Latest / All The Right Movies / Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) | Ep. 38 - Part 1

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Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) | Ep. 38 - Part 1 · All The Right Movies

• 0:04
  All their movies. From three time Academy Award
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  nominated director Peter Weir, Gentlemen to wives and to
• 0:11
  sweethearts, comes the epic story of all that you risk.
• 0:16
  Perhaps we should have turned back weeks ago.
• 0:17
  For all that you love, this ship is our home on November 14th.
• 0:26
  Academy Award winner Russell Crowe, Master and Commander at a
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  beating 13 November 14th only in theatres.
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  Master and Commander the Far Side of the World opened in
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  2003. An epic action drama set during
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  the Napoleonic Wars. The film is an adaptation of
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  Patrick O'Brien's Aubrey Mature and book series and has grown to
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  be regarded A cult classic. My name is John and a couple of
• 0:51
  wily All Sea Dogs with me are Matt.
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  Name a shrub after me, something prickly and hard to eradicate.
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  And Westy. That's seamanship, Mr. Pullings.
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  My God, that's seamanship. It's eighteen O 5 and all the
• 1:04
  right movies are in the East Pacific to talk stoicism,
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  seamanship and the HMS Surprise. But First Lads beat the
• 1:11
  quarters. Hello and welcome to all the
• 1:33
  right Movies, Masters at Arms, Men at War, and the podcast on
• 1:37
  Classic and Hit Films. Yep.
• 1:39
  This time out, we're sailing the Seven Seas.
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  We are, yeah. It's Napoleonic era naval
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  warfare as we talk, Peter. We are Russell Crowe and their
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  huge period film Master and Commander, The Far Side of the
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  World. Indeed.
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  Long title that yeah. Very long.
• 1:58
  Too long? Charlie Kaufman title.
• 2:01
  Really necessary caller. Before we find our sea legs,
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  though, a quick word about Patreon, Shirley.
• 2:10
  Yeah, why not? So if you listen regularly to
• 2:13
  our ATRM Classic podcasts, and if you're listening to Master
• 2:17
  and Commander, I'm guessing you listen to anything that we do.
• 2:22
  Yeah. You can help support what we do
• 2:24
  by becoming an ATRM Patron. Patrons get access to our
• 2:27
  monthly Bonus Podcast episode called Double Feature, and
• 2:30
  access to our entire archive of Bonus Episode and ATRM Classic
• 2:34
  episodes. There's hundreds of hours worth
• 2:36
  of podcasts in there now, so if you like Russell Crowe, we've
• 2:40
  got Gladiator and LA Confidential.
• 2:42
  We do. If Peter Weir is your kind of
• 2:45
  filmmaker, we've talked about Witness.
• 2:47
  Yes, we did indeed. Lots more, too.
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  So a treasure trove as deep as Davy Jones locker there, I
• 2:53
  think. Oh.
• 2:54
  Absolutely, yeah. Get the bends going all.
• 2:58
  Up all of the Radiohead references.
• 3:00
  Every time. Every time I can.
• 3:03
  I don't let you down. There's another one.
• 3:04
  I'm fitter and happier because of it.
• 3:07
  Are you finished? No, by a long stretch.
• 3:12
  So to find a more and sign up, please visit patreon.com/all the
• 3:16
  Right movies. Or if you're an Apple Podcast
• 3:19
  user, you can subscribe directly on there now as well.
• 3:22
  Just click the Subscribe button and you're away there.
• 3:25
  You go, he's using that. As for now, though, the business
• 3:28
  at hand is master and commander. It is, yes.
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  Your choice this one, Matt. So why did you put it up?
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  Because this is one of those films where I think even though
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  it won the ports was obviously popular, it still feels
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  underrated in a way. And not known or seen by enough
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  people and we'll talk about this later I think.
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  But obviously there was another big seafarer and adventure film
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  that same year, another long title, another call on that one
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  dominated the box office. But I think this one has thrived
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  and people get really passionate about it.
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  When you mention it, I wouldn't go quite that far with it, but I
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  am a big fan of Peter Way in general.
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  Russell Crowe is in his leading man prime here and it does have
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  this real old fashioned sweep to it, which I really respond to.
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  It's very grounded in the reality of that historical era
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  in the some great behind the scenes stories to this one.
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  Yeah, I saw this when it first came out. 2003 Bolden Cinema.
