james2025a

I did a quick search and could only find one thread for this awesome movie that had been closed. It seems Oldboy had created the thread and had no love for this movie at all.

Well this is one of my top 10 movies of all time and i really wish they had continued on with the series as it left me wanting more adventures aboard the Surprise.

So 11 years on from its release, anyone have any thoughts? Curious to know if time has changed anyones opinion. Maybe some love has been gained or lost from for the movie over time. Personally i think it was an astoundingly well made movie and gave a great look at a time in history.

james2025a

And apologies for anyone thinking this thread has anything news related to the possibility of sequels being made any time soon.

inri222

I like just about all of Peter Weir's films (could do without Green Card & Dead Poets Society) but I have not seen this. It has the look and feel of a Ridley Scott film and that is what keeps me away from it.

dex14

Tried to watch twice and fell asleep twice.

Solid Snake

If only we'd get a great BD with all the SE DVD features. Could probably get some new work done on it now too.

wishbone

I thought Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany worked well as Captain Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin but the star of the film was the replica portraying the HMS Surprise. Truly a beautiful ship of the line. I read the first book, Master and Commander, several months ago:  despite a struggle with the arcane language and nautical terminology it was interesting to read the parts used for the film as well as some parts that were changed. I have the Blu-ray but I have not watched it yet.

Lastblade

The bass on the DTS track was amazing. I use it to demo my HSU sub.

Ash Ketchum

I remember seeing this film when it came out and liking it a great deal. What I liked about it that differentiated it from classic Hollywood historical naval movies is the exploration of the symbiotic, but sometimes contentious relationship between science and the military. Usually such treatments tend to get very melodramatic or sensationalized (e.g. Howard Hawks' THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD). Here it actually treated the theme with some thought and care.

I haven't seen it since.

james2025a

That making of documentary on the SE DVD is excellent. Reminded me a lot of the video diary docs on the LOTR DVDs. I was always hoping this would get picked up by Criterion.

I can understand that the movie might seem slow to some, but i really appreciate some movies that take their time and build upon the characters rather than rush from one action scene to the next.

RocShemp

I love this movie. It's one of my favorite flicks, actually. The only reason I don't have it on BD is because they didn't port the DVD special features and apparently they gimped the LFE track (meaning the DVD has deeper bass than the BD).

Shannon Nutt

Master and Commander was a better "Star Trek" movie than the last two Star Trek movies.

mattysemo247

I actually just watched this a couple weeks ago. It's been the first time since I saw it back in theaters. I remember thinking it was OK back then, but appreciated it a lot more seeing it again. I really wish it would have gotten a sequel.

Ash Ketchum

This is a very good observation and begs the question, for me, of whether any of the Star Trek movies ever treated the theme of conflict/cooperation between science and the military as specifically as M&C did.

Supermallet

Master & Commander is a brilliant film, and easily Russell Crowe's best work.

Numanoid

Coincidentally, just watched this again a few days ago (probably my fifth or sixth time). Love it. As Shannon pointed out, it does bring to mind Star Trek, perhaps that's why I love it. Funny anecdote... my girlfriend saw it on my PC and thought it was porn.

And despite the lack of love for it here, it was a Best Picture contender in 2003 (10 nominations overall), and took home the Oscar for both Cinematography and Sound Editing.

Shannon Nutt

I'm still partial to THE INSIDER, but M&C is a very close second.

What ever happened with the sequel? There was talk for a while several years back, and then nothing.

E Unit

I remember seeing this a while back.

Shannon Nutt

I don't think Russ is doing himself any favors by spelling Gianopulos' last name wrong.

Indy Jones Fan

I saw this recently for the first time. I enjoyed it but it didn't blow me away. I'd grade it a solid "B".

Why So Blu?

I liked the film but a friend who read all of the books said that they combined 2-3 of them into the film, so that threw most of the fans (of the books) off.

E Unit

Well they combined 2 of the Captain Jack Aubrey books, Master and Commander and The Far Side of the World. I'm a fan of the books, and there isn't much to throw anyone off who's read them. There's 20 books in the series, so combining the 2 was a good idea. I read them years ago and if I recall, there's elements in several of these books that wouldn't have translated well into film. I just wish they made more of these movies with Crowe - and Peter Weir.

RocShemp

Actually Weir combined the titles of two of the books to give the sense that he was going to tell a story with the crew already having been at sea for several years. The script actually combines elements from all the novels, not just the ones that share the film's title.

Why So Blu?

Correct.

E Unit

I need to read them again, but I remember liking them a lot. Yes, the titles is from 2 of the books, but the bulk of the stories in those 2 are what is in the movie, except for the Galapagos part. I remember the first book being Master and Commander where Aubrey and Maturin meet, and Far Side of the World is the Cape Horn journey. But I don't recall which book the Galapagos story was in.

MoviePage

I loved everything about this film. Paul Bettany was outstanding in addition to Crowe.