[Oleg Volk]

http://www.masterandcommanderthefarsideoftheworld.com/
Best, most realistic depiction of naval combat I've seen. Great props, realistic and impressive gun and melee depictions (except for the report and echo of distant salvos coinciding), good acting. Buckets of flintlock pistols being passed around, gunnery practice, violations of four rules...1805 version of Blackhawk Down in some ways.

[priv8ter]

I hear and obey....:D

[George Hill]

I want to see this one very much.
I love the Horatio Hornblower A&E movie series, even though I have only caught like 2 or 3 of them. That era... very cool.

Speaking of movies that are coming:
The Last Samurai looks freaking awesome... WOW! I loved the trailer! Tom Cruise looks like he is actually doing a very very good job of acting in it.

Matrix Revolutions... I know this is old hat - but man... I was disappointed in it. I expected Agent Smith to start ording Neo to kneel before him so all of Planet Houston could see it... I found it a mix of Superman #X (with General Zod) and an Anime the way they fought in "The Docks". That said, it was pretty cool visually, but overall a disappointment on a grand scale.

Russel Crow is goign to rock as a ship Captain, Tom Cruise is going to rock as a Samurai... so there are some good movies worth seeing that are coming out soon... No need to mention RETURN OF THE KING.
:evil:

[PlayTheAces]

Thanks for the recommendation, Oleg. Saw the trailers for it yesterday and they looked spectacular, but too many times the trailers end up being the best part of the flick.

I'll catch this one for sure.

[Remander]

I heard an interview with the movie's sound engineer on NPR. He found some cannon collectors, and they fired the heck out of their guns on a National Guard firing range with recording devices at different spots.

The clips of cannon balls going overhead were pretty wild. I especially liked the sound clip of a chain-ball shot (two cannon balls connected by a length of chain). "Swish, swish, swish"

I don't know how often those were really used, but the whizzing sound as the chain-ball passed convinced your ears that it could really mess up the rigging in a sailing vessel.

[alamo]

George Hill wrote:

"I want to see this one very much.
I love the Horatio Hornblower A&E movie series, even though I have only caught like 2 or 3 of them. That era... very cool."


The Hornblower books are excellent, highly recommended. I've read 5 of the Patrick O'Brien books, 15 to go. After reading the books, I was very disappointed in the A&E Hornblower movies. If what I saw of "Master & Commander" on the History Channel's "Hollywood vs. History" the other night is as good as it looks & the reviews, then I think you'll look back on the A&E series as a joke.

[MAKOwner]

Where does Russell Crowe stand on the Second Amendment? He's at least not one of these vehemently anti-gun pukes is he? Hope not because I like his movies, seems to handle guns well in the ones that have them... (Proof of Life is a great movie thanks to the last 15 minutes...)

[Travis McGee]

I can't wait to see M&C! Sailing ships at war, what can be cooler than that??

And anybody who has not seen Crowe in "Proof of Life," see it! It's an awesome terrorism/kidnapping/mercenary/firearms movie! Very realistic IMHO!

http://matthewbracken.web.aplus.net/snakelogo.jpg

[EricO]

Hey, I actually liked the A & E Hornblower series. I liked them so much, in fact, that I purchased the entire set from www.deepdiscountdvd.com (at a much reduced price from A & E's site). Fyi, 2 new movies are due to air on Dec 2 & 3! They're called the "New adventures" staring the same actors - Ioan Gruffud, Robert Lindsay, etc. I purchased these on pre-order also. :-)

I've recently finished reading the entire C.S. Forester Hornblower books and loved the books. Sure, Hollywood (A & E) changed things but I still enjoyed the movies. It's a character study. I'll definitely watch Master and Commander also.

Cheers,
EricO

[BamBam-31]

Just came back from watching it. Long movie, felt even longer. Pacing was a bit uneven, but I think it was intentionally done to reflect life aboard Her Majesty's Ships. I found it to be a bit herky-jerky, like it couldn't decide if it was an action flick or a drama (think Tears of the Sun). Out of a group of five, two of my friends fell asleep during the movie.

Acting was good, ship-to-ship battles rocked, costumes were top notch. Good Captain-Doctor interplay a la Kirk & McCoy/Spock. Ending wasn't really an ending, like there's supposed to be a part two.

Not a movie with a lot of mass appeal (as reflected by the small audience), but I think a lot of High Roadsters would enjoy it. Then again, we tend to be a bunch that appreciates movies for their History Channel-like attention to details (which M&C has in spades).

Overall, a thumbs up, but just barely.

Ditto on The Last Samurai. Looks like it's gonna kick major butt. Same with Return of the King. What I really want to watch is my new copy of Season One of The Wiseguy. Wooo-hooo!!

