Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Peter Weir

Writers:

Patrick O'Brian (novels)
Peter Weir (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

14 November 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

The Courage To Do The Impossible Lies In The Hearts of Men.

Plot:

During the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.

Plot Keywords:

French | Napoleonic Wars | Violin | Pursuit | Naturalist

Awards:

Won 2 Oscars. Another 17 wins & 57 nominations

Cast

Russell Crowe	...	Capt. Jack Aubrey
Paul Bettany	...	Dr. Stephen Maturin, Surgeon
James D'Arcy	...	1st Lt. Tom Pullings
Edward Woodall	...	2nd Lt. William Mowett
Chris Larkin	...	Capt. Howard, Royal Marines
Max Pirkis	...	Blakeney, Midshipman
Jack Randall	...	Boyle, Midshipman
Max Benitz	...	Calamy, Midshipman
Lee Ingleby	...	Hollom, Midshipman
Richard Pates	...	Williamson, Midshipman
Robert Pugh	...	Mr. Allen, Master
Richard McCabe	...	Mr. Higgins, Surgeon's Mate
Ian Mercer	...	Mr. Hollar, Boatswain
Tony Dolan	...	Mr. Lamb, Carpenter
David Threlfall	...	Preserved Killick, Captain's Steward

Also Known As:

The Far Side of the World (Australia) (working title) (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences, related images, and brief language.

Runtime:

138 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French | Portuguese

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | Malaysia:U | France:-12 (DVD rating) | South Korea:12 | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:M | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Chile:TE | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Norway:11 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:PG | Spain:7 | Sweden:11 | UK:12A | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39922)

Filming Locations:

Fox Baja Studios, Rosarito, Baja California Norte, Mexico

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corporation

Trivia:

The first movie to ever film on the Galapagos Islands. Although, the scene where the crew is chasing marine iguanas was filmed in Baja California with regular green iguana which had been dyed black.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When the Bible is handed to Crowe for morning devotions while they are becalmed, it is opened more than halfway through the book, but Job appears in the first half of the book and would have been much earlier in the Bible than represented.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Preserved Killick, Captain's Steward: [taking egg from chicken coup] Come on, come on. It's all right.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Endless Ocean

Great story with powerful performances. Sweeps you away to 1805.

A very complete tale, interwoven with beautiful cinematography, powerful performances (Russel Crowe, especially), masterful score (Bach, Motzart...to name two),and a truly believable storyline with many twists. At the heart of which is the conflict inside Capt. "Lucky" Jack Aubry (Russel Crowe) who balances his duty to the British Empire and his personal relationships with friends and crew members on board the HMS Surprise. All this while playing cat and mouse with a french enemy vessel that is twice his ship's size and double her strength. The conclusion is a great blending of commonality of human cause and duty. All in all, this is one of the most well rounded stories I've ever seen on the motion picture screen.