Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...
I guess by now pretty much everyone who was at that Portland, Oregon screening has written in to us. Way to go, NRG!!
Hey Harry,
Love the site! I was one of the lucky few on July 30th to see “Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World” when it was shown in Portland Oregon. I guess someone must have been burning the midnight oil… the film I saw looked and sounded much more polished than what I read of the Colorado screening.
I don’t have a whole lot bad to say about this movie… except that I wish ta hell I didn’t have to wait till Nov 14th to see it again!!! This is a good solid film, which could do well come Oscar night. It does need a little more polish though. For one thing God must have REALLY been pissed at Captain Lucky Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and crew of the Surprise. In consecutive scenes the weather around the Surprise goes from sunny, to the “Perfect Storm”, to SNOWWING! I know it’s just a small thing…but a bit more transitioning would I’m sure go a long way to impress those knobs at the Academy. As for the “Perfect Storm” itself… well done. If you’ve seen “The Perfect Storm” you won’t see much in the way of new. BUT, what you will see is what sets this movie apart from most of the crap that’s swirling the bowl at a theater near you. The scene isn’t about a big-assed storm; it’s about life aboard a sailing ship in 1805. It’s about life and death, and the choices a captain and the friend of a drowning man must make… and the cost to one’s soul. Everything isn’t always about how good the special effects are.
This is a movie about choices, that doesn’t spoon feed the audience the “moral of the story”. The plot of Master and Commander is dead simple. The French attack Russell Crowe’s ship, Crowe’s ship gets shot to shit; Crowe gets pissed and chases the French halfway around the world to kick their ass. Thankfully there’s much more to the movie than just that. Peter Weir does a tremendous job immersing his audience into life aboard the Surprise. But more important, he does so without making it feel like you are watching a documentary. Weir also takes his time in letting you get to know his captain and ships doctor. To me this worked very well. Each new scene between Crowe and Paul Bettany required a little more of both the characters and the actors, which builds to some very rewarding scenes.
As for the battles… they will blow your mind AND ears. In the cut I saw all the sound and effects work looked to be done. The sound effects of the battles were the loudest I’ve ever heard in a theater! The whole place shook with the sounds of cannon shots and splintering wood and flesh. It did come at the expense of being able to hear some of the dialogue… but so what… WAR IS LOUD!!! To me it was a nice touch.
If I had one thing that I hope is NOT in the movie come Nov 14th, it would be the 1805 styled jam sessions between Crowe and Bettany. It just doesn’t fit either time they do this in the movie. My only hope is in the fact that the only blue screen I saw in the entire film was in one of these scenes. Mr. Weir… please cut just a little more.
I hope some of this sheds some light, but it is just one man’s humble opinion.
This is WldKarde signing off.
I love the new trailer for the film, and personally, I’ll always give Peter Weir the benefit of the doubt:
Hey, Harry:
I just saw Master and Commander The Far Side of the World at the Regal Lloyd Center 10. I was at the theater on Sunday to see Seabiscuit and they were offering flyers for a "Russell Crowe" film, so I jumped, as I knew what it would be. I have read the first three books in the O’Brian series, Master & Commander, Post Captain, and HMS Surprise (tho not Far Side of the World) and I can tell you that O'Brian fans can rest easy. The movie is meticulous and breathtaking at the same time. Crowe is every inch Lucky Jack, but it's Paul Bettany's Maturin that was the revelation for me. A quiet, commanding performance from the "man of science" who ultimately himself turns to action as well. As I had read, they do not get into the espionage issue heavily, but if you pay attention you will catch a reference to Maturin's other life as a spy. And for those who don't know the books, the moment he takes up arms in the climax and proves himself more than able, it's a great pay-off.
And the guy who plays Killick is absolutely perfect!
The film does not follow the story of the first book, Master and Commander, but does take incidents from it, like when Jack makes a raft with fake lights to give the pursuing ship the slip in the dark. I assume the film's story is that of The Far Side of the World.
SPOILER ALERT
The Surprise, off the coast of Brazil in 1805 (there was a lengthy title card up front which set the stage well for neophytes), is ambushed by a French Privateer of superior strength and speed. Badly beaten, all are for going home, except Jack, of course, who believes he must stop the ship from getting around Cape Horn and destroying the whaling fleet in the Pacific. Indeed, the scene where the "phantom ship" escapes "by running for the Horn" and then the Surprise gets caught in a typhoon, is the greatest single sequence of filming at sea I have ever seen. No doubt it will be the talked about section of the film. As the pursuit continues in the Pacific, Jack and Stephen have a falling out over Jack's driving so hard and his broken promise to let Stephen explore the Galapagos Islands. There is then a section where a young, unhappy Mid. commits suicide while the Surprise is stuck in the Doldrums and Jack must eventually turn back to the Galapagos to save Stephen's life, after he is accidentally shot. The final showdown with the Acheron sees Jack pulling one of his great ruses to fool the French and then a no holds barred full scale ship to ship battle. The ending comes complete with a fun twist.
END SPOILERS
All in all a pretty great story that, although it doesn't show all the complications of Jack and Stephen's lives back home, does a very very faithful job of recreating the detail of O'Brian's ocean going world.
