The Bounty (1984) Reviews

• A treat for fans of Naval History

  stevenwithers2004-03-29

  Being a fan of British naval history, and also a fan of Anthony Hopkins, I love this film. I think it is severely under-rated. The acting (particularly by Hopkins) is superb, and the cinematography and realism are stunning. Unlike some of the previous comments for this film I think it is pretty loyal to the true historical facts of the real mutiny. Alright, there are a few minor changes to fact, but nothing that radically alters the story. Basically Bligh was a very able and fair captain, who was let down by incompetent officers. Bligh was no more a monster than any other Royal Navy captains, the difference was other Royal Navy Captains had able commissioned officers and a squad of marines to back up their authority. Bligh was on his own, because the admiralty insisted on saving money on the bread-fruit expedition by giving Bligh a small ship and no officers. (All the officers on board were non-commissioned warrant officers, who were not employed by the Royal Navy but were in it for their own advancement, Blight was the only Royal Navy officer). This is what ultimately led to the mutiny. Bligh had no one he could rely on to back up his orders from the Admiralty. Bligh was actually an exponent of modern thinking, and treated his men with much more humanity than other Royal Navy Captains. He had learnt his trade from sailing under Captain Cook. I think Hopkins manages to capture this in his performance. Bligh was a professional man, who grew increasingly frustrated by the incompetence and laziness of his officers. Hopkins manages to convey this sense of increasing irritation brilliantly. He felt particularly let down by Fletcher Christian, who was his friend and whom he had personally advanced up the ranks. He expected Fletcher to back up his orders, but Fletcher was more interested in his own pleasure with the Tahitian women. On the journey out the crew were actually very happy and contented, but the trouble began when the crew began to experience the liberties and freedoms of Tahitian life, and they did not want to leave it. Bligh had to force the men to go back to their duty, and instead of having officers to back him up, the officers took the side of the men. I think the script of this film captures the true story quite well. I saw the Clark Gable version of the story many years ago, and the only thing I remember is the portrayal of Bligh as an irrational monster, with none of the reasons behind his anger explained. In this version I feel Hopkins is more like the real Bligh. An able commander trying to carry out his orders, but let down by those around him. The confrontation between Bligh and Christian in the captain's cabin the day before the mutiny is one of my favourite movie scenes of all time. Hopkins performance of the captain at the end of his patience is just outstanding. `Oh there are rumblings are there?'. Superb! The only down side to this film is Mel Gibson. I can't stand the sight of him! Mind you, even he manages to pull of a good performance. The film ends quite abruptly, with a lot of loose ends. The most fascinating parts of the true story come after the end of the film. I guess the time constraints of the film mean they had to concentrate on just the story of the mutiny. The mutineers set up a colony on Pitcairn, and ended up all murdering each other until only one survived (Jack Adams). Those that stayed on Tahiti were captured two years later by HMS Pandora which had been dispatched after Bligh got back to England. This ship rounded up about 16 mutineers, and on the way home the Pandora hit a reef off Australia and sunk. The crew had to make an open boat journey to Coupang, the same port that Bligh's life boat had arrived at two years earlier!! Meanwhile Bligh was promoted and sent off on another Breadfruit exhibition to Tahiti, this time the Admiralty gave him commissioned officers and a squad of marines. This mission succeeded. When the Breadfruit plants finally reached the slave colonies in the West Indies, the slaves refused to eat the fruit as they disliked the taste. That's irony for you!

• Complex retelling of classic sea fable; Hopkins receates memorable role with superiority.

  movieman91999-02-23

  I will admit, I thought I'd seen it all when I first saw Charles Laughton bring the snivelling and maniacal Captain Bligh to life. I was dead wrong. Anthony Hopkins, whom I place on the highest rank of accomplished actors, recreates the memorable role with incredible flair and complexity. He shows us not just an insane seaman bent on ultimate subordination, but a man with real concern for maintaining order, knowing the consequences of anything less. "The Bounty", yet another retelling of the classic tale, is actually an amazing recreation of the sea fable, pumped with real emotion and drama. The writers really understand the characters in this story, especially in Bligh's case, but also in Fletcher Christian's as well. Mel Gibson reigns over the role this time, still fresh from his Australian beginnings, and undoubtedly one of the best at perfecting the challenged and affected hero. I proudly rave this version of the famous mutiny, and probably will place this among 1984's best films. Rating: Three stars and a half.

