Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787. Its destination: to sail to Tahiti and load bread-fruit. Captain Bligh will do anything to get there as fast as possible, using any means to keep up a ... See full summary »

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Charles Lederer (screenplay), Charles Nordhoff (novel),

Stars:

Marlon Brando, Trevor Howard, Richard Harris

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marlon Brando	...	1st Lt. Fletcher Christian
Trevor Howard	...	Captain William Bligh
Richard Harris	...	Seaman John Mills
Hugh Griffith	...	Alexander Smith
Richard Haydn	...	William Brown
Tarita	...	Maimiti
Percy Herbert	...	Seaman Matthew Quintal
Duncan Lamont	...	John Williams
Gordon Jackson	...	Seaman Edward Birkett
Chips Rafferty	...	Michael Byrne
Noel Purcell	...	Seaman William McCoy
Ashley Cowan	...	Samuel Mack
Eddie Byrne	...	John Fryer (Sailing Master)
Frank Silvera	...	Minarii
Tim Seely	...	Midshipman Edward 'Ned' Young

Storyline

The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787. Its destination: to sail to Tahiti and load bread-fruit. Captain Bligh will do anything to get there as fast as possible, using any means to keep up a strict discipline. When they arrive at Tahiti, it is like a paradise for the crew, something completely different than the living hell aboard the ship. On the way back to England, officer Fletcher Christian becomes the leader of a mutiny.

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Plot Keywords:

tahiti | paradise | crew | discipline | mutiny | 

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Taglines:

TRUE...TURBULENT...TREMENDOUS!

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Genres:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Polynesian French

Release Date:

8 November 1962 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bunt na Bounty

Filming Locations:

Bora Bora, Leeward Islands, French Polynesia

Box Office

Budget:

$19,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Arcola Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

178 min

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) 4-Track Stereo (35mm release) (some prints) Stereo (DVD Release) Mono (35 mm prints)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.76 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The final scene was filmed exactly a year after filming had begun.

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Goofs

Bligh's map shows Tahiti too far east in the Pacific Ocean, almost on the same longitude as Baja California (114 deg W) whereas Tahiti is approximately 2100 nautical miles further west on longitude 149 deg 30 min W.

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Quotes

Fletcher Christian: There'll be no more killing aboard this ship, not even Captain Bligh.
Captain Bligh: If that's an attempt to earn clemency,I spit on it.

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Connections

Featured in David Walliams' Awfully Good: Awfully Good Movies (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Follow Me"
Words by Paul Francis Webster
Music by Bronislau Kaper
Performed by Chorus

User Reviews

Find No Major Faults Here

I wonder if they made more three-hour-plus films in the 1960s than any other decade? It seems that way. Here is another one. This also is a re-make from a 1935 version of the famous story

I liked this 'Mutiny On The Bounty' better than the critics did, who got annoyed at Marlon Brando's British accent. I found nothing wrong with it and I usually am critical about that sort of thing myself. Brando gave a solid performance.

Trevor Howard was convincing as the sadistic "Captain Bligh" and Tarita was fair as the love interest "Maimiti." The cinematography might have been the best feature of the film, a definite movie for widescreen as a lot of these mid '50s-to-mid '60s films were. There are some beautiful shots in here, beginning with those Tahiti sunsets. The color in this movie is magnificent.

Although not particularly a film you might watch over and over, I found no major fault with it except for perhaps the romance which was a bit sappy. The adventure, acting and photography were all top-notch and the three hours went by fairly fast.