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The Bounty | Year: 1984 Classification: Action/Adventure Directed: - Roger Donaldson Actors/Actresses: - Anthony Hopkins - Liam Neeson - Mel Gibson ALMOST GREAT Roger Donaldson's beautiful film of the revolt on the H.M.S. Bounty was originally intended as a two-part feature for director David Lean. Although Robert Bolt's original screenplay has been masterfully compressed from it's lavish and detailed original six hour length, the core ideas Lean and Bolt were attracted to remain intact. The conflict in this superior version of the classic tale is not so much between Christian and Bligh as it is between savagery and civilization. No computer-generated images can yet compete with the recreation of a full-scale Bounty. To see it gracefully slicing the open seas of the South Pacific is a delight. A surprisingly youthful Mel Gibson is a very contemporary Mister Christian up against a disturbed but human Captain Bligh as characterized by a minimalist (and then alcoholic) Anthony Hopkins. Director Donaldson ("Smash Palace") gets into a rhythm of tension and release that keeps this stunning-looking movie fully alive. The electronic score by Vangelis ("Chariots of Fire") was much criticized at the time of this movie's original release but now seems more fitting and less jarring. On a big screen home theater, this superb DVD transfer is dazzling in every way, especially the Tahitian interlude. With Edward Fox and Laurence Olivier. The only DVD bonus is the original theatrical trailer. Being two things at the same time. I've not seen either preceding version of Mutiny on the Bounty (neither Gable's nor Brando's) so my review reflects only the value of this flick independant of how it may compare with it's antecedents. On the whole, this is a compelling movie. It's creators understood the value of embodying two polarizing forces within the same character or situation. By exploiting that tension, you create real drama. It's a simple formula, but easier said then done. Fortunately both Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins are able to pull it off elegantly and seamlessly. Gibson is simultaneously pulled by both the responsibility of loyalty and the passion that any vital man possesses. Hopkins is divided by both the egoists desire to create a legacy and the LACK of male vitality that usually fuels such desires. Of the two, Hopkins part is much tougher, yet he captures it in all it's poetic sadness. In watching a conflict like this, everyone has to chose a side. I relate much more to Gibson, his disloyalty notwithstanding, as he allowed himself to be led more by power than form. (And I saw this before Mel became one of my all time great heroes for his phenomenal work in THE PASSION.) Hopkins was an old man in the dark days of pre-Viagra civilization. He just didn't have any mojo left and his men sensed that. Given that he was cooped up in a boat with ALL MEN for countless days, it boggles the mind that ANY man would not feel he had found absolute paradise when landing on Tahiti and all that it offered. And I mean ALL. Mel of course understood exactly what they had swung into and, given his game, quickly began enjoying it to it's fullest. That is essentially what this movie is about. The conflict between true, perhaps even raw passion and an old decaying passion limping along on it's last pathetic leg while attempting to provide some subtext for it's existence. Two best scenes: 1) Mel and his Tahitian bride coming together for the first time. 2) The bitter tears shed by Mel's father-in-law as his daughter chose to go with Mel rather than remain with him. BTW - I don't know why the last 3 reviewers of this film are all from the Ann Arbor/Plymouth Michigan area. Perhaps we just enjoy tropical climates more than others around the country! Wonderful characterizations - especially Hopkins' Bligh This isn't a simple retelling of the story of the "Mutiny on the Bounty" with a vicious Captain Bligh and a troubled, but virtuous Mr. Christian saving the crew from unbearable cruelty. This is a much better story. The movie begins at the trial at the Admiralty of Lieutenant Bligh for losing the HMS Bounty. The movie flashes back to the story from this trial periodically. This device allows the movie to focus on key points in a story that takes place over well more than a year without having to try and keep a strict narrative together. Bligh has been assigned to go to Tahiti to get Breadfruit plants and take them to Jamaica to provide cheaper feed for the slaves and while he is doing that he wants to circumnavigate the globe - a career-making move in 1787. Assigned to Bligh as first mate is John Fryer who is doubtful about going round the Horn off the southern tip of South America that is noted for its mighty storms. Bligh brings along his friend Fletcher Christian as the officer after John Fryer. After they finally reach Tahiti and negotiate to get the breadfruit, they have to wait for them to grow. They are there many months longer than expected and the men get attached to the local women who are mostly bare breasted and very agreeable companions. Discipline breaks down. Bligh remains above all the fraternization, but has a hard time pulling the crew back together and as they set sail for home he applies harsh discipline to get the crew back into fit condition and sets a course that upsets the men. Christian has his own resentments and torn loyalties, but does lead the crew in mutiny and sets Bligh adrift in a small open launch (it was only 23 foot long and 6 foot 9 inches wide). Bligh's courage and magnificent seamanship got them through the 3,618 nautical mile journey without loss of life in 47 days. The movie isn't quite accurate about the survival of all the crew. Christian goes back to Tahiti but is forbidden to stay. The mutineers and some Tahitians end up on a then unknown island and their descendants live there to this day. This movie was made in 1984 as a vehicle for Mel Gibson's charisma and blazing stardom. He is charismatic and has some good lines and does them well. His Christian is torn, but also self indulgent and sometimes petulant without much discipline. The star of this movie, and becomes more so each time I see it, is Anthony Hopkins playing Captain Bligh. He is wonderful in this role. His characterization is quite complex. His Bligh is a good man without charisma who tries to hold order with a discipline that becomes harsher as the men resist. In this movie there isn't a single villain with good guys, it is a confluence of flaws in all the characters that leads to the breakdown. My favorite portion of the movie is in the open launch. I find those scenes particularly powerful. My least favorite aspect of the movie is the musical score by Vangelis. He was a hot commodity in the earl Buy The Bounty at Amazon.com Buy posters at Allposters.com Jamster - the latest ringtones for your phone!  Search with Walhello on the Internet on The Bounty Search with the Priority Search Engine on The Bounty This page in other languages: Suomeksi | Nederlands | Deutsch
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