master and commander the far side of the world

Master and commander the far side of the world series#

The music is also superbly recorded, both in the string duos of those quieter moments and the savage drums that punctuate much of the action. The sound is stunning, from the creaks and groans of the ship in the quieter moments to battle scenes that will have you lunging for the volume control. But overall, this is an excellent video transfer, with sharp, crisp images, almost no visible edge enhancement, and no obvious artifacts. I first saw the film in a DLP theatrical presentation, and those scenes were a problem there as well. Some of the below-deck scenes that open the film, in particular, will challenge a projector with less than pristine blacks. Master and Commander is a rather darkly photographed film, with a subdued color palette, and that's what you'll see on the DVD. Still, I wouldn't bet against seeing more Captain Jack Aubrey adventures in future sequels. And the film didn't really end so much as seem about 'to be continued'-sort of like The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, but without the promise of two more installments. A number of crewmen die in the course of the story, but we never get to know any of them enough to care very much. A key argument between Aubrey and Maturin came off like a plot device surely, an experienced Royal Navy surgeon would not be so petulant and vocal about a change in the mission that interfered with his personal desires. The film is outstanding, though I was a little put off by a few details. The doctor is an avid amateur naturalist, and his excitement about a promised stop in the Galápagos Islands, and his frustration when changes in the situation threaten that visit, drive key elements of the story. They share an interest in music and spend evenings playing duos on violin and cello, while during the day playing their own cat-and-mouse game about the ship's mission. The breaks in the action provide plenty of room for character development, with the friendship between Aubrey and the ship's surgeon, Dr.

Master and commander the far side of the world series#

The action is intense, though it ultimately evolves into a series of cat-and-mouse games, with first the English ship, and then the French, in pursuit. They're attempting to prevent its passage into the Pacific Ocean, where it could expand the Napoleonic wars into new waters.

It's 1805, and Aubrey and his crew are in hot pursuit of the French privateer Acheron off the Atlantic coast of South America.

In adapting and consolidating for the screen two of these books- Master and Commander and The Far Side of the World-Australian director Peter Weir has created a rousing adventure that puts us right in the midst of that era, bringing to vivid life its thrills, hardships, and horrors. I was not, however, familiar with Patrick O'Brien's popular novels about the early-19th-century adventures of the fictitious Jack Aubrey, captain of the British Man O' War HMS Surprise. I was particularly taken by The Seafarers, a series about ships and the men who go down to the sea in them, from the Phoenicians to the modern era. $39.98.īack in the 1980s, I contributed my part toward annual bonuses for the employees of Time-Life Books. DTS (English), Dolby Digital 5.1 (English, French), Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround (Spanish).