The Bounty

Rating:
Summary: Dissapointing
Review: I first saw this a while ago and had very high hopes for it, as the 1935 classic is one of my all-time favourites. Unfortunately though this is a dissapointing film. Hopkins and Gibson are the only two interesting characters in it, and many great actors are shockingly wasted, especially Olivier and Fox, who are hardly even in it. The film has a different approach to the story and is not very well told, with Bligh a rather fair person who turns cruel for seemingly no reason, and he doesn't even approach the tyranny that Charles Laughton expressed in his unmatched performance, making the crew's mutiny seem almost totally unjustified. It also has the look and feel of a TV movie, and though out of interest I would like to see this new DVD in all it's widescreen glory, I am still holding out for a DVD of the definitive 1935 Mutiny on the Bounty.

Rating:
Summary: Underappreciated
Review: The Bounty is an excellent telling of an oft-told and well known story. But the performances, and the approach, are superior. I won't fault Marlon Brando's prissy Fletcher Christian. It was an original and risky approach, but The Bounty is an early sign that Mel was more than he appeared. His Christian is more passionate, not as refined, and pretty damned torn by his choices.

Anthony Hopkins is pretty damned sinister as Captain Bly, and we all know how well Tony can do sinister! But what a surprise when you start to feel sympathy for him, and, in the end, even kind of admire him! Anthony Hopkins' Bly is complex and brilliant.

This movie wasn't accepted too well at the theaters, if I remember correctly. It wasn't your typical Mel Gibson film at the time. I think people were wanting more Mad Max, and less Year of Living Dangerously; and Anthony Hopkins was not much of a commercial draw at the time. It deserved better than it got.

Ease its pain, get The Bounty

Rating:
Summary: Quite a great tale!
Review: The story is a grand one and it is well done in this movie. With a very talented cast it's hard to go wrong here. The cinematography is very awe-inspiring. I just loved this movie and another not-so-well-known "Rapa Nui". I think it should be rated PG-13, however, for it's topless nudity scenes, done National Geographic style...in other words, not in bad taste. It adds to the realism, if you ask me.

I just can't understand why amazon.com will not make available the HiFi version of "The Bounty" on VHS and it just floors me that of all the "junk" out on DVD, that a title such as this with it's awesome cast isn't yet available on DVD! I will wait till the cows come home for the DVD version. Amazon, do you hear me?

Rating:
Summary: Gritty and sometimes too realistic
Review: Dang, don't you just HATE it when your crew turns on you?

That's the problem that Captain Bligh faces in this gritty, realistic story of the mutiny on the Bounty. Mel Gibson plays Anthony Hopkins' first mate, who rebels and brings a lot of his buddies with him when they reach Tahiti, but are charmed by the native girls, climate, and the simple beauty of it all. Unfortunately, when Bligh refuses to budge or sway, the men mutiny.

A warning: This story is not for the kiddies. It may be PG, but there is a great deal of casual toplessness amongst the native gals, an all-naughty-parts-hidden swim, and a fall-over visual of Gibson and his pregnant girlfriend. Aside from the sexiness of it, there is also a disturbing section where some former deserters are whipped.

That said, Hopkins does a fantastic job creating a man who you want to slap for being so rigid, and sympathize with because of the pain in his eyes while he is being grilled. Gibson, usually more emotive, seems a bit uncomfortable and stiff. My personal fave, Liam Neeson, plays a rebellious jerk who remains behind on the island, and Neesonites will cringe in pain at the look on his face as he is whipped.

So watch the movie, but be ready to cover small eyes.

Rating:
Summary: Notice - This tape is recorded in LP and isn't HIFI Stereo
Review: This is a very good film. It deserves to be experienced with a better quality recording than this. To fit it onto a T-120 tape (the film is 130 minutes) it's been recorded at the lower quality LP speed. Many VCRs won't even play at this speed (mine won't, check yours before ordering it). And it is not stereo hifi but standard mono VHS. Do yourself a favor and bug Amazon to get the SP HiFi version!