• Excellent performances from a great cast

  mostlygreek2004-10-25

  I have seen this film many time over the years and i never get bored of watching Sir Anthony Hopkins give a riveting performance in this classic story of life aboard The Bounty and the events that lead to mutiny. Mel Gibson plays Fletcher Christian who must watch helplessly as his captain(Hopkins) demoralizes his men and drives them ever closer to the brink of mutiny. The tension builds throughout the film and in no small part to the excellent score. The disgruntled crew has many recognisable faces including Liam Neeson and Bernard Hill which makes the film all the more enjoyable. Daniel Day Lewis is particularly watchable as mr. frier, showing us a rather smug and sometimes fiery officer. The film is shot beautifully and the story is compelling. Even the script holds up in a film where the best performances come from the actors with the least to say.

• A Beautiful Film

  Theo Robertson2005-09-26

  it's strange how Hollywood is responsible for so much bad history being foisted upon the common knowledge of humanity . The Battle Of Little Big Horn is perceived to have been a glorious defeat for the 7th Calvary and where George A Custer was the last soldier to die . The defeat of that unit was anything but glorious for the regiment who put up a very poor fight while there's no evidence that Custer died as the last man standing . Modern perception of historical events is full of factual mistakes that can be laid firmly at the door of Hollywood The mutiny on The Bounty is another example of Hollywood revisionist history . Since so many people have seen some tyrant being cruel to the noble Errol Flynn , Clark Gable or Marlon Brando it enters their mind that it must be somehow true . What I loved about this version is that it's very much accurate where the known facts are concerned . Captain Bligh might have been an authoritarian but there's no way he could in the context of the time be described as a cruel tyrant . On British naval ships at the time the Captain's word was the word of god but unlike the British army at the time where more often than not officers bought their rank the Royal Navy was a meritocracy where Captain's started at the very bottom of the ladder and worked their way up , bumbling fools didn't get very far in this service . It's also interesting to note that Bligh had a trio of deserters flogged rather than hanged , an act of compassion that contributes to his downfall . The film doesn't go into great detail about the fate of the mutineers but it insinuates that they eventually ended up murdering one another on Pitcairn leaving just one survivor . Like thieves there's no honour amongst mutineers which history like this film should judge as being in the wrong THE BOUNTY is a beautiful film experience . I watched it on a widescreen TV via DVD and if David Lean had directed this he could not have done a better job than Roger Donaldson has . You can almost feel the sunlight touch you thanks to Arthur Ibbetsen's cinematography and it's impossible not to mention the then mainly unknown cast . With the exception of Olivier , Fox and Gibson probably the most well known actor to a 1984 audience would be Bernard Hill who had won a BAFTA the previous year for BOYS FROM THE BLACKSTUFF , it's amazing to think at this time very few people had heard of Liam Neeson or Daniel Day Lewis . Some people might have heard of Anthony Hopkins but only if they'd seen MAGIC and A BRIDGE TOO FAR and had a very good memory for faces . Hopkins gives a great and sympathetic performance , one of the best of his career in fact There's not too much to criticise about THE BOUNTY . I did feel that Vangelis electronic soundtrack didn't really go with the visuals , and the interior of the ship seemed just a little too clean to be convincing while I would have liked to have seen the journey of the marooned Bligh and his loyalists ( A journey so amazing that if a fiction writer wrote it no one would have believed it ) in a little more detail but these are very minor criticisms and this is a very good historical adventure film

• The Film Succeeds In One Way The Past Bounty Films Do Not

  alexkolokotronis2009-01-31

  The Bounty in all rights may not be a great movie. From time to time it drags on but what sets it apart from its predecessors is that its portrayal of Bligh has much more depth. The Bounty does not simply show men as good and evil but as more complex figures. Bligh is played here by Anthony Hopkins and is done so wonderfully. In the movie he is being court-marshaled for the events that took place aboard ship. Unlike the past films here his actions seem to have more logical motivations rather than him being Captain Hitler. Yet for all the depth Hopkins puts in his performance Mel Gibson comes up short in that he is just there. He is supposed to take on the role of a leader but instead fades into the background time after time. I like the way the movie was directed taking the flashback approach from the view of Hopkins. It gave the movie some sort of originality which is very hard to do with remakes. This film though was strictly carried by the performance of Anthony Hopkins and his complex portrayal of Captain Bligh.