The Bounty (1984)
The Bounty (1984)
We all know the story of the H.M.S Bounty, the British ship that was mutinied by the ship’s second-in-command. There have been five film adaptations based on this story: an Australian silent film from 1916, another Australian film from 1933 starring Errol Flynn, the more famous 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty starring Charles Laughton, and the 1962 remake with Marlon Brando. The latter two films were based on a series of books from Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. Our latest film based off the event is 1984’s The Bounty which features Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson. This one also happens to be my favorite. It’s a slower-paced film, but the performances are rich. This is also a more historically accurate film when compared to the others.
This particular film is based off the 1972 book from Richard Hough. Hough’s book is meticulously researched and is a deep character study on Captain William Bligh and his second-in-command, Fletcher Christian. Acclaimed screenwriter Robert Bolt, known for works like Lawrence of Arabia and A Man for All Seasons, crafted the screenplay and keeping the character study intact. David Lean originally signed on to direct and spent a great deal in pre-production, but ballooning costs forced him to step away. Lean is my favorite director from the Golden Age of Hollywood, so what could have been! A young New Zealand director, Roger Donaldson was hired to take the rope from Lean. The young director ultimately proved himself by directing the movie with flair. He didn’t allow special effects or big sets take away from the characters.
Prior films portrayed Bligh (Anthony Hopkins) as the bad guy and Christian (Mel Gibson) as the good guy. As history shows, it’s not that black-and-white. These films failed to mention that these two men were originally good friends. Christian came on this voyage as a midshipman, but ultimately became second-in-command after John Fryer (Daniel Day-Lewis) failed his duties. The film also depicts Bligh not as evil, but as an intelligent, flawed man with a quick temper and a propensity to blame others. Christian is a man of few words and the screenplay hardly gave him lines let alone philosophical moments. The film also portrays the Tahitians accurately as possible. He women are topless, and the crew of the Bounty treats the natives like garbage. The rest of the story, you should know. Christian reached his limit with the command of Bligh’s, took control of the ship, and fled. The film also shows how Bligh made it back to England with his crew mostly intact.
The performances were all really good, some more than others. Mel Gibson was the big name at the time, but Anthony Hopkins overshadowed him. Hopkins made Bligh more sympathetic and philosophical compared to previous depictions. Critics are quick to call Gibson’s performance bland. While I believe he may be the “weak link,” his performance was more about body language. His emotion when overtaking the ship is powerful stuff. We get solid early supporting performances from Daniel-Day Lewis and Liam Neeson as one of the crew members, Churchill. Also, there are excellent “cameo” performances in the end during Bligh’s trial. Laurence Olivier as Admiral Hood and Edward Fox as Captain Greetham.
The film is very beautiful to look at thanks to Arthur Ibbetson’s wonderful camerawork. The colors are gorgeous and honestly made me dream of tropical paradise. Maybe that statement was enhanced by the beautiful score written by Vangelis known for his work in Blade Runner. Who knew that 80’s synths would work well with a story set two hundred years earlier?
The Bounty is my favorite film describing the tale of the H.M.S Bounty. I really enjoyed the 1935 version thanks to Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, but I appreciated the accuracy of this story. While there is a good deal of action and overall entertainment, my history-loving brain appreciated the research to tell the real story. Anthony Hopkins really sold Bligh’s character well, even when not filming. It would have been easy for a young director by Donaldson to be swallowed up, but he kept everything on track even making sure the film is completed under budget. That said, the film is unfortunately labeled as a box office bomb. However, my heart still gives the most adoration to this version of the story.
My Grade: A-
We all know the story of the H.M.S Bounty, the British ship that was mutinied by the ship’s second-in-command. There have been five film adaptations based on this story: an Australian silent film from 1916, another Australian film from 1933 starring Errol Flynn, the more famous 1935’s Mutiny on the Bounty starring Charles Laughton, and the 1962 remake with Marlon Brando. The latter two films were based on a series of books from Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. Our latest film based off the event is 1984’s The Bounty which features Anthony Hopkins and Mel Gibson. This one also happens to be my favorite. It’s a slower-paced film, but the performances are rich. This is also a more historically accurate film when compared to the others.
This particular film is based off the 1972 book from Richard Hough. Hough’s book is meticulously researched and is a deep character study on Captain William Bligh and his second-in-command, Fletcher Christian. Acclaimed screenwriter Robert Bolt, known for works like Lawrence of Arabia and A Man for All Seasons, crafted the screenplay and keeping the character study intact. David Lean originally signed on to direct and spent a great deal in pre-production, but ballooning costs forced him to step away. Lean is my favorite director from the Golden Age of Hollywood, so what could have been! A young New Zealand director, Roger Donaldson was hired to take the rope from Lean. The young director ultimately proved himself by directing the movie with flair. He didn’t allow special effects or big sets take away from the characters.
Prior films portrayed Bligh (Anthony Hopkins) as the bad guy and Christian (Mel Gibson) as the good guy. As history shows, it’s not that black-and-white. These films failed to mention that these two men were originally good friends. Christian came on this voyage as a midshipman, but ultimately became second-in-command after John Fryer (Daniel Day-Lewis) failed his duties. The film also depicts Bligh not as evil, but as an intelligent, flawed man with a quick temper and a propensity to blame others. Christian is a man of few words and the screenplay hardly gave him lines let alone philosophical moments. The film also portrays the Tahitians accurately as possible. He women are topless, and the crew of the Bounty treats the natives like garbage. The rest of the story, you should know. Christian reached his limit with the command of Bligh’s, took control of the ship, and fled. The film also shows how Bligh made it back to England with his crew mostly intact.
The performances were all really good, some more than others. Mel Gibson was the big name at the time, but Anthony Hopkins overshadowed him. Hopkins made Bligh more sympathetic and philosophical compared to previous depictions. Critics are quick to call Gibson’s performance bland. While I believe he may be the “weak link,” his performance was more about body language. His emotion when overtaking the ship is powerful stuff. We get solid early supporting performances from Daniel-Day Lewis and Liam Neeson as one of the crew members, Churchill. Also, there are excellent “cameo” performances in the end during Bligh’s trial. Laurence Olivier as Admiral Hood and Edward Fox as Captain Greetham.
The film is very beautiful to look at thanks to Arthur Ibbetson’s wonderful camerawork. The colors are gorgeous and honestly made me dream of tropical paradise. Maybe that statement was enhanced by the beautiful score written by Vangelis known for his work in Blade Runner. Who knew that 80’s synths would work well with a story set two hundred years earlier?
The Bounty is my favorite film describing the tale of the H.M.S Bounty. I really enjoyed the 1935 version thanks to Charles Laughton and Clark Gable, but I appreciated the accuracy of this story. While there is a good deal of action and overall entertainment, my history-loving brain appreciated the research to tell the real story. Anthony Hopkins really sold Bligh’s character well, even when not filming. It would have been easy for a young director by Donaldson to be swallowed up, but he kept everything on track even making sure the film is completed under budget. That said, the film is unfortunately labeled as a box office bomb. However, my heart still gives the most adoration to this version of the story.
My Grade: A-
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