Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
| Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World | |
|---|---|
| File:Masterandcommanderposter.jpg Master and Commander film poster | |
| Directed by | Peter Weir |
| Written by | Peter Weir John Collee adapted from novels by Patrick O'Brian |
| Starring | Russell Crowe Paul Bettany Billy Boyd James D'Arcy |
| Music by | Iva Davies Christopher Gordon Richard Tognetti |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox |
Release date | November 14 2003 |
Running time | 138 min. |
| Language | English |
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir and starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin. The score includes an assortment of classical works, notably the Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello played by Yo-Yo Ma.
Cast
- Captain Jack Aubrey .... Russell Crowe
- Dr. Stephen Maturin .... Paul Bettany
- First Lt. Thomas Pullings .... James D'Arcy
- Second Lt. William Mowett .... Edward Woodall
- Captain Howard, Royal Marines .... Chris Larkin
- Midshipman William Blakeney .... Max Pirkis
- Midshipman Boyle .... Jack Randall
- Midshipman Peter Myles Calamy .... Max Benitz
- Midshipman Hollom .... Lee Ingleby
- Midshipman Williamson .... Richard Pates
- Mr. Allen, Sailing Master .... Robert Pugh
- Mr. Higgins, Surgeon's Mate .... Richard McCabe
- Mr. Hollar, Boatswain .... Ian Mercer
- Mr. Lamb, Carpenter .... Tony Dolan
- Killick, Captain's Steward .... David Threlfall
- Barret Bonden, Coxswain .... Billy Boyd
- Joseph Nagle, Carpenter's Mate .... Bryan Dick
- William Warley, Captain of Mizzentop .... Joseph Morgan
- Joe Plaice, Able Seaman .... George Innes
- Michael Doudle, Able Seaman .... William Mannering
- Davies, Able Seaman .... Patrick Gallagher
- Nehemiah Slade, Able Seaman .... Alex Palmer
- Mr. Hogg, Whaler .... Mark Lewis Jones
- Padeen, Loblolly Boy .... John De Santis
- Black Bill, Steward's Mate .... Ousmane Thiam
- Captain of the Acheron .... Thierry Segall
Awards
- #10 Film of the Year
Historical Authenticity
The film's DVD release contains behind-the-scenes material giving useful insights into the film-making process. Great efforts were made to reproduce the authentic look and feel of life aboard an early nineteenth century man of war. Some of the filming actually took place at sea on board Rose (a reproduction of the 18th century frigate HMS Rose), while other scenes were shot on a full-scale replica mounted on gimbals in a large tank. There was a third HMS Surprise which was a scale model built by Weta Workshop. A storm sequence was enhanced using digitally-composited footage of waves actually shot on board a modern replica of Cook's Endeavour rounding Cape Horn. All of the actors were given a thorough grounding in the naval life of the period in order to make their performances as authentic as possible.
Plot
The film is based on the Aubrey–Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian and includes episodes from several novels in the series. The plot of the film, in which Aubrey in HMS Surprise chases an enemy frigate round Cape Horn into the Pacific, is based loosely on The Far Side of the World, but the American frigate USS Norfolk in the book becomes the French privateer Acheron in the film. The episode of deception of the enemy by means of a raft bearing lanterns is taken from Master and Commander, and the episode in which Maturin operates on himself to remove a bullet is taken from HMS Surprise.
The movie's success and the wide-open ending has led to credible speculation about a sequel, although it is not known whether Weir would wish to direct.
Trivia
- The exploit of setting up a decoy of a large ship at night by attaching lights to a small boat was executed by the French privateer Robert Surcouf to successfully escape the British frigate HMS Sybille. It was also used by Lord Cochrane and described in his Autobiography of a Seaman. That autobiography was used by Patrick O'Brian as source material for his novel Master and Commander, in which Jack Aubrey's first command, HMS Sophie, escapes by using this tactic. The same ruse is featured in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, where it is the HMS Surprise which escapes the Acheron using this trick.
- In the movie, Stephen Maturin inadvertently gives Jack Aubrey the inspiration to disguise the HMS Surprise as a whaling ship to fool an enemy, implying that this is a new idea for Aubrey. However, in the first Aubrey/Maturin book Master and Commander, Aubrey regularly uses the tactic of disguising his ship during his very first command, and it is described as a common tactic used by warships to approach unsuspecting targets and avoid attention from larger enemy ships.
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