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  You two guys old stomping ground NE.
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  Oh. Yeah, we probably took your
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  ticket. Probably, yeah.
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  Well when I saw it there was a fight broke out in my aisle
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  because some guy had his foot on the guy in front seat.
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  I was waiting for what are you 2 to steam in and breaking up but
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  never happened. Absolutely not.
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  So that was too happen to fight. But maybe because of that I
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  didn't watch the film again until my suggested it like 20
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  years later, so I just remember it all that well.
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  But I was pleased to do it because I mean the setting.
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  I studied the Napoleonic Wars when I was a teenager and always
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  found it a bit of a fascinating period.
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  By choice. Yeah, my choice, Yeah.
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  Wow, that explains a lot. I mean sailing around on huge
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  wooden ships like powered by wind and firing lumps of metal
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  each other while shouting Hazar every 5 minutes is insane
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  behaviour, but a great setting for a film.
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  Definitely. And as well as the interesting
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  history, we've got Peter Weir, director Russell Crowe and Paul
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  Bethany in the cast. So big names based on client
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  novels as well. So loads to get stuck into.
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  I mean, if we're talking Napoleonic warfare, it's no
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  sharp, obviously not is no come on though, but that is one hell
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  of a high bar. That that is too high, it is.
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  Should have got Sean Bean in there.
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  Bastards. You bastard.
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  So let's do it. OK, you bastard.
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  And Westy, how about yourself and M&CTSFOTW?
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  I got that wrong. I got.
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  That wrong. You've got it wrong.
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  I was like, oh, let's study another window.
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  Yeah. I mean, I'm brand new to this.
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  This is quite rare for me. Matt put it up and he put their
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  pulled up and I said I haven't seen that one.
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  I hope didn't secretly hoped it wouldn't win.
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  I mean, I was put off by it. I think it was overshadowed as
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  well. Talk about by Return of the
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  King, which came out the same time.
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  And I think it's suffered a lot for that.
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  But I was really put off by his hair.
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  I was put up by the title. It just sounded really fucking
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  boring. You know what it sounds like?
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  You know the you know the games that you've got free with your
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  PC before the Internet. It does.
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  Feel like a little blip on a map and you have to like, blow them
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  up and it was a shit game and it's free.
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  It sounds like Master and Commander, the far side of the
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  world. I'm not fucking doing that.
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  Great art cover, but terrible game.
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  Really great. Like Massive.
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  Like Renee. Some style galleon.
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  And that's how it felt like. When I saw the poster, I
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  thought, oh, that's just like, that looks really boring and
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  really kind of up its own ass. And now that I've watched it so
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  much, duality in the film isn't as like man versus NHL will be
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  versus. There's like science versus war
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  and there's loads of this duality.
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  There's all these twos all the way through the film and the
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  title kind of lets it down. It should have just been called
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  surprise, surprise. I would have been in there a lot
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  to talk about. Like Matt said, lots of good
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  behind the scenes stuff, lots of things that people might not
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  know about. And this film is loved.
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  If people like this film, they don't just like it.
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  They adore this film and there's no middle ground.
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  So am I in the middle? Am I one that thinks this is
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  just a tiny film, or did I really enjoy it?
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  Let's find out. Yeah, let's.
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  So Master and Commander, the far side of the world.
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  I'm not calling it all the way through, by the way, just Master
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  and Commander from yeah. It was produced by Miramax
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  Films, Universal Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films,
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  distributed by 20th Century Fox and released on November the
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  14th, 2003. Filmed on location in the
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  Galapagos Islands and Rosarito Beach in Baja, Mexico.
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  It was written by Peter Weir and John Collie, directed by Weir,
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  and it stars. Russell Crowe is Captain Jack
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  Aubrey, Paul Bethany is Doctor Stephen Maturing and a host of
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  British TV actors, some of whom we're going to talk about.
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  Let's get in there, then, should we?
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  Let's do it. Time to run like smoke and or
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  come we're talking the beginning of Master and Commander
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  April 1805. Napoleon is Master of Europe,
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  Oceans are now battlefields and a series of title cards reveal
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  our plot. The HMS Surprise, captained by
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  Jack Aubrey, has new Admiralty orders incept the French
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  privateer vessel Acuron in the Pacific and sink, burn or take
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  her as a prize. Sounds about right, yeah.