[Roadkill Coyote]

There's just no way to fit the depth of O'Brian's work into the movie format. :banghead:

Being an addict, I will settle for a well made composite. :D

[Jeff Timm]

I am deeply suspecious of any movie which has so much paid hype before it is released. Paid ads on Fox news and all TLC channels, including a one hour advertisement on the History Channel, not to mention broadcast. I suspect this thread may be another advert.

Geoff
Who is old, grey, cynical and still supporting the DMCA boycott of the "Media Corporate Giants." OK, my wife will make me buy tickets to TLOTR III for her birthday, but other than that, nothing.

[Cacique500]

Saw it last night and if you're an O'Brian fan you'll love it. This is the first period film I've seen where you really got a feel for splinter damage and the sounds of the cannons (they did an excellent job on the ship 'noises').

You'd really have to be a fan of the books to understand the Aubrey/Maturin relationship...lots of little subtle things going on between them and unless you're read the books you may not catch them. Killick (capt's steward) was well portrayed as well with his little grumblings.

I loved the Hornblower series but for the battle scenes Master & Commander was much much better.

[Lone_Gunman]

Overall, a thumbs up, but just barely

I agree it was pretty good.

Some of the British accents were so thick, they needed subtitles.

The action scenes were awesome, and it was well acted.

I think it would have been horrible to have been stuck on those little wooden boats for months at a time!

[TarpleyG]

Not sure that I'll see this one. I swore off Crowe after his run of "attitude" problems a while back. Guy's a real jerk. I might watch it once it hits satellite.

GT

[SemperFi83]

Patrick O'Brien's series is awesome. I highly recommend reading the book before seeing the movie (this movie is an adaptation of the first in the series).

Takes about 80 -100 pages to get used to the lingo of the era, but after that, it goes quickly. Good stuff.

[greyhound]

Going tomorrow afternoon.

Black Hawk Down in 1805? Love it!

[Dannyboy]

Saw it yesterday afternoon. Two words: Awesome flick! The final battle was one of the coolest I've seen...in any kind of movie.

[telewinz]

Just saw the movie, started to doze-off after an hour. 85% shipboard life 15% action, won't bother renting CD when it comes out. BTW the french lose, again.:barf:

[Lone_Gunman]

Gee Telewinz, thanks for spoiling the ending and saving everyone here $9.

[Cosmoline]

A GLASS OF WINE WITH YOU, SIR!

I was not optimistic about this film. I'm a long-time O'Brian fan and have read all the novels several times. The casting seemed wrong, and I was afraid we were going to get a dour, anti-war film with a stern dogmatic Aubrey/Ahab.

Thankfully, I was very wrong. While the film functions as a sampling of a few elements of the novels, it does a good job with the aspects it takes on. My only complaint is that the film takes bits and pieces from many novels. IMHO they should have started with a true version of Master and Commander, when Jack is young and takes on his first command. The Aubrey/Maturin relationship is in a mature phase when we see it in the film. It's not the early relationship when they were fighting over women and constantly challenging each other to duels. I'd place it about "Wine Dark Sea", when they know each other well enough that Stephen can challange Aubrey in ways no other mortal could EVER challenge a Post Captain in the RN.

[Byron]

My wife and I saw it this afternoon. From the opening it held us and flowed smoothly.Very accurate. I'll definitly see this again. Byron

[Cosmoline]

Another thought--the mix of long stretches of empty ocean and intense combat are exactly what the novels convey. What the film lacks, however, is a deeper view of the main characters. Jack is shown writing to Sophie, but only a fan would know what that means. Diana, a centerpiece in the novels, isn't even mentioned. Even when these men are at sea, women on shore play a HUGE part in their lives. This is what makes the series so good, and so much deeper than your typical sea-going Nelsonian epic. You also don't get to see any of Stephen's spycraft or how it develops from initial stages making contacts in Catalonia to manipulating people with a master's hand. Nor do you get to see Jack ashore, revealing his inner idiot and getting himself in deep trouble politically.

But I digress. It's just a two hour movie, after all. Maybe if this one makes enough $$ they'll take us back to the beginning and everyone can see how deep the waters are. In the mean time just go buy the books--you won't regret it!

[Nando Aqui]

Just watched it with my wife, and although we both liked it, we both thought it was going to be better. We both liked Gladiator better, but M&C is worth watching all the same. From what I have read here, what the movie lacks that the book has may be critical. As far for older-ship-battles, watch the last 1/2-hour of CutThroat Island for well-done, non-stop action. But then, I like Geena Davis, and she likes guns too!

One other thought - -

Remember how many critics and other 'personalities' got after Mel Gibson for showing 'kids' using rifles to kill soldiers in the movie Patriot?
I wonder what these people will say about M&C, where kids not only kill others, but they even commandeer 'troops' and artillery!

