MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD - DVD review

Here's a man's movie if ever there was one. And for the man (or woman) who wants everything, every last bell and whistle, Fox Home Entertainment are offering the movie not only in bare-bones single-disc versions, wide and fullscreen, but in a two-disc Collectors Edition as well.

Based on a book by a man, directed by a man, produced by several men, written for the screen by several more men, and starring nothing but men, "Master and Commander" is definitely a man's movie. Wives and girlfriends beware; there's not a female aboard. Aye, matey, this is a rousing, high-seas adventure for salty sea dogs. And excepting a few minor lapses, a pretty good one at that.

Just how good is this 2003 release? "Master and Commander," subtitled "The Far Side of the World" because it's taken from one of a series of such books by novelist Patrick O'Brian, was nominated for ten Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. It landed two--for Cinematography and Sound Editing. Best Man's Movie was not among the categories this year or it would have won that one hands down.

Lest you get the impression the picture is simply all action and adventure, however, let me assure you there is a healthy measure of character relationship thrown into the mix as well. Indeed, maybe too much. The movie not only stirs the senses, but for a while at least it attempts to stimulate the mind. It's a combination we have come to expect from director Peter Weir, whose track record making intelligent films is as good as they get. Consider "Picnic at Hanging Rock," Gallipoli," "The Year of Living Dangerously," "Witness," "Dead Poet's Society," and "The Truman Show." Now, add "Master and Commander."

Russell Crowe dominates the film as "Lucky" Jack Aubrey, Captain of His Majesty's Ship Surprise, plying the waters for King and Country during the Napoleonic Wars. A preface informs us that it's "April--1805. Napoleon is master of Europe. Only the British fleet stands before him. Oceans are now battlefields." H.M.S. Surprise is a warship with 197 crewmen and 28 guns, sailing off the north coast of Brazil as the story begins. Captain Aubrey's orders, which set up the movie's plot, are to intercept a French privateer, the Acheron, and "sink, burn or take her a prize." Aubrey is determined to do just that.

The film's goings on are much simpler than I would have thought. The main story involves Aubrey's chess match with the Acheron, a much faster, heavier-gunned, and more powerful ship than the Surprise. Aubrey follows his foe around Cape Horn and up to the Galápagos Islands, facing harsh weather as well as a strong, wily opponent. The secondary plots involve the strained friendship between Aubrey and the ship's high-minded surgeon, Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany); and a glimpse of nineteenth-century class struggles between several crew members and a possibly jinxed young officer. The battles with the Acheron are brilliantly staged, realistic in the extreme, violent, and exciting. The human stories are well intended, but they appear to belong to another movie altogether. They go on for much too long and slow down the action considerably.

But this picture really belongs to Russell Crowe. He's in virtually every scene, and he towers above everyone and everything else. When I wrote a few years back that I thought Crowe's presence in "Gladiator" was somewhat perfunctory, that he merely looked good in a breastplate, I was taken to task by a reader who said I had obviously not seen the nuances in his performance. Well, be that as it may, I found Crowe's performance in "Master and Commander" top-notch. Through a commendable economy of words, he gives his character breadth and soul. He establishes a captain whom his men will follow anywhere: a strong, decisive, heroic, resolute, yet compassionate man, a perfect leader with all due respect for his enemy. Crowe conveys these varying attributes clearly, and call it nuance if you like, he's got it. I actually thought the character Crowe creates in Aubrey more varied and well-rounded than his Award-winning portrait in "A Beautiful Mind."

The conflicts in "Master and Commander" involve not only Aubrey's brisk and bloody encounters with the French ship, but an internal clash Aubrey experiences as he tries to decide whether to continue pursuing the Acheron at all cost--in other words, follow orders to the letter as well as follow his pride, since he has never lost in battle--or to do the sensible thing and return home. The opponent and the weather are against him, and Aubrey must make the best possible decision he can, not only for himself but for his crew and his country.

The biggest drawback I found in the film was its inability to satisfy fully the demands of being an outright swashbuckler like "The Adventures of Robin Hood" or "The Sea Hawk" or a straightforward epic in the tradition of "Spartacus" or "Lawrence of Arabia." It attempts to do both, but it doesn't quite succeed at either. Directer Weir wants to have his cake and eat it, too, making every move in the film seem dauntless and overlarge yet imbuing it with an underlying human touch. The result is not in the same league as the greatest swashbucklers or epics, and the movie will undoubtedly find disfavor among those who want more action and those want more personal drama. Can't win for losing some times.

