The Bounty

Rating:
Summary: A beautifully filmed epic.
Review: I must disagree with some of the other reviews in that I feel this movie contains some terrific acting by some very young (and now quite famous) stars. Daniel Day lewis gives a fine performance as a sniveling "dandy" type officer as does Liam Neeson in one of his earlier, lesser known roles. Mel Gibson's performance is quite solid, especially in the actual scene where the crew mutinies. (I don't know what film the others were watching, but this scene was anything but wooden!) As usual, Anthony Hopkins is brilliant as the stiff and stoic Captain Bligh. The Bounty is, among other things, a romantic story that not only educates, but entertains at the same time. Being a big fan of the novel, the screenplay, although not always perfect, still holds the flavor of the original written work. If you like historical epics, you'll enjoy this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Very enjoyable movie with two predecessors
Review: The Bounty is an excellent movie that tells the story of the mutiny on the Bounty with a different spin. The H.M.S. Bounty is sent to Tahiti to pick up bread plants to bring to Jamaica so the slaves there can be fed for cheap. As well, the Bounty and its crew will circumvent the world while completing their mission. At first, the Bounty's mission goes off perfectly but soon enough problems arise as tension develops between Lt. William Bligh and First Officer Fletcher Christian. After watching Bligh mistreat the crew, Christian decides he has seen enough and takes matters into his own hand. This story has already been done twice but this one has a much different tone to it. There is something unexplainable about the movie, but it is still very good. The musical score by Vangelis is very well placed to show the rising tension as the confrontation between the two men draws nearer.

Mel Gibson is very good as First Officer Fletcher Christian. Taking the role played by both Clark Gable and Marlon Brando is not easy, but he steps into the role very well. Anthony Hopkins' performance as Lt. William Bligh is equally as good. This Bligh is much more sympathetic than Charles Laughton or Trevor Howard although he is very unlikable when he finally does crack. Laurence Olivier and Edward Fox are excellent as two officers at Bligh's trial trying to find out what went wrong. The film also stars Daniel-Day Lewis, Liam Neeson, and Bernard Hill in good roles. The DVD offers the widescreen presentation and a theatrical trailer. This is a very enjoyable movie with an excellent cast and beautiful cinematography in the Tahitian islands. For a new spin on a familiar story, check out The Bounty.

Rating:
Summary: Seeing is believing.
Review: In an excellent dramatic portrayal of a young man in conflict, Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian must choose the life he has always known or actions that betray his code of honor.

Anthony Hopkins is Captain Bly. Perhaps the cruelty of the times caused him to treat his men so harshly, perhaps it was the code of the Royal Navy in order to maintain discipline, but either way Hopkins pulled it off perfectly. I thought how these early rolls gave him the power to play Hannibal Lecter so well in later films.

There is no way to judge the actions of a mutineer by today's standards, but I agreed with Fletcher Christion for the leniency toward the crew that would have kept the ship in tact and in the Master's command. Beatings, whippings, hitting a man on his bare buttox while is sprawled over a cannon, and depriving the men of the freedom they had been granted for over three months on Tahiti set the captain up for the mutiny.

How could men who had not been all that happy with a captain consumed to circumnavigate the globe on his personal quest, thereby bringing them in grave danger, be trusted? This was particularly true when this captain punished men for simply speaking out -- not against him -- but with questions about his command to return to Cape Horn where they had all nearly died in a bitter 31 day battle against the sea, which had won. They did not make it around Cape Horn the first time when their crew was full and energetic. Though he was warned privately by his First Mate, he still refused to listen.

This is also a love story about men who fell in love with their native wives and did not want to lose them. Had they not followed the captain's orders to return to the boat, without further shore leave, they would have been flogged or shot. Perhaps if Captain Bly had not been so rigid and Puritanical, this story would never have happened, but it is as alive and full of questions now as it was then.

This is a deep story. The acting is excellent. Five Stars.

Victoria Tarrani

Rating:
Summary: A wonderful, classic movie!
Review: This is a fabulous movie with a fantastic cast and story line. It is, of course, the story of HMS Bounty, and her ill-fated trip to Tahiti in the 18th Century. This version is closest to the interpretation of what happened there that most historians favor today. Bligh (Anthony Hopkins) is neither hero nor villain--merely a sea captain faced with the task of taking his ship on a two-year journey to the other side of the world--a journey that would roughly compare today with a space voyage to Mars. Bligh was picked to captain this voyage for the very good reason that he was reckoned at that time to be the best navigator in the British Navy. (Bligh had been Navigator for the great Captain Cook on that earlier voyage to the South Seas).

This is an incredible story, done twice before of course. This version is far and away my favorite. There are no stereotype heros or villains in this telling. Gibson is simply wonderful as Fletcher Christian, Hopkins as Bligh rings true. The rest of the cast is similarly excellent.

As superb as the movie was, the best part of the movie is the outstanding theme music by Vangelis. The music is beautiful, haunting, and not to be forgotten. This is an example of how the musical score to a movie can really contribute to the overall experience.

I do not understand why this film was not a bigger hit. Gibson is a better Fletcher Christian than Brando, and Hopkins is perfection as Captain Bligh. ...

Rating:
Summary: Exhilarating retelling of classic adventure tale!
Review: Beautifully filmed version of the epic adventure story, especially interesting because of the complexities brought out in the characters of Fletcher Christian and Captain Bligh. All concerned do admirably in this retelling with Hopkins particularly stealing the show with his pitch perfect, multi demensional performance.

Only the score by "Vangelis" reminds you that this is a film from the 1980s, with its synthesizer-heavy twang. It would be wonderful to have this rescored with more period appropriate music.