Alex

[Hkmp5sd]

The History Channel's "History vs. Hollywood" about the Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is on tonight (Sat) at 2300 and (Sun) at 0300 Eastern, if interested.

It's very good and not actually an "advertisement" for the movie. It shows some movie errors such as sticking the handguns in their pants. The real guns actually had a bracket on it that allowed them to hang them on their belts.

[Fed168]

I liked it, slow in parts but good action. The theater was packed, kinda noisy, but the lesser of two weevils.

[George Hill]

Just saw this movie.

OUCH! SPLINTERS!

This was one of the most impressive bits of film making since Band of Brothers.
The way they filmed it really made you feel like you were on board the ship, like a part of the crew.

Pippin did a good bit of service in this one. Chaucer from Knights tale made a good Doc. And of course the Captain, aka Russell Crow was excellent. Best of all... those ships were very cool.

...Lesser of two weavils... indeed. That was funny.

Cannons... lots of cannons... Swords... lots of swords... Thrilling at times, boring at others. It was well ballanced. A movie worth seeing if you want any idea what life at sea may have been like during that time.

Those ships were not that large... it's amazing that anyone on the ship could survive a barage with those balls throwing out those splinters like that.
That close range broadsides exchange = Worth the price of the ticket.

[Cosmoline]

"I wonder what these people will say about M&C, where kids not only kill others, but they even commandeer 'troops' and artillery!"

I was impressed by this. It's the first "wooden ships" film to show that the mids were often very young (though some got quite old if they couldn't make Lt.).

[George Hill]

Yeah, that little kid that lost one arm... he turned into a tiger...
That was sweet... he lead his gun crew into boarding the other ship and taking out the other gunners. That was amazing.

[Gunner45]

George

Both the Provo and Orem City librarys have them on DVD. I saw the first one on A&E and then went on to read the whole series of books.

Gunner45

[OF]

Haven;t read the O'Brien books, but I will for sure. M&C is a fantastic movie. I'm not a big Russell Crowe fan, but I thought he did a good job. Great movie.

- Gabe

[dadman]

Great movie! One of those good films that must be seen on a big screen at a theater.
Was reminded of a recent "Extreme History with Roger Daltry" on the History Channel. Episode was about Commodore Perry's 1812 fleet at Lake Erie. A mockup of the side of an era ship was made, which included a gun port and deck cannon. The mockup was shot with a cannonball or some similiar type of projectile. The backside of the wall was shown at point of impact. The shower of wood splinters behind the wall was devastating.

I didn't care for the part in the film when evolution was skirted with(Galopoglis Islands, sp?), but that's Hollyweird. God created man.

"The lesser of two wevals" at the dinner scene.

[David4516]

Great movie, might see it a second time. The kid with one arm was awsome...

Next on the list:

Last Samurai
Return of the King

I know the Return of the King starts on Dec. 17th, but does anyone know when Last Samurai comes out?

[greyhound]

Last Samurai

I think its 12/5. The trailer before "M&C" was great! (As was "M&C"!)

also coming up:

12/25(?!) - "Cold Mountain" (another awesome trailer)

and also 12/25(?!) "The Alamo" (little worried about this one as I've heard they "PC'd" it.)

[Bart Noir]

You mean the Texans aren't fighting the Mexicans? You mean that Texan prisoners don't get slaughtered? You mean Americans aren't trying to steal the land that Mexicans stole from Indians?

Dang, I hate it when we get history that didn't ever happen.

Bart Noir
Who just loved M&C and will see it again. And start on the third book in the series, which series will take him the rest of his life to read.

[George Hill]

Gunner45 - Well, RATS! I'm not in Orem anymore... I'm out here in Vernal.
I don't care what anyone says - VERNAL SUCKS!

[John G]

Great flick. That one-armed kid absolutely rocked. I want a poster of him boarding the enemy ship through that splintered wall, blasting away with a pistol in his good hand. What was he, 15?

[Newton]

Young Lord Blakeney, played superbly by Max Pirkis aged 13.

[moa]

Just saw it, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to see a well done action/adventure film. Probably best seen on the big screen with good audio. The cannon firing sounds were awesome.

Apparently the 28 gun British man-of-war was fully built to be completely authentic as possible for both exterior and interior scenes. Heard tell movie cost $130 million to make, but that might be hype.

[TaxPhd]

Blakeney was the best part of the film. A one-armed, 13 year old Midshipman, disappointed that he couldn't go along on the boarding party. Left in command of a Frigate, commands a gun crew to excellent results, and leads a boarding party of his own. Outstanding!



Scott

[Mordwyn]

I caught an advert last night announcing that on the second and third of December A&E will be showing two brand spanking new HH Movies. As they said in the old days:

Huzza!!!! :D Huzza!!!! :D Huzza!!!!!!:D

[Kaylee]

closing for topic drift from firearms material.

sorry boss. :)

-K