Jan. 2nd, 2004

chickenfeet: (Default)
I finally got around to watching Master and Commander yesterday. I think this is the way to get one's Patrick O'Brian fix. One gets the plot (usually stolen from real life e.g. Thomas Cochrane's memoirs) and the character development (O'Brian's strongpoint) without the author's rather leaden prose.

The movie is well acted and well photographed; the cinematographer and director give us credit for not needing MTV style cuts every half second (unlike Peter Jackson!) and the visuals are quite lush in places. As a bit of a naval history buff I was impressed by the attention to detail. Both HMS Surprise and Acheron look like what they are supposed to be and some of the details of ship handling and gunnery are impressive in their accuracy. I don't ever recall seeing stunsails set before and its rare to see the great guns fired (correctly) by flintlock.

There are some very good scenes of Dr. Maturin operating; one where he is trepanning a depressed skull fracture and another where he extracts a bullet from his own ribcage. I can't comment on the authenticity of the procedures ([livejournal.com profile] oursin?) but they are fun to watch. There are also so some great scenes of Galapagos wildlife.

Definitely worth a look.

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