Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

My Review

“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” is an epic war film set in the 1805 Napoleonic Wars telling the story of the British ship H. M. S. Surprise, ordered to capture a French vessel off the coast of South America. The movie is filled with high drama thanks to focused direction by Peter Weir (“The Year of Living Dangerously” 1982), who co-wrote the screenplay with John Collee. Weir and his crew painstakingly recreated life and conditions on board a ship of the early nineteenth century.

The cast is headed by Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany as the ship’s captain and doctor, respectively. The pair are reunited from “A Beautiful Mind” (2001). Co-stars include James D’Arcy, Chris Larkin, Robert Pugh, Max Benitz, Max Purkis, Lee Ingleby, Richard McCabe, Ian Mercer, Tony Dolan, John DeSantis, and Mark Lewis Jones. The watchable “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” was a modest hit at the box office for producer Samuel Goldwyn Jr. (son of movie pioneer Samuel Goldwyn and father of actor Tony Goldwyn), Miramax Films, Universal Pictures, and 20th Century Fox.

It was nominated for ten Academy Awards, winning two: Best Cinematography (Russell Boyd) and Best Sound Editing. Non-winners include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Film Editing, Best Makeup, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects. It was filmed at Fox Baja Studios in Rosarito, Baja California, Mexico, and on location in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador.