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MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
Collector's Edition
Review by Michael Jacobson
Stars:
Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany
Director: Peter Weir
Audio: Dolby Digital 5.1, DTS 5.1
Video: Anamorphic Widescreen 2.40:1
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Features: See Review
Length: 138 Minutes
Release Date: April 20, 2004
“Though
we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home.
This
ship…is ENGLAND.”
2003
was a year that will probably be forever remembered for two grand, epic films
that expanded the canvas of cinema and further opened our minds to the
possibilities in the art of filmmaking. It’s
almost a shame they had to come out in the same year.
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King was a grand fantasy
with an eye on the future, using computer animation and other technologies to
create worlds that could never otherwise be glimpsed by the human eye.
It racked up an impressive 11 Oscar nominations, then enjoyed a perfect
night by collecting every last one of those statuettes.
Master
and Commander: The Far Side of the World was another magnificent epic, but one with an
eye on the past. Yes, modern
technology was employed to help bring the vision to life, but it was done
seamlessly and quietly, never calling attention to itself.
This was a film that hearkened back to the grand epics of old like Ben-Hur
or Lawrence of Arabia…films where gigantic visions were brought
painstakingly to life the old fashioned way:
i.e., if you want to bring classic naval battles to life on the screen,
you build the damn ships and let them set sail. It was also impressive with its Oscar nomination tally of 10.
If it hadn’t had to compete with Return of the King, it could
have easily ran the gamut as well. But
it had to settle for one win for cinematography.
The
point is, really, that there is no comparing the two films.
Each went after a different goal, and each attained it.
Simply said, there is no reason to believe that Master and Commander will
be lost in the historical wake of any other film…it stands singularly as an
amazing epic of smashing cinematic entertainment in its own right.
Based
on the series of novels by Patrick O’Brian and brought to the screen under the
always masterful eye of director Peter Weir, Master and Commander is part
period piece, part seafaring adventure, part war drama, and full out character
study of two remarkable men in an extraordinary situation.
The men are Captain Jack Aubrey (Crowe), who commands the British frigate
Surprise on the far side of the world, and his chief surgeon and best
friend Dr. Stephen Maturin (Bettany). Aubrey
is a seasoned military man: brash,
bold, confident and born for a life at sea.
Maturin is a kind of Renaissance man:
well studied, quiet, intelligent, and a naturalist.
Their
situation is this: they are
stationed near South America about as far from home as they can possibly be and
still be on the globe. Their
mission is to prevent French warships from reaching the New World and thus
establishing outposts of power. Their
chief enemy is a ship called the Acheron. The
French ship surprises the Surprise (no pun intended) in the opening moments, and
we see that Aubrey’s frigate is clearly outmatched. The enemy has more speed, more protection, and longer range
guns that can pound the Surprise before she can even get close enough to fire a
shot.
Aubrey’s
sea savvy helps his ship and men escape their fate that day, but for the
remainder of the film, the Surprise and the Acheron play a deadly cat and mouse
game in the Pacific. There is a
sense of genuine suspense in play throughout the movie, because we never know
when the two ships will cross paths again, nor do we fathom how a seriously
outclassed boat like the Surprise can ever hope to catch, much less conquer, the
Acheron.
But
while the adventure at sea unfolds, there is plenty of drama afoot in the lives
and routines of the men on board. More
than any other movie since Das Boot, this is a film that truly conveys
the feeling of living and existing in a tight space at sea for long periods of
time, with home unimaginably far away and with sudden death always a
possibility: if not the French
bringing it, it could be a horrific storm (one of the most spectacular
sequences), or the complete lack of weather leaving the windless Surprise dead
in the water for days and days (one of the most haunting sequences).
You
could say the structure of the film is that of a tightly woven interseries of
smaller tales that make up a greater whole.
The chance for Maturin to explore the Galapagos Islands but making a
greater discovery than any new indigenous species is one of them. The
sailor who seems to have the curse of Jonah is another.
Most of all, it’s the drama unfolding within Aubrey:
is his obsession with the Acheron really a matter of duty? Or is it an Ahab-like hubris that drives him, thus
threatening not only his ship but the lives of his men?
Any
way you choose to analyze or dissect the many great parts of the movie will lead
you to the same inevitable conclusion: this
is grand scale epic filmmaking at its very best; the kind I once wistfully pined
for and openly lamented would never really be seen again in this day and age.
It’s a perfect marriage of adventure, drama, and character, and the
rare film where the size of the vision doesn’t dwarf the humanity within it,
but rather elevates it. It is a
singular masterpiece of filmed entertainment, and one of the new millennium’s
finest offerings to date.
Video
****
This
production had to be either a cinematographer’s worst nightmare or his dream
come true. The difficulty in shots
involving natural light or next to no lighting take the visual palate to
extremes. Luckily, director of
photography Russell Boyd was up to the challenge, scoring a well-deserved Oscar
for his work. This anamorphic
widescreen presentation from Fox preserves every frame of his superbly
constructed work for home video viewing. No
matter how light or how dark, images come across with expressive clarity and
integrity. No details are lost or
hazed over. Every shot is filled
with information and nothing gets lost from grain, compression or bleeding.
One of the best offerings of the year in this department.
A
word of advice: please forgo the
pan & scan version of this DVD and opt for the widescreen, even if you
don’t normally do that. You might
just as well play the disc with your TV set turned off as to let these great
visual compositions be hacked up by butchers with joysticks and scissors.
Audio
****
The
Oscar nominated sound comes to full fruition with either Dolby Digital or DTS
5.1 soundtracks to pick from. Every
noise, from the most subtle wind or quiet coo of a bird to the overwhelming
pounding of the cannon renders with vigorous clarity and integrity.
The battles will fill your home theatre with action coming from every
direction, while the subwoofer will keep your shelves rattling and make you feel
like your taking the fire yourself. The
music and dialogue are clear (save for the occasional strong accents that
deliberately sound a little muddy), and the dynamic range is expansive.
Highest marks.
Features
***1/2
This
collector’s edition set is generously packaged with a second disc of extras,
starting with a terrific made for DVD documentary called “The Hundred
Days”…one of the best production chronicles I’ve seen on disc. You’ll get to hear from Peter Weir and his crew, Russell
Crowe, Paul Bettany and more as you see the grand vision of the film come to
life.
Other
featurettes target specific aspects of the production.
“In the Wake of O’Brian” lets Peter Weir tell the story of how the
author’s popular novels were adapted for the screen.
There are also closer looks at the film’s visual effects, sound, as
well as the HBO “First Look” special on the film.
Rounding
out are 6 deleted scenes, three trailers, a stills gallery, a multi-angle
presentation of the battle scenes, as well as a 28 page booklet with anecdotes
and photos and a fold-out map that follows the journey of the Surprise.
All that’s missing is commentary from Peter Weir, but even without it,
there is enough here to keep you busy for awhile.
Summary:
