Mel Gibson. Young. Handsome. Still seemingly innocent. A pleasure to remember how he once was.
But beyond that, this is a brilliant film. If it has one real fault, it could have stood a bit more editing. It really didn't need to have a run time of 132 minutes, although, on the other hand, that length gave more opportunities for the kind of detail that makes the film more complete than earlier versions.
It is interesting that the first half of the film portrays "Captain" Bligh in an almost favorable light. Although then, suddenly, when the ship leaves its paradise, he becomes an almost raving maniac. That is, perhaps, another fault of this film; it seems unlikely the captain would snap so suddenly. Even with Bogie in "The Caine Mutiny", the transformation is somewhat more gradual.
The cast here is excellent. Mel Gibson i great here as Fletcher Christian, although it is amazing how little actual dialog he has in long portions of the film; which is okay. Anthony Hopkins' performance here as "Captain" Bligh is rather restrained for much of the film, perhaps making things a bit more realistic; watching one scene where he is sweating profusely made me wonder if this film led to Hopkins eventually playing Nixon. Although his part is small, it is good to see Laurence Olivier as Admiral Hood of the investigating committee, and Edward Fox, also a member of the investigating committee. Liam Neeson had an early role here; uneventful. Wi Kuki Kaa is interesting as King Tynah. Daniel Day-Lewis is also here.
What's interesting to remember is that this film is based upon a true story, and a rather fantastic one at that....particularly after the mutiny. In the little I have read, this film version is probably reasonably faithful to the true story.
But beyond that, this is a brilliant film. If it has one real fault, it could have stood a bit more editing. It really didn't need to have a run time of 132 minutes, although, on the other hand, that length gave more opportunities for the kind of detail that makes the film more complete than earlier versions.
It is interesting that the first half of the film portrays "Captain" Bligh in an almost favorable light. Although then, suddenly, when the ship leaves its paradise, he becomes an almost raving maniac. That is, perhaps, another fault of this film; it seems unlikely the captain would snap so suddenly. Even with Bogie in "The Caine Mutiny", the transformation is somewhat more gradual.
The cast here is excellent. Mel Gibson i great here as Fletcher Christian, although it is amazing how little actual dialog he has in long portions of the film; which is okay. Anthony Hopkins' performance here as "Captain" Bligh is rather restrained for much of the film, perhaps making things a bit more realistic; watching one scene where he is sweating profusely made me wonder if this film led to Hopkins eventually playing Nixon. Although his part is small, it is good to see Laurence Olivier as Admiral Hood of the investigating committee, and Edward Fox, also a member of the investigating committee. Liam Neeson had an early role here; uneventful. Wi Kuki Kaa is interesting as King Tynah. Daniel Day-Lewis is also here.
What's interesting to remember is that this film is based upon a true story, and a rather fantastic one at that....particularly after the mutiny. In the little I have read, this film version is probably reasonably faithful to the true story.