Movie Rewind - Master and Commander, Far Side of the World
March 20th 2007 09:19
Hi everyone
Thought I would pass comment on the movie Master and Commander, any movie buffs out there will recall that this was released in 2003 and stars Russell Crowe. Anyway, I had seen this before but to stay on the nautical theme, thought I would watch it again.
Plot synopsis:
In MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD, by director Peter Weir (THE TRUMAN SHOW), it's time to get all dressed up. Time for the gentlemen -- there are no ladies present -- to put on their fancy top hats and tails. No, it's not party time; it's battle time, as a British frigate takes on a French one in 1805 when Napoleon ruled the European continent but not the high seas. It's time for you to sit back in your seat and get treated to what might be called a thinking man's popcorn movie.
So when was the last time you saw a rip-roaring naval drama, full of deafening cannon fire, complex naval strategy and good old fashioned swashbuckling fun? Please do not insult my intelligence by answering, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, which was a cute comedy, not a drama. MASTER AND COMMANDER has plenty of humor in it, as in its weevil race, but it is fundamentally a realistic depiction of what it was like to sail aboard a warship off the coast of Brazil during a time of war.
The epic story, which is as much the star of the movie as Russell Crowe in his superb performance as Capt. Jack Aubrey, concerns a naval cat-and-mouse battle between two ships: the older, smaller and technologically inferior British ship, the HMS Surprise, under Capt. Aubrey's command and a vastly stronger and larger French vessel under an unnamed captain. Crowe is offered numerous opportunities to grandstand and rejects them all, delivering one of his most heartfelt pieces of work. MASTER AND COMMANDER again reminds us of what a brilliant actor he is.
Even more than the effects of powerful cannons blowing men and masts to bits, the film's most memorable sequences and the ones most likely to make you squirm are the surgery scenes. Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany, who played opposite Crowe in A BEAUTIFUL MIND) attends to the operations with the crude instruments and limited medications of that era. Thankfully, the director knows the best times to cut away or this PG-13 rated film might be too much to bear, as a young lad's arm is sawed off and as brain surgery is performed on a senior sailor. (net sourced)
Even a second time around time I really enjoyed this movie, the attention to detail was just amazing, you really got a feeling on what it must have been like in those days. Russell Crowe, love him or hate him, he's still a very good actor in this and a few other famous faces pop up too. Also the feeling of menace when they are suprised by the French ship, the creaking of the timbers, flapping sails and the sounds of cannon shot whizzing close by, all draw you into the world you are watching and the chase around Cape Horn in the furious fifties is dramatic and I wished I could have seen that on the big screen with full surround sound as it would have been awesome!!
I have read various books on naval warfare from this time and it was great to see it in the flesh, so if you haven't seen it or it's been a while, then rent it out, put the kids to bed, grab a wine, turn off the lights and pump up the bass and enjoy the spectacle.
Info regarding the ship used in the movie:
(net sourced)
The SURPRISE began her life in Nova Scotia in 1970 as HMS ROSE. She was a near-exact replica of the 6th-rate frigate of the same name which served the British Navy with distinction in the American War of Independence. The original Rose met her end in 1797 when she was scuttled at the enterance to the port of Savanna in order to block the French fleet.
The new HMS Rose sailed the oceans of the world for thirty years as a sail training vessel. Then in March of 2001, she was sold to 20th Century Fox to be modified for use in the production of the movie, "Master and Commander; Far Side of the World". For that she was re-named, HMS Surprise. Subsequent to the completion of the movie, she was again sold, this time to The Maritime Museum of San Diego where she remains today.
Roaring Forties & Fifties info:
(net sourced)
The Roaring Forties is a name given, especially by sailors, to the latitudes between 40°S and 50°S, so called because of the boisterous and prevailing westerly winds. These winds are due to the Coriolis effect. Because there is less landmass to slow them down, the winds are especially strong on the Southern Hemisphere, notably in the South Indian Ocean, which is now incorporated into what is known as the Southern Ocean
Wellington, New Zealand, is the world's only national capital located in the roaring forties latitudes. The island of Tasmania, the southern most state of Australia, lies entirely within the Roaring Forties, and as a consequence has a lightly populated and windswept western coastline.
The winds of the Roaring Forties played a significant part in the clipper route.
The winds were probably first identified by Dutch sailor Henderik Brouwer in 1610 as a means to rapidly transit across the Indian Ocean en route to Batavia (Dutch East India Company). The traditional route, pioneered by Portuguese sailors, involved following the coast of East Africa after the Cape, through the Mozambique Channel and then across the Indian Ocean, sometimes via India. However, Portuguese occupation of Mozambique and navigational hazards made the route less than desirable. The route travelling east of Madagascar was also troublesome, with problematic winds and currents and the risk of a ship becoming becalmed in equatorial waters, and the crew dying. The solution was discovered by Brouwer in 1610, and involved sailing eastwards at the latitude 35-45° South until turning northwards at 110° East. By utilising the prevailing westerlies, the so-called Brouwer Route reduced travel time by up to six months, and became mandatory for all Dutch vessels. However, in the seventeenth century calculating the 110° East longitude was not an exact science and ships risked being wrecked on the reefs and coast of Western Australia.[1]
Long one tonight so will leave you with thought for the day 'You must have long range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short range failures'
Hal
Thought I would pass comment on the movie Master and Commander, any movie buffs out there will recall that this was released in 2003 and stars Russell Crowe. Anyway, I had seen this before but to stay on the nautical theme, thought I would watch it again.