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  So the opening scenes of Master and Commander are straight into
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  the action. We meet Captain Jack and his
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  crew as they search for the Phantom vessel.
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  It's thick fog, though, and the Acuron pounces in a preemptive
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  strike. Yeah.
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  So, Wesley, what's the butcher's Bill?
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  What's the Butcher's great line? I'd love to be able to use that,
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  but I never want to. Do you know what I mean?
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  It's. I mean, it's a fantastic
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  opening. It's exactly what you expect.
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  Them titles are big. Wow.
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  All right, Peter. Fucking Oceans of Battlegrounds.
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  All right, Focus on what we're trying to tell you, because
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  we've put so much work into this, so much effort into this.
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  It is just to the letter, so authentic and I don't know how
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  many times I'm going to use that word during this whole pod I've.
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  Got it in mind if you as well that's.
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  Probably going to be like more than Matthew's sick in Texas
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  Chainsaw. I think Michael might break it.
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  And columns looking through the telescope and you see that
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  little glimpse that's so beautifully done because you see
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  it but you don't know if you have.
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  Yeah you just I've seen something but what was it?
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  And then that's a hell of a way of called one introduction to
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  the character of Jack when he's just yeah, it's like Commando
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  isn't. It.
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  And then I'm like, oh, there he is.
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  Oh, there's he's here to fucking, Oh my God.
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  The last two. The sound design when this boots
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  off is just incredible. The sound just rips through
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  everything, which we'll get into.
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  But it's just so engaging. From the start.
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  I expected this to be a really slow build.
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  It's going to start in the port. You're going to see them all get
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  on the boat, then they're going to go right.
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  You dropped right in the middle of the action, like you said,
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  John, you just automatically part of everything and you want
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  to fight with them and you want to kind of go through it all
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  with them. And that's how good Peter Weir
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  is. It's just a recognizing humanity
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  and companionship and how good people feed off each other.
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  And he still does it from minute one.
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  And when then cannons fire, I almost just dove off the setting
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  with everyone else. I was like, right, get down.
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  I was like, oh shit, Bruce and Cruz down.
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  Just get down. I have to get down.
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  That's that's how engaging it is and how authentic it is and how
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  much you are pulled into this film immediately.
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  I think it's just an excellent, excellent opening of the film
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  and it just makes you want to sit and go, yeah, I'm ready for
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  two hours of this. Yeah, those first shots we don't
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  start with like music playing over the titles like you might
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  normally do. We see in here like night time
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  waves and then we're aboard the ship with just a bell ringing
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  and the whole like creaking. We are set to really specific
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  tone straight away. And I think he does it really
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  well. And in those first shots that go
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  around the ship, we'll see the cannons that are called like
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  jumping Billy and sudden death. Those names are taken from the
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  books. So a good way for we had let
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  fans of the novels know. Don't worry, we have actually
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  read them, which is always a good way to start.
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  Yeah. Yeah.
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  And I think it's a great build up to the battle.
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  Midshipman Holland is on watch, thinks he spots something but
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  can't decide what to do, raises the tension and also sets up
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  Holland for his subplot later on, which we'll talk about.
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  All the way through, yeah. Yeah, And then Captain Jack
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  Russell Crowe just drives out on the deck.
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  Balders brass with that golden mane.
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  It's outrageous. Just, yeah.
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  Russell Crowe, Maximus, I've got this on my head now.
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  I'm not even going to mention it.
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  It's just in there. Deal with it.
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  Just give us a telescope and I'll just hold it out like a
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  like a shotgun. I've never seen anyone so
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  threatening with the telescope and we fuck it off.
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  He's terrified. Yes.
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  But it's a good setup of Jack as a character.
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  He's reasonable and fair with Harlem, even though he's a bit
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  of a douchebag. His Harlem and his instant
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  reaction when he sings the gunfire in the fog lets us know
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  that he knows his stuff. Yeah, and when the action comes,
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  excellent. It's carnage.
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  It's cannonballs, like rip through the hull of the
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  surprise. There's a definite Saving
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  Private Ryan influence when Jack goes down and it all goes slow
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  motion for a few seconds and then kicks back in.
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  The sound design drops and he's kind of, yeah, it's got that
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  vibe to it, yeah, definitely. I would say it's not totally
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  clear at all times to me where the ships are in relation to
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  each other. That may be the intention
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  though. Yeah, I think so.
