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By
WAYNE KLEIN
Set during the
British-French war of 1805, "Master and Commander:
The Far Side of the World" combines two of Patrick
O'Brian's most popular and best novels featuring
his hero Captain Jack Aubrey (Crowe). Aubrey has
been charged with destroying the French warship
the Acheron which has been disrupting the flow of
British merchant ships and taking their cargo. At
the edge of the known world, Aubrey pursues the
Acheron off the waters of South America only to
find himself suddenly the pursued when the faster,
heavier Acheron gains the upper hand.
Weir creates a marvelous world where you can
almost taste the salt air and feel the cold grasp
of the ocean. Crowe and Bettany as Ship's Doctor
Stephen Maturin make a marvelous acting duo. The
two work well off each other and the character
parts come to life due to the deft casting. While
the screenplay occasionally veers towards
documentary waters, Weir's artful direction
continues to breathe life into the weak middle
section of the film. Overall, "Master and
Commander" delightfully and suspensefully
recreates a lost era where the sea was master and
man little more than an insect on its surface.
The exacting detail of this transfer astonishes.
The picture quality stands as one of the sharpest
and most vivid transfers to DVD I've seen. From
the finely speckled fog the Archeon first emerges
out of to fire upon the HMS Surprise to the rugged
footage onboard the boat as the doctor tends to
the wounded, the detail and resolution allow the
images to grab the viewer's attention immediately.
The 5.1 Surround mix marvelous captures the
details of being alone and surrounded on all sides
by the sea.
There may be a number of extras on the two disc
edition but unfortunately the preview copy was the
single disc edition. So I can't comment on how
great the various featurettes are on the second
disc. The single disc edition has nothing more
than a Fox previews section which is a bit of a
cheat. It seems as if this disturbing trend is
growing as well. "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre"
similarly came out in two different editions
although at least the bare bones version of
"Massacre" came with a few extras. There appears
to be a number of strong featurettes including one
on the CGI effects used to create the two ships
and their battle at sea. The "HBO First Look" I
have seen and provides a bit of insight into the
making of the film including a couple of
interesting comments on translating the two
O'Brian novels to the screen by Weir.
"Master and Commander" immediately grabs your
attention with a riveting battle sequence. Weir
drops the viewer into the heart of the battle
within the first five minutes of the film. While
"Master and Commander" won't be for everyone, fans
of epic, imaginative adventures and seafaring
tales will enjoy this marvelous film. The middle
section of the film becomes arduous as the pacing
slows and a number of subplots unfold but Weir's
deft direction keeps the film from sinking. Keep
in mind that there are Three editions of this
movie; the single disc widescreen and full screen
versions and a two disc version loaded with a
number of potentially fascinating featurettes.
Unfortunately, the latter wasn't available for
preview. It's a pity that Fox has chosen to go
with this disturbing trend in creating more than
one edition of the film. Then again, perhaps it's
a blessing in disguise as casual fans can pick up
the single disc edition and hardcore fans won't
have to shell out additional cash six months down
the road to purchase a "special edition" of the
same film. |