I also thought the film for all its realism did not portray the ship's crew entirely accurately. The men all seem too clean cut, too well groomed, too refined of speech and bearing for a real-life account of life on the high seas. I suppose this is the consequence of having to heed a PG-13 rating: no swearing, no unnecessary violence, no scars, no tattoos, no sexual references. I would have liked perhaps a grittier view of the common seaman.

But I harp needlessly. What we get is still plenty good enough. "Master and Commander" offers up some fine sea vistas, some exhilarating sea battles, and some intriguing character interplay. Oh, and the movie's title, besides referring to Napoleon, Aubrey, and Lord Nelson, becomes more apparent by the end when Aubrey announces to the crew that "Though we be on the far side of the world, this ship is our home. This ship is England." That doesn't ring true-to-life, either, but it makes for great theatrics.

Video:
The screen displays a wide 2.17:1 anamorphic ratio that helps convey all of Russell Boyd's glorious photography. The fact that the story almost never leaves the confines of a sailing ship does not mean we get anything like static imagery. Unfortunately, there is a small degree of grain that accompanies practically every scene, detracting to a small degree from our overall enjoyment of the picture, but once adjusting to it, this fine grain becomes a part of the landscape; and once getting caught up in the story line, it goes unnoticed. Filmed aboard ship for the most part, the video quality is fairly dark, and it's here that grain is most likely to show up in the best of movies. Anyway, the rest of the film's screen appearance is more than acceptable, with decent object delineation and only an occasional blur to the edges. I doubt that anyone is going to complain.

Audio:
While the video quality may only be average to good, the Dolby Digital 5.1 audio reproduction (or DTS 5.1 if you have it) provides the Oscar-winning sound with plenty of punch and pizzazz. It delivers exceptionally wide dynamics, deep bass, pinpoint directionality, and a multitude of awesome surround effects. The audience is almost literally transported to the deck of the sailing ship, enveloped by the creaking of the boards and rigging, the wind in the sails, and the splashing of the sea on the hull. Then, when the battles begin, one has to duck and dodge the flying cannonballs and wood splinters for fear of being hit. But be careful how you adjust your volume. Set it too high in order to hear the dialogue clearly, and you could end up ripping your speakers apart. This is one of the most-impressive DVD soundtracks I have ever heard.

Extras:
Disc one contains the widescreen presentation of the feature film, with its Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 soundtracks; thirty-six scene selections; English, French, and Spanish spoken languages; and English and Spanish subtitles.

Disc two is where the bonus items come into play. On the Collectors Edition you'll find, in order of importance, the sixty-nine minute documentary "The Hundred Days." It is, according to the title page, "A document of Peter Weir & Co. during their production of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." In widescreen and narrated by the director, crew, and stars, it tells the viewer everything one could want to know about the production, starting with the building and modifying of the full-scale sailing ships, the characters and actors in the film, the principal photography, the makeup and costumes, the shooting at sea, the shooting on the Galápagos, the battles at sea, and the music. It's a little dry but highly informative.
Following that is the twenty-minute documentary "In The Wake Of O'Brian," which tells of the adapting of the tenth novel in the "Master and Commander" series for the screen. Then, there are the featurettes: "Cinematic Phasmids," twenty-nine minutes, which explores the art of cinematic deception, models, CGI, etc.; "Sound Design," twenty minutes, which contains a fascinating interactive cannon demonstration; and an HBO First Look, twenty-five minutes. After those items are six deleted scenes totalling some twenty-two minutes: "Weighing Anchor," "Shipboard Life," "Superstition," "Dentistry," "Articles of War," and "Galápagos." Finally, there are multi-angle studies of various scenes; four art galleries, including conceptual art, naval art, and technical drawings; plus a theatrical trailer, a teaser, and an international trailer.

The two discs are located in a foldout, cardboard-and-plastic sleeve, which also contains an informational booklet, a scene selections menu, and a replica map of the story's journey to "the far side of the world." Everything is housed in a handsome slipcase (check the cover-art zoom for a picture) to make the package a true "Collectors Edition."

Parting Thoughts:
Hip, hip, huzzah! "Master and Commander" may primarily be a roaring good adventure yarn, but it attempts a warmhearted personal drama at the same time. Russell Crowe has never been better, the photography is glorious, and the soundtrack is state-of-the-art. If you don't mind its supermacho bent, its slightly simple story line, and a middle section that for some viewers may tend to sag, the movie otherwise delivers some grand moments of entertainment. In its Collectors Edition format, it even offers some intriguing insights into British naval history and modern filmmaking. Not a bad deal.