	Special Effects
Dan Sudick	Special Effects
Richard King	Sound/Sound Designer
Arthur Rochester	Sound Mixer
Paul Massey	Sound Mixer,Sound/Sound Designer
D.M. Hemphill	Sound Mixer,Sound/Sound Designer
Patrick O'Brian	Screenwriter
Todd Arnow	Producer
Meyer Gottlieb	Producer
Bob Weinstein	Producer,Producer
Kimberly Adams	Special Effects
Andrew Bock	Sound Effects
James Bolt	Sound Effects
Derek Casari	Sound Effects
Robert Alidon	Special Effects
Joey Anaya	Stunts
Christopher 'Critter' Antonucci	Stunts
Roy Augenstein	Special Effects
David Eland	Special Effects
John Fontana	Special Effects
Roger Lifsey	Special Effects
Jim McIntyre	Special Effects

Editorial Reviews

Fans of seafaring sagas along the lines of Horatio Hornblower will be duly enchanted by Master and Commander, a rousing adventure in the grand tradition of Hollywood's Golden Age. Australian filmmaker Peter Weir wrote and directed this magnificent adaptation of two of Patrick O'Brian's bestselling novels, set during the Napoleonic period, when Britain still ruled the seas. Charismatic Russell Crowe is perfectly cast as O'Brian's larger-than-life hero, "Lucky Jack" Aubrey, one of Her Majesty's most able sea captains. Spotting the French warship Acheron in the waters near South America, he decides -- against the urging of his close friend, the ship's doctor, Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany) -- to pursue the phantom raider that has been laying waste to British vessels, calculating that the element of surprise will help him offset the Acheron's superior speed and armament. While Weir's adaptation offers its share of thrillingly staged open-seas combat scenes, he unfolds the yarn at a leisurely pace and lavishes a great deal of screen time on the supporting characters, particularly delineating Aubrey's relationship to his loyal crew. O'Brian's characters aren't mythic archetypes -- they're believable, flesh-and-blood entities driven only by their duty to Queen and country. Loyalty, honor, and patriotism aren't often celebrated in contemporary movies, but Master and Commander reminds us that these qualities still fuel entertaining tales. It's a gripping film with just about everything you could want: action, suspense, drama, and even a bit of humor.

Barnes & Noble - Ed Hulse

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a beautifully realized, atypically intimate action drama. After an absence of five years, director Peter Weir has made a bold and impressive return. With high seas films notoriously difficult to manage in regards to both budget and box-office marketability, Master and Commander deftly avoids the pitfalls and stands as one of the high points of the genre. The film's attention to period detail is fascinating and renders the setting of the ship as a character all its own. The film is so rich with detail that one gets an almost authentic sense of what everyday life was like on such a ship in the early 19th century. Accolades must go out to all of those involved with art direction, set design, and cinematography. Director of photography Russell Boyd, who has worked with Weir on several previous films, works wonders here, capturing images from seemingly any angle from which one could film a ship. His sweeping photography deftly conveys the grandeur and scope of the ship(s) against the backdrop of the sea, the minute details of life on the ship, and the claustrophobic, crowded lives of the men on board. Sporting an impressive cast of both stars and unknowns, young and old, Master and Commander reigns in their talents to create an utterly convincing ensemble of characters. Perfectly cast as Captain Jack Aubrey, Russell Crowe, not-surprisingly, delivers another layered, intriguing performance. Equally, if not more, impressive is the moving portrayal of ship surgeon Stephen Maturin by Paul Bettany, who sinks into the role and reveals further depths to his acting. The two men, captain and surgeon, display an interesting friendship, characterized by mutual interests (playing music together), sharp divisions (military vs. nature/science), and hearty debate. But between them, and between all of the men on the ship, there is a great sense of mutual respect that is the heart of the film. Also noteworthy, among several impressive youths, is newcomer Max Pirkis as Lord Blackeney, a young midshipman who must deal with a very emotional loss early in the film. Despite all of its successes, the film does pose a few problems, the most notable being the incomprehensibility of much of its dialogue. Along with the film's attention to period and nautical detail, many of the accents and terminology are difficult to grasp, especially when characters are talking fast or dialogue is spoken in the heat of battle. But even that does not deter one from becoming engrossed in the intrigue and drama of the film; in fact, the period accents and dialogue further set one in another time and place, where things are both foreign and strangely relatable. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a rare feat -- a quiet action film. Though the scenes of battle and broken bodies are brutal and gruesome, and every cannonball threatens to crush bones as callously as it shatters wood, much of the film is calm and contemplative. Weir has managed to craft a masculine, yet emotional, film that draws one in to the lives and world of the characters it portrays without necessarily offering too much detail as to their personal stories. In this way, it is a collective, balanced story and not simply a spotlight for any one actor.

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