Let's Play Master and Commander
I was not expecting Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World to be any good (especially with hard knuckles Russell Crowe starring in it) but - God Damn! - it's brilliant. It's one of the best action films I've ever seen, but also a very accurate historical film. Everything in it, from the soundtrack to the depiction of life on board the Royal Navy frigate HMS Surprise, matches the period. Set in the early 1800's, it has a beautiful soundtrack that includes compositions by Mozart, Bach and Boccherini, as well as original pieces composed by I'll-be-damned-if-I-know. The cinematography captures the battles between HM Surprise and the french frigate Acheron as if they were oil paintings; and the acting by all involved is nothing short of excellent (including the children, who are always notoriously crap in films - there's even a one-armed ten-year-old who gets to shoot some frenchies with his good hand during a raid... marvellous stuff).
Paul Bettany, who plays the ship's doctor and intellectual, as well as the captain's best friend, is such a sight for sea salty eyes. He looks like he could be related to Simon Woods (the main reason for watching the BBC's recent series Cranford). Bettany adds emotional depth to the film by playing Russell Crowe's conscience - his greater side - representing art and science on board, the quest for truth; whereas Crowe, on his own, is just a duty-bound bloodthirsty military man. Male friendship is one of the main themes of the film, with various male pairings across the boat meant to represent the sublime, platonic possibilities between men when there are no women around for hundreds of miles. In fact, not a single woman features in this film, apart from one scene when the sailors get a glimpse of unatainable brasilian beauties.
The biggest problem in Hollywood today are the terrible book-to-film productions taking place. I consider, for example, the Harry Potter films poor, as well as the recent The Golden Compass. There's no amount of C.G.I. or grand dames of the British stage that can save poorly written scripts. But with Master and Commander it's such a pleasure to see a book translated perfectly into a script, with no ackward scene transitions or characters having to tell the audience the plot. If you ever decide to write a script based on a book, use this film as your example.