Unfortunately, the DVD offers no Special Features besides subtitles and theatrical trailer.

Rating:
Summary: Confusing
Review: I must say that this is the first film or book I've been fully exposed to concerning the Bounty and its men. I was drawn to this DVD primarily because of my secret love affair with Mel Gibson (he doesn't know about it; that's what makes it secret).

But I was hoping the story would be exciting and well-written too. Except for very good acting by a number of persons, including Wi Kuki Kaa as the king of Tahiti and father of Christian Fletcher (Gibson)'s love interest (That little--never mind.)Considering both Gibson and Sir Anthony can act with both hands tied behind their back balancing a dolphin on their heads, I was not surprised by the characterizations of Mssrs. Bligh and Christian--a ray of light in the film. The scenery is magnificent, and the storm scenes exciting. But rather than sail, it floundered.

My problem with this film was believability. In short, since the overall theme was a cruel ship's master driving his first mate and others to mutiny, I expected to find Bligh's character to be some shade of ruthless. I also thought he was supposed to run the ship with obsessive authoritarianism, carping at the crew for the slightest departure from English decorum. A scene of the crew dancing reluctantly to a fiddle tune (the world's first aerobics class!) certainly exhibited a difference between captain and crew as to what they thought sailors should be doing. But is that any different than drills current people in the service (whether in Britain or elsewhere) are told to do? At any rate, the dance "class" seemed more the idea and for the enjoyment of the 3rd in command, who seemed to get a lot of joy out of it, not the captain, who looked on nervously.

It was only after several people had deserted, his first mate directly disobeyed orders, and all the sailors were involved in behavior not appropriate for officers to be doing in public, that he really made waves.

But that is part of the problem, too. Up until that point, the movie seemed like an apologia for Bligh. But after he did get fed up to the gills, ordering cruel punishments for small infractions, and re-ordering the ship back through a dangerous zone for his own glory, that didn't seem the case. Note, however, that all this occurred after the mutineers were hatching their plot. Neither Bligh nor Christian come out smelling like an anenome in this seafaring tale.

This would have been a fine movie to rent. It's exciting at points, beautiful, and romantic. But as a story, it does not hang together well. I would not recommend shelling out any fins to buy it.

(But don't pirate it either, that's illegal).

Rating:
Summary: Bonus features for a bare-bones disc
Review: "The Bounty" is my favorite of the three versions I've seen (1936, 1960 & 1984). The main reason I prefer it is because it presents a more accurate picture of the characters and events than the two earlier movies. And it has several great performances, especially that by Anthony Hopkins.

However, as others have noted, the DVD is bare-bones with only a trailer as an extra feature. To remedy this situation, I have created a "bonus" DVD that features two documentaries that are relevant to "The Bounty". The first is "A Fated Ship", a New Zealand made documentary that tells the story of the construction of the replica Bounty that was eventually used in the 1984 movie (it was built for a proposed movie about the Bounty mutiny that was to have been directed by David Lean). It is very well done and provides a fascinating look at the origin of the beautiful ship that played such an important part in "The Bounty". The second is an Australian documentary called "HMS Pandora: In Pursuit of the Bounty". It tells the story of the Royal Navy frigate sent to capture the mutineers and the fate of both the ship and the mutineers who remained on Tahiti. Both programs run about 46 minutes. They were transfered from a VHS tape that I recorded about twenty years ago when the shows were broadcast on the Discovery Channel. Neither is now available on tape or DVD and I've never seen them on broadcast TV again. I could find no reference to them on the IMDB or even through a general Google search. My conclusion is that they are extremely rare, which is a shame since they are of interest to any fan of "The Bounty". Given that they were transfered from a twenty year old tape, the video quality is not too bad. "A Fated Ship" was a first generation recording and looks pretty good, overall. "HMS Pandora" was a second generation dupe and is not so good, but watchable. The disc format is DVD-R. I am willing to share this, on a limited basis, just so other fans of the movie can have something more than the bare-bones DVD that is currently available. If you are interested, contact me at [e-mail].

Rating:
Summary: Mel's earlier passion.
Review: This early Mel Gibson film features him as Fletcher Christian, the leader of the famous Mutiny on the Bounty. Anthony Hopkins is excellent as Captain Bligh, the moralistic seaman who cannot abide Fletcher's passionate relationship with a "savage" young woman. The film stresses the ambiguous character of both men, neither of whom are all good or all evil. Gibson's Fletcher Christian is an independent man who feels alternating pangs of guilt over his mutiny, coupled with a fierce desire to leave the shipboard life under Bligh that has become for him, a living hell. A good seafaring drama, showcasing both Hopkins' dramatic skills and Gibson's early image as a sensitive, passionate actor.

Rating:
Summary: Mutiny on this Movie! - [ 1 star is too many]
Review: I was very disappointed after watching this sad, sad, sad interpretation of the glorious Mutiny on the Bounty and find it difficult to believe that so many people gave this movie 4 plus stars. Given the actors and the storyline, I had much higher expectations and was genuinely let down by this shallow rendition. After sitting through all the bad screenwriting, over dramatic acting by Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson and Liam Neeson, and all the long drawn out/miscued pauses, not to mention the psychopathic music accompanying each badly acted, over dramatic scene, I wanted to toss the DVD, DVD player, and television overboard - actually off my balcony.

Rating:
Summary: Terrific movie.
Review: I have seen two of the three editions of this movie, this one and the first one. Of the two I think this one is far better. I felt that the scenes of being on the smaller row boat helped to allow the audience to empathize with the captain, a scence which the first movie lacked. I also think Anthony Hopkins makes a great British sea captain. The only thing I don't like is the film music, too strange sometimes.