The film is unsentimental and unsparing. Men and boys fight, and some die. It is neither sensationalized, nor romanticized. It's bloody and realistic and maybe even a bit too restrained, but heroic in feel at the same time. They believe (except for Stephen) absolutely and without question in their country and their captain. Jack believes equally in his duty, although in the key turn in the film, does come to see that friendship may be more important than obsession. The film lacks some of the broader humor of the books, but it brings to life a world we have never really seen before, and, more importantly, strong characters. My only complaint is that, aside from Jack, Stephen and Killick, you don't care that much about the other crew. Will the movie succeed? I hope so as I confess to have hated just about every movie I have seen this year and root for ambitious films like this to work.
Thanks,
Cinn Man
Cool. Sounds like a couple of sequences that are absolute stunners.
Harry ...
I never really dug Russell Crowe. His attitude just pisses me off, as I know it does many, many others.
But I just attended a preview of Crowe's latest flick Master and Commander and I gotta admit that Crowe, while a sometime-jerk, is a fucking awesome actor. Crowe kicks major butt in the film, but also shows a lot of emotion in his dealings with his crew. This is like no movie you've seen before - I liked Depp in Pirates of the Caribbean - but Master and Commnander is on a whole other level...it makes Pirates look actually kind of small. Amazing sea battles, action scenes. And Crowe is amazing. The action never dwarfs the character. No question he was great in Gladiator (although my favorite of his films,up to now,is The Insider), but nothing he's done comes close to Master and Commander.
By the way,what is up with the security bullshit at these screenings? They practically shoved their metal detector up my ass when I entered the theater, then again after I grabbed some popcorn. Then, a few guys sitting in the back were thrown out of the theater. Don't know what was going on there.
I'm Paulie No More
Sounds like some amazing performance work, too.
Just got back from a test screening of Master and Commander in Portland OR. There's good news and bad news. The good news is that the film is very, very good. A great depiction of the period, naval warfare, and, according to one of my co-viewers, a faithful adaptation of Patrick O'Brien's book. Now the bad news: the test screening process has the potential to ruin this film.
First off, the film itself. The film was nearly complete, with just some color timing problems and a few shots that looked like they'd been printed off videotape or the editing system. The film begins with a battle, then follows the ship while it chases it's attacker past Brazil, around the horn and up to the Galapagos.
What really makes the film is the level of historical detail it manages to include without shoving any of it down the viewer's throat. I enjoyed PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN, but I never once thought of it as a realistic depiction of sailing and naval warfare. MASTER AND COMMANDER always feels like the ships and sailors are behaving exactly as they would have at the time. Peter Weir's subtlety means that much of the detail will go over your head if you aren't paying attention, but critics and history buffs will love it. One example: all of the numerous telescope shots are distorted and blurry in parts. A couple even have cracks. It seems obvious that early 19th century optics would be imperfect, but would anyone have complained if all of the telescope shots had been perfect? Details like that are what make Master and Commander so good, and there are dozens of others for viewers with sharp eyes.
Russell Crowe is the captain, Jack Aubrey, so he's the center of the ship and film. He does a fine job without taking over the film. Many bit players are allowed moments to shine or even upstage Crowe. Aubrey has a good foil in the ship's doctor, Maturin, played by Paul Bettany. Bettany managed to make A KNIGHT'S TALE tolerable, so he's got talent. This isn't the role that will propel him to star, but it is a good line on his IMDB page. Billy Boyd shows up too, but he doesn't really stand out among the crew. Frankly, I was more impressed by the crewman with the stocking cap who looked like Spicoli. Unfortunately, the credits were incomplete and I have no idea what his name is.
Now, on to the test screening itself. The screening was surprisingly diverse, with plenty of gray hair and thirtysomethings. Now, I didn't get invited to chat with the guys in suits, so I can't say what was said in their conversation. But the form itself was deeply flawed. For example, there was a question about what scenes were too long or moved too slowly. I felt that the film moved well, and my only pacing suggestion was that the climax ought to be a bit longer to make it more important than the other battles. There was no place for me to indicate that something ought to be longer, only shorter. Another bit: there was a check box for "Too Historical." Now, I'll admit that I was a History major as an undergrad, but I would have enjoyed even more historical elements, and only someone who shouldn't be watching a historical drama in the first place would think there was too much. Yet there was no way for a view to indicate that opinion, only that the film was "Epic". I don't think that "Epic" is the opposite of "Too Historical". This wasn't a test screening. This wasn't a way for the filmmakers to get feedback from an audience. This was a way for studio hacks to justify cutting the hell out of a good film. Maybe this film will survive, but it's a very smart film, and so there's probably a bunch of studio guys who want to appeal to the lowest common denominator. That's a real shame, because the film could make critics' top ten lists in its current form. I just home that good taste and intelligence wins in the end.
If you use this call me Colonel Blimp. Yeah, I love the Michael Powell.
Fox? Please listen to this last guy. After all, he had the good taste to choose a Michael Powell-inspired nickname. You gotta give him some credit for that.
Thanks for the reviews, everyone. Can’t wait to see this one later this year.
"Moriarty" out.
