Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
2003
****½
Director: Peter Weir
Cast: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D'Arcy, Edward Woodall, Chris Larkin, Max Pirkis, Lee Ingleby, Billy Boyd, Joseph Morgan, Patrick Gallagher
Following Gladiator, Russell Crowe gives another commanding performance as Captain Jack Aubrey, who commands the HMS Surprise during the Napoleonic Wars. While pursuing a fast and powerful French warship, he must weigh the risks against the gains. Peter Weir's slow but highly entertaining sea adventure is based on the novels in Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series. Weir's film is not only a historically accurate record of a battle between the English and the French, but a moving depiction of friendship and camaraderie, and a gritty portrayal of life at sea. Everything is beautifully staged, mostly with practical effects. Russell Boyd's cinematography and Richard King's sound editing won Academy Awards.
