This Is Mutiny Mr Christian (The Bounty (DVD))

Member Name: lilmsnaughty79

Product:	The Bounty (DVD)
Date:	03/04/09 (298 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great Acting and Settings

Disadvantages: None

This Is Mutiny Mr Christian
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The Bounty is a retelling of the infamous mutiny on the HMS Bounty, where a gang of mutineers led by Fletcher Christian take control of the ship captained by William Bligh and the events that led upto it. I don't think I'm giving anything away there, if you don't know the story then you've never lived or your history teacher left a lot to be desired.

Conclusion
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The story of the Bounty has been done several times now, and some big names have been involved including Charles Laughton and Marlon Brando. Is there really any need for another? My answer to that question having seen this film is yes. This differs from previous films and despite now being 25 years old is fresher. It is told in flashbacks as Bligh is interrogated by a Naval panel to find out how he lost his ship.

The biggest difference on this telling is that Captain Bligh is not the cruel and ruthless tyrant portrayed in the earlier films. The portrayal here seems
more honest and believable. The tension builds up slowly over the course of the film.

Anthony Hopkins is the co-lead as Captain Bligh and has really nailed the character. It's hard not to feel sorry for him at times. He plays his gradual withdrawal into almost obsession with a lot of power and emotion. I would put this up with some of his best performances.

Mel Gibson seems an unlikely choice for Fletcher Christian and I was sceptical, but it works. He even gets to do the shouting he seems to love so much. He also shows a lot of passion and emotion. This was before he became known for his action movies such as Lethal Weapon, although he
had make Mad Max before this.

There are a number of notable supporting cast members, including Bernard Hill (who doesn't seem to have changed a bit), Daniel Day Lewis who is excellent as usual but a little underused. Liam Neeson has a reasonable part here too and again is as good as you'd expect. A lot of big names to come here and a lot of already big names too.

The panel interrogating Bligh has two very big names, an ageing Laurence Olvier and Edward Fox. Despite never moving from their seats they provide two powerful performances. Oliver playing good cop to Fox bad one. This is one of Olivier's last movies, he does look old in it, he fits the part.

The music is written and performed by the excellent Vangelis. Needless to say it's sublime. Using Vangelis could be seen as a bit of a gamble as he is mostly an electronic artist and unlike Bladerunner where his music fits a futuristic setting, this is set in the eighteenth century. It works a treat, and is very important in creating the atmosphere and emotion of the film. Unfortunately it's next to impossible to get a copy of the soundtrack, I've tried on a number of occasions to no avail.

Director Roger Donaldson is has quite a varied career in terms of the style and type of films he's made. His most commercial film is probably Cocktail with Tom Cruise but this is not in that mould at all. I think he's made an excellent job. The scenes in Tahiti are simply stunning. Donaldson has produced a work of building tension and atmosphere. There is some nudity in the Tahiti scenes. The scenes of the storm are very exciting and extremely well shot, wish waves crashing over and the ship listing.

Summing up, this is one of my favourite films. It's one I can watch again and again without getting bored. In the end, it's hard to say how accurate this is to history. Fletcher Christian never got out his side of the story so it's just Bligh's word against the few Mutineers who returned back to Blighty. There are two sides to every story and what Donaldson has shown is both sides, I ended up sympathising with both Bligh and Christian and the crew.

Recommended.

DVD Extra Features
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The DVD has a large booklet enclosed that rather than go into detail about the film tells the story of the planned David Lean films about The Bounty and the ship then went to get the mutineers, HMS Pandora. That films never saw the light of day but inspired this film. What a shame they were never made as it looks like they would have been excellent. There is also a making of special feature presented by Edward Fox that is well worth a watch, surprising for an 80s film.

Main Cast List
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Mel Gibson - Fletcher Christian
Anthony Hopkins - Lieutenant William Bligh
Laurence Olivier - Admiral Hood
Edward Fox - Captain Greetham
Daniel Day-Lewis - John Fryer
Bernard Hill - William Cole

Directed By : Roger Donaldson
Running Time : 132 Mins.
Certificate : 15

Summary: An Excellent Telling Of The Mutiny