Master and Commander

[Ashley]

Anyone else see this awesome flick? I loved it; right up there with The Patriot, Braveheart, the Count of Monte Cristo, Gladiator and A Knight's Tale. I've never seen a movie done on the naval side of the Napoleonic wars before, but this one...took my breath away. Stunning visuals, great story, great actors...I just loved it overall.
Oh, and for you intersted--it has Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind), Paul Bettany (A Knight's Tale), and Billy Boyd (Lord of the Rings).

On a side note, I guess you can see from my favorites list what kind of movies I love best--historical/historical fantasy. Anyone else love this category, or am I the only nut on this board?

[Lochaber Axe]

Do not worry so much dear maiden, for I am one such person.

*bows*

... yes those are my favorite genre. So you liked the Gladiator... personally I liked the beginning in Germania. It was nice to see the legions in action.

As a note, have you ever seen Zulu? Well if you have, listen to their battle cry and then listen to the saxons in Gladiator. You'll get my point.

[Link Antilles]

Yes, I'm another fan of that genre. I love the Patriot, Braveheart, the Count of Monte Cristo, and Gladiator! In fact, I was listening to the Gladiator sound track today. Master and Commander, eh? I'm very much looking forward to seeing it, when I scramble enough money to get a ticket. lol

[Stephen]

I thought it was only OK. I loved some of the movies you mentioned Ash The Patriot, Braveheart, the Count of Monte Cristo, Gladiator and A Knight's Tale I have not yet seen the Patriot so I cannot say I love that...but I just felt this movie was lacking...not sure what...it felt like...wham I am Russel Crowe thus I will carry this film no matter how dry and boring it is...I guess it was just me from everyones responces...*scampers off to the Gladiator Thread to spam*

[Technomancer]

Since I like naval stuff, I'll probably go see it tonight. I didn't think too much of "Gladiator" though as much as I enjoy classicism. The film "The Fall of the Roman Empire" told the same story much better IMHO (I Claudius was pretty cool too).

Part of my problem is that often historical films don't really follow history too well.

[Gypsy]

Part of my problem is that often historical films don't really follow history too well.

Then you might be pleasantly surprised with this one. I'm not sure about the actual events, but Master and Commander did nothing to romanticize that time of history. You got a real glimpse of how claustrophobic, dirty, and dangerous one of those ships could really be.

I loved the movie. It didn't need explosions or an immortal action hero. It was, I guess you could call an "intelligent" film. Underlying themes weren't spelled right out loud with cheesy lines. Much of the drama was unspoken, and it never seemed to insult my intelligence.

[Azier the Swordsman]

This is definately on my 'watch' list. Even if I miss it in theatres, I'll definately snatch it up when it comes out.

[Stephen]

"I loved the movie. It didn't need explosions or an immortal action hero. It was, I guess you could call an "intelligent" film. Underlying themes weren't spelled right out loud with cheesy lines. Much of the drama was unspoken, and it never seemed to insult my intelligence"

I guess everyone gets somthing different from a movie...I made my comment about Crowe because I felt he was cast as some super inflated hero...able to rush into battle with 2 swords and leave with his clothing smelling like roses....to call it an intellegent film would kind of imply that those who do not like it...are slow or somthing...I heard the same excuse used for the Ring. (your only scared if your smart...all those dumb people will think its lousy) Like I said though...I am not saying M&C is total crap...I'm just saying its missing somthing. Not quite sure...but anyway...i've babbled enough.

[Ashley]

I will say my one beef was with the ending. It left me going, uh, it's over?

Oh, and I guess I also have to say I had a hard time getting upset when bad things happened[spoiler="when bad things happened"] when people would die, like the dude that fell overboard [/spoiler] because I couldn't differentiate between who was who. Therefore, it was hard for me to feel any kind of attachment towards them. They all looked too much alike, and didn't bother with names very often.

[shooraijin]

Then you might be pleasantly surprised with this one. I'm not sure about the actual events, but Master and Commander did nothing to romanticize that time of history. You got a real glimpse of how claustrophobic, dirty, and dangerous one of those ships could really be.

From what I've been reading (I haven't seen it yet), it's very faithful to the Patrick O'Brian original novels, and these novels have repeatedly been acclaimed for their technical and historical depth as well as strong storytelling. From the New York Times review of "Master and Commander,"

In too many period novels, history is a veneer masking some up-to-date monkeyshines. In rarer instances, history permeates the very substance of the book. Patrick O'Brian's sophisticated sea story belongs to the blue-ribbon category. It re-creates with delightful subtlety, the flavor of life aboard a midget British man-of-war plying the western Mediterranean in the year 1800, a year of indecisive naval skirmishes with France and Spain. Even for a reader not especially interested in matters nautical, the author's easy command of the philosophical, political, sensual and social temper of the times flavors a rich entertainment. For the deep-water buff, there is enough incidental information here to enable him to fit out, commission and sail a 140-ton square rigger, should the occasion ever arise.

Here's a nice URL on him, although some of the links are lamentably busted.

http://www.io.com/gibbonsb/pob/

[Technomancer]

I just got back from seeing it, it's really good. I'll have to look into seeing if the town library has any of the novels (particularly the War of 1812 one). Anyways, the filmmakers did a great job. The little interlude on Galapogas was quite nice too.

[ShiroiHikari]

I wanna see this movie. I'm not a history buff, but it looked interesting.

[Azier the Swordsman]

I'm making plans to see this movie this weekend. It looks like a very good one.

[Gypsy]

....to call it an intellegent film would kind of imply that those who do not like it...are slow or somthing...

Not at all. I said the film itself was intelligent, I said nothing about the type of people who liked and did not like it. I guess I could have said, "It was really really really really kewl!!!" but that didn't seem to fit exactly.

By calling Master and Commander intelligent, I was not implying anything, so if someone took it that way, I'm sorry.

[Stephen]

Whatever...*snicker* ties Ami down and makes her watch 5 hours of Freddy Krugar films to dumb her down a little...

[Azier the Swordsman]

It was a good movie, though I liked Pirates of the Carribean a little better.

[Tet-chan]

I've just seen the movie.
Great story and i like it,not the best i've seen though

[Danyasaur]

I wanna see this movie. I'm not a history buff, but it looked interesting.

it doesn't have anything to do with history...... at least... I don't think so, if you like action movies then you'll really like Master and Comander.

I injoyed it!, archy

[Link Antilles]

I saw it today, great movie! Yet, at some point it does have you wonder when it will end. This movie will fit nicely between the Patroit and Gladiator in my DVD collection.