Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World Movie Review 2003

Captain Jack Aubrey (Crowe) is the relentless commander of the HMS Surprise of the British navy, whose mission is to capture and destroy the Acheron, a much superior and larger French ship. Among the crew is best friend Maturin (Bettany), the ship's surgeon who serves as a quiet balance to Aubrey's fiery man of action. Epic contains some of the most spectacular naval battles ever filmed, but pays close attention to the relationships and respect that are forged in such extreme living conditions. Crowe does a brilliant job showcasing Aubrey's leadership and poise in battle, while Bettany takes a back seat to no one. Based on the first and tenth book of the nautical series by Patrick O'Brien.

Distribution

Wellspring Media, Inc., 419 Park Ave. S., 20th Fl., New York, NY 10016, Phone: (212)686-6777, Fax: (212)545-9931, Email: movies@wellspring.com, URL: http://www.wellspring.com, Remarks: Does not handle retail queries from consumers; contact your local video distributor.

Available on VHS, DVD
Running time 139 minutes.
Originally from United States.

Cast and Crew

Genres

Big Battles, Sail Away, Military: Navy, Period Piece: 19th Century, Doctors & Nurses, Buddies

Screenplay

Peter Weir, John Collee

Cast

Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, Billy Boyd, Max Pirkis, James D'Arcy, Mark Lewis Jones, Chris Larkin, Richard McCabe, Robert Pugh, Lee Ingleby, George Innes, David Threlfall, Edward Woodall, Ian Mercer, Max Benitz

Cinematography

Russell Boyd

Director

Peter Weir

Music

Christopher Gordon, Iva Davies, Richard Tognetti

Other

Art Rochester, Lee Smith, Hector Romero, Wendy Stites, William Sandell

Producer

Peter Weir, Duncan Henderson, Jr. Samuel Goldwyn, Samuel Goldwyn Films, 20th Century-Fox, Miramax Films, Universal Pictures, 20th Century-Fox

Awards

Oscars 2003: Cinematog., Sound FX Editing; British Acad. 2003: Costume Des., Director (Weir), Sound; Natl. Soc. Film Critics 2003: Cinematog.