The Bounty( DVD, 2000, Widescreen)
***MINIMAL SPOILERS***
This is the 3rd take of this great Sea-faring Mutiny, circa 1787.
Anthony Hopkins plays Cap't William Bligh, instructed to bring back cheap breadfruit for the slaves for the plantations in Jamaica, as bananas were deemed too expensive.
As was the Custom of the times, the Captain was to choose the majority of his crew; the Admiralty does decide on the 2nd-in-Command, and they gave Bligh a slightly older, journeyman in a Mr. John Fryer, played superbly by the great( what else would you ever expect from) Daniel Day-Lewis. Bligh chooses a well-connected but raw youngster in Fletcher Christian, played by the up-and-coming Mel Gibson, in the capacity of Masters' Mate( 3rd in Command).
Bligh has lofty ambitions to still make a name for himself, despite what Christian calls " this green grocery trip". Bligh wants to set records for navigating through the Cape Horn storms despite not having a Frigate to do such a trip. The Bounty is a much lower class in tonnage and capacity.
They arrive in Tahiti( in real life in the 18th century it was known as "O'Tahit", and Australia was known as "New Holland", the infamous British penal colony the Kingdom ridded itself of it's undesireables.
All the men( except for Bligh, and this apparently was true in real life by most accounts) are smitten with the wiles and wares of the seemingly uninhibited scantily-clad Tahitian women, and the ability for an eitheenth century lad to handle this lifestyle did indeed plant the seeds of losing their sense of call and duty.
Also the cast was great: The late, great Lawrence Olivier played Admiral Hood, to decide Cap't Bligh's fate during Bligh's courts-martial following a harrowing, nightmarish voyage in a dinghy with 18 men and only enough provisions for two weeks at most.
Liam Neeson, in one of his earlier roles, plays Churchill, deckhand and big bully, with more brawn than brains, but still plays this boorish character with a touch of heart; a precurser of things to come fromthis great Actor! Bernard Hill is a most-believable Boatswain( Bo-shun, pronounced), and most dutiful even up to a possible end. Phillip Davis plays Officer Lt. Young, the craftiest, cagiest, scariest, and most conniving member of the entire crew; not to be trusted at any time. Phillip Martin Brown plays Adams, who has significance in Act III. Even the Tahitiian playing Actors, Tevaite Vernette, plays Christains woman Mauatua, is excellent. But a very special mention goes out to Wi Kuki Kaa, as King Tynah, and father to Mauatua, who was so good in this movie, it makes the viewer feel that his interactions is a camcorder somehow time-traveled back to that time! The haunting Score by Vangelis was perfect!
The performances by Kaa and Anthony Hopkins as the curt, crisp, determined Bligh make this movie greater than it was intended!
This great movie did get a good start, as it was nominated for the Palme d'Or, and a BSC nomination( British Cinematography). But Orion Pictures did not market this masterpiece properly. Words in circles has it that Orion was having legal troubles around the time of The Bounty's Theatrical release, stemming from distribution disputes with Warner Bros., and the mess involving the expensive "Cotton Club" lawsuits. The Bounty suffered because of this lack of concentration of the properties on hand, and Orion eventually went bankrupt circa 1998.
This is the most underrated movie of all-time! See it, then contact me!Read full review