Rating:
Summary: Definitely the best of the four versions.
Review: There are actually four movie versions of the Bounty mutiny. The 1935 Gable/Laughton version, the 1962 Brando/Howard version, the 1982 Gibson/Hopkins version, and an obscure silent Australian version from the 1920's. This one is the best, although in my opinion they went too far to repair the slander done to William Bligh by the other versions. True he wasn't the vilain the other movies portrayed him to be, but he was the object of TWO mutinies afterall. (A second mutiny when he was Governor of New South Wales. So he couldn't have been the PERFECT leader.) Nevertheless, I think they did get the story right this time. Accurately showing Blighs courage and ability as a sailor, as well as his decency and strength of character. The settings and locations are wonderful, as is the ship that they built for the movie (its actually steel with wooden planks bolted to the outside.) Lewis and Neeson are excellent in their supporting roles, and Gibson and Hopkins are great in the lead roles. (Lawrence Olivier and Edward Fox are guest stars too!) The only downside to this movie is the cheezy VANGELIS soundtrack, done on a synthesizer! Its alright for a sci-fi movie like Bladerunner, but in a tropical paradise, in 1797, it just doesn't fit somehow. Sadly, they portrayed John Fryer as a bit of a fool, which I don't think he was. In reality he was an older and more experienced sailor than Bligh. I guess they'll have to make yet another version to repair Fryers reputation! I can't wait.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent and relatively accurate film....
Review: I've just finished reading John Toohey's book on the journey Captain Bligh and his fellow Bounty exiles made across the Pacific Ocean ("Captain Bligh's Portable Nightmare"). Rather than focus on the "men of Pitcairn Island" this film focuses on the story told in Toohey's book-- the amazing 4,162 mile journey Bligh and his men made across the open sea in a 30-foot launch and the subsequent investigation by the British Admiralty.

The book and the film agree on most points. The film stars Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian, the wonderful Daniel Day Lewis as Mr. Frye, Liam Neeson as Mathew Quintel, and other now famous young actors. I hope the film is released on DVD --SOON!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent movie
Review: "The Bounty" is an excellent, well-made movie with a great cast. For the first time, Capt. Bligh is depicted as a reasonable, intelligent (if hot-tempered) man who was wronged by his crew. This movie version of the Bounty mutiny is the most historically accurate yet made, and it ranks with the 1935 Gable/Laughton version in terms of quality entertainment. The 1962 Marlon Brando version is a joke by comparison. I must say that I disagree with several of the reviewers who blasted the 1935 movie: it may have had historical inaccuracies, but it too was a tremendously entertaining film.

Rating:
Summary: What a beautiful film
Review: Finally a film that does justice to this compelling story. One could not ask for more talent with a cast that includes Sir Laurence Olivier, Sir Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson, and Daniel Day-Lewis. The characters are fleshed out in a believable way. Gone are the prissy affectations of Brando's Fletcher Christian and the cartoonish buffoonery of Charles Laughton's Captain Bligh. Anthony Hopkins makes the character of Captain Bligh much more human. He is actually a regular person, if a little misguided, who watches his crew become intoxicated by the beauties of Tahiti. Vangelis' soundtrack is marvelous, he really creates his own atmosphere that totally complements the film. This is the definitive version of this saga, don't miss it!

Rating:
Summary: Too magnificent for television
Review: "The Bounty" is a movie that does two things with remarkable skill: it is visually and musically stunning. It is a breathlessly beautiful voyage. If you love the sea, sunsets, tropical islands, tall masts in mist and moonlight on waves this movie will stay in your mind forever. But "The Bounty" is very definitely a movie: only on a wide movie screen will you actually cruise the smooth Pacific and become hopelessly stranded on an infinite sheet of glass when the wind dies. Only with a movie sound system will you hear and feel the ships splitting the waves while Vangelis rocks your soul. The experience is too magnificent to be squeezed into a television. If you have only seen "The Bounty" on TV then you can still look forward to truly seeing this movie for the first time.