In yet another cinematic treatment of the famous mutiny on the Bounty, the central characters are played by Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. Gibson's Fletcher Christian starts the film as an adventurous youth, but following an arduous voyage to Tahiti he succumbs to the spell of the island and its natives. Hopkins' Captain Bligh is a powerful, authoritative figure whose pedantic insistence upon the highest standards aboard his ship results ultimately in open rebellion. Of the two stars, Hopkins has by far the meatier role and brings to it a range of intelligent nuances, making Bligh alternately despicable yet sympathetic, harsh yet honourable. The photography by Arthur Ibbetson is absolutely marvellous and captures the flavour of life at sea, as well as the lustful temptations of a life in paradise, most effectively.
The film commences with Captain William Bligh (Hopkins) arriving at a court hearing adjudicated by Admiral Hood (Laurence Olivier) to explain the circumstances in which he "lost" his ship the HMS Bounty. He narrates how he commanded the ship on its voyage from England to Tahiti to find breadfruit. Bligh initially wanted to add to the prestige of the voyage by circumnavigating the globe, rounding the feared Cape Horn in the outward trip and returning by way of the much calmer Cape Of Good Hope. However, the ship and the morale of the crew took a battering while attempting to round the Horn, and after a month of suffering the Bounty turned and took the Cape Of Good Hope route outwards. Bligh at this point relieved his second-in-command Fryer (Daniel Day-Lewis) on the grounds of cowardly conduct and replaced him with Fletcher Christian (Gibson). After a long, gruelling voyage, the Bounty reached Tahiti and the belaboured crew were given a chance to rest and sunbathe and release their pent-up sexual desires with the island girls. By the time the ship was set to depart, many of the crew - among them Christian himself - were in love with Tahiti and their native flames, and were saddened to leave. In fact, Christian had inadvertently impregnated his native lover. The return journey began under a cloud of depression and demoralisation, and when Bligh announced that he planned to attempt to tackle the Horn again, the crew mutinied. Bligh and his faithfuls were set adrift in a rowing boat, while Christian and the mutineers returned to Tahiti, swept away their native lovers, and searched for a safe haven to hide from the British Navy (they eventually chose Pitcairn).
The Bounty is a good slice of history which remains true to the factual information on the whole, while presenting the characters plausibly (it is hard to say if the character depictions are true to the facts, as we will never be truly sure of the motives and circumstances that drove them). Where the film loses marks is in its rather peculiar synthesised score by Vangelis (good piece of music, very ill-suited to this particular film), and in its narrative sag that occurs about three-fifths of the way in. Until the Bounty reaches Tahiti, the film plays out masterfully and is thoroughly absorbing. The second act has high points (the mutiny itself and Bligh's incredible adventures in the cast-off rowing boat being two examples) but is also rather plodding in patches as well. On the whole, though, The Bounty is solid, well-crafted and absorbing viewing.
The film commences with Captain William Bligh (Hopkins) arriving at a court hearing adjudicated by Admiral Hood (Laurence Olivier) to explain the circumstances in which he "lost" his ship the HMS Bounty. He narrates how he commanded the ship on its voyage from England to Tahiti to find breadfruit. Bligh initially wanted to add to the prestige of the voyage by circumnavigating the globe, rounding the feared Cape Horn in the outward trip and returning by way of the much calmer Cape Of Good Hope. However, the ship and the morale of the crew took a battering while attempting to round the Horn, and after a month of suffering the Bounty turned and took the Cape Of Good Hope route outwards. Bligh at this point relieved his second-in-command Fryer (Daniel Day-Lewis) on the grounds of cowardly conduct and replaced him with Fletcher Christian (Gibson). After a long, gruelling voyage, the Bounty reached Tahiti and the belaboured crew were given a chance to rest and sunbathe and release their pent-up sexual desires with the island girls. By the time the ship was set to depart, many of the crew - among them Christian himself - were in love with Tahiti and their native flames, and were saddened to leave. In fact, Christian had inadvertently impregnated his native lover. The return journey began under a cloud of depression and demoralisation, and when Bligh announced that he planned to attempt to tackle the Horn again, the crew mutinied. Bligh and his faithfuls were set adrift in a rowing boat, while Christian and the mutineers returned to Tahiti, swept away their native lovers, and searched for a safe haven to hide from the British Navy (they eventually chose Pitcairn).
The Bounty is a good slice of history which remains true to the factual information on the whole, while presenting the characters plausibly (it is hard to say if the character depictions are true to the facts, as we will never be truly sure of the motives and circumstances that drove them). Where the film loses marks is in its rather peculiar synthesised score by Vangelis (good piece of music, very ill-suited to this particular film), and in its narrative sag that occurs about three-fifths of the way in. Until the Bounty reaches Tahiti, the film plays out masterfully and is thoroughly absorbing. The second act has high points (the mutiny itself and Bligh's incredible adventures in the cast-off rowing boat being two examples) but is also rather plodding in patches as well. On the whole, though, The Bounty is solid, well-crafted and absorbing viewing.