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  To make us the story. And that is the surprises.
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  Yeah. So yeah, I mean, it's not quite
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  Saving Private Ryan, but a very good action opener.
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  But you know that bit that you've just kind of compared to
• 12:52
  Saving Private Ryan, and he's on the ground and he gets up and
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  he's like, oh, his throat's knocking him.
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  And then he, he screams and he's up to his feet and he just runs
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  forward and grabs the telescope. Just go get a good and start.
• 13:04
  This is what I need to do. Just do like a remake of Rio
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  Window with him like that with the seller.
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  I'd be terrified, really threatened.
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  You'd be the bad guy. It would be just saying you'd
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  see a murder, but like you there.
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  There's this real, like, painterly quality to it
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  throughout which I love that shot of the surprise of sailing
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  towards the fog bank and then that one of the two ships side
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  by side just blasted away at each other.
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  They could be portraits, so it looks incredible, the sound and
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  chaos of it. I love those shots of the kind
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  of balls ripping through the seals.
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  And then Stephen, without a word of introduction, just unveiling
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  all those surgical instruments like, you know, right, this is
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  going to be bad. People won't get seriously heard
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  here. And it's this sense that to gain
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  victory, you've got you've got to get ridiculously close to the
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  other ship and just hope you don't get blown to smithereens
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  first. Yeah, but then it does get
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  balanced out slightly with the tactical nature of it.
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  Having a sail into the fog and keeping that silent, that's the
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  only way to get out of it. So yeah, it's a great opening
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  because it just sets up characters and everything.
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  You're going to need no going forward.
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  Yeah, yeah, basically you shoot the hell out of each other and
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  you left standing at the end of it.
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  Yeah, basically, yeah. To create the acron for the
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  film, the production design team led by William Sundell and
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  Robert Gould, based on the USS Constitution, a real ship
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  launched in 1797. She was designed to be small
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  enough to be fast, have a 2 feet thick hole, and carry more guns
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  than ships of the same size, which is how Orbit describes the
• 14:34
  Actron. Yeah, yeah.
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  The Constitution was famous for a battle it won against the
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  British ship called the Guerriere in 1812.
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  And the Constitution is still an officially commissioned US
• 14:44
  warship to this day. Imagine that.
• 14:47
  She's a beauty, but I wouldn't fancy going to war and nowadays
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  wouldn't last five minutes. Yes, the Akron is fictional but
• 14:54
  the HMS Surprise That is a real ship from 1796 and it was made
• 14:59
  by the French but captured by the British who then renamed it
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  Surprise. And the ship in the film was
• 15:04
  originally built in 1970 is a replica of a 1757 ship called
• 15:09
  the HMS Rose. And 20th Century Fox bought the
• 15:12
  Rose for this film for $1.5 million and it was then modified
• 15:16
  to match the real surprise. And that took 3 1/2 months to
• 15:19
  do. Wow, expensive ship.
• 15:22
  Yeah, I mean, Surprise is a terrible name for it.
• 15:24
  It's rubbish. It's very.
• 15:26
  Rubbish, isn't it? And since the film wrap, the
• 15:29
  surprise has been on display at the San Diego Maritime Museum,
• 15:32
  and it was also used in Pirates of the Caribbean On Stranger
• 15:35
  Tides. Yeah, of course.
• 15:36
  It was alright. Yeah, had the budget for it.
• 15:37
  Half a billion, yeah. And the experts at that museum
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  said the production design team's work on the Surprise is
• 15:43
  unmatched in its authenticity and attention to detail.
• 15:47
  They are. And you can book a narrated
• 15:48
  cruise on the surprise of $42.00 as well.
• 15:51
  Cruises that might go around. Yeah.
• 15:53
  Oh, wow. Yeah.
• 15:54
  Yeah, you go out. How much $42.00 worth?
• 15:57
  Let's go. It's all right.
• 15:58
  Next Christmas do. Next Christmas.
• 16:02
  So that's the intro to the film, an action-packed opener.
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  Should we learn more about what goes on inside the surprise?
• 16:09
  Why not? Let's go.
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  Let's do it. After being given a bit of a
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  battering, the crew of the surprise assume they're headed
• 16:16
  for home. But Jack has other ideas,
• 16:19
  ordering a refitted sea so