Plot synopsis:
In MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD, by director Peter Weir (THE TRUMAN SHOW), it's time to get all dressed up. Time for the gentlemen -- there are no ladies present -- to put on their fancy top hats and tails. No, it's not party time; it's battle time, as a British frigate takes on a French one in 1805 when Napoleon ruled the European continent but not the high seas. It's time for you to sit back in your seat and get treated to what might be called a thinking man's popcorn movie.
So when was the last time you saw a rip-roaring naval drama, full of deafening cannon fire, complex naval strategy and good old fashioned swashbuckling fun? Please do not insult my intelligence by answering, PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: THE CURSE OF THE BLACK PEARL, which was a cute comedy, not a drama. MASTER AND COMMANDER has plenty of humor in it, as in its weevil race, but it is fundamentally a realistic depiction of what it was like to sail aboard a warship off the coast of Brazil during a time of war.
The epic story, which is as much the star of the movie as Russell Crowe in his superb performance as Capt. Jack Aubrey, concerns a naval cat-and-mouse battle between two ships: the older, smaller and technologically inferior British ship, the HMS Surprise, under Capt. Aubrey's command and a vastly stronger and larger French vessel under an unnamed captain. Crowe is offered numerous opportunities to grandstand and rejects them all, delivering one of his most heartfelt pieces of work. MASTER AND COMMANDER again reminds us of what a brilliant actor he is.
Even more than the effects of powerful cannons blowing men and masts to bits, the film's most memorable sequences and the ones most likely to make you squirm are the surgery scenes. Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany, who played opposite Crowe in A BEAUTIFUL MIND) attends to the operations with the crude instruments and limited medications of that era. Thankfully, the director knows the best times to cut away or this PG-13 rated film might be too much to bear, as a young lad's arm is sawed off and as brain surgery is performed on a senior sailor. (net sourced)
Even a second time around time I really enjoyed this movie, the attention to detail was just amazing, you really got a feeling on what it must have been like in those days. Russell Crowe, love him or hate him, he's still a very good actor in this and a few other famous faces pop up too. Also the feeling of menace when they are suprised by the French ship, the creaking of the timbers, flapping sails and the sounds of cannon shot whizzing close by, all draw you into the world you are watching and the chase around Cape Horn in the furious fifties is dramatic and I wished I could have seen that on the big screen with full surround sound as it would have been awesome!!
I have read various books on naval warfare from this time and it was great to see it in the flesh, so if you haven't seen it or it's been a while, then rent it out, put the kids to bed, grab a wine, turn off the lights and pump up the bass and enjoy the spectacle.
Info regarding the ship used in the movie:
(net sourced)
The SURPRISE began her life in Nova Scotia in 1970 as HMS ROSE. She was a near-exact replica of the 6th-rate frigate of the same name which served the British Navy with distinction in the American War of Independence. The original Rose met her end in 1797 when she was scuttled at the enterance to the port of Savanna in order to block the French fleet.
The new HMS Rose sailed the oceans of the world for thirty years as a sail training vessel. Then in March of 2001, she was sold to 20th Century Fox to be modified for use in the production of the movie, "Master and Commander; Far Side of the World". For that she was re-named, HMS Surprise. Subsequent to the completion of the movie, she was again sold, this time to The Maritime Museum of San Diego where she remains today.
Roaring Forties & Fifties info:
(net sourced)
The Roaring Forties is a name given, especially by sailors, to the latitudes between 40°S and 50°S, so called because of the boisterous and prevailing westerly winds. These winds are due to the Coriolis effect. Because there is less landmass to slow them down, the winds are especially strong on the Southern Hemisphere, notably in the South Indian Ocean, which is now incorporated into what is known as the Southern Ocean
Wellington, New Zealand, is the world's only national capital located in the roaring forties latitudes. The island of Tasmania, the southern most state of Australia, lies entirely within the Roaring Forties, and as a consequence has a lightly populated and windswept western coastline.
The winds of the Roaring Forties played a significant part in the clipper route.
The winds were probably first identified by Dutch sailor Henderik Brouwer in 1610 as a means to rapidly transit across the Indian Ocean en route to Batavia (Dutch East India Company). The traditional route, pioneered by Portuguese sailors, involved following the coast of East Africa after the Cape, through the Mozambique Channel and then across the Indian Ocean, sometimes via India. However, Portuguese occupation of Mozambique and navigational hazards made the route less than desirable. The route travelling east of Madagascar was also troublesome, with problematic winds and currents and the risk of a ship becoming becalmed in equatorial waters, and the crew dying. The solution was discovered by Brouwer in 1610, and involved sailing eastwards at the latitude 35-45° South until turning northwards at 110° East. By utilising the prevailing westerlies, the so-called Brouwer Route reduced travel time by up to six months, and became mandatory for all Dutch vessels. However, in the seventeenth century calculating the 110° East longitude was not an exact science and ships risked being wrecked on the reefs and coast of Western Australia.[1]
Long one tonight so will leave you with thought for the day 'You must have long range goals to keep you from being frustrated by short range failures'
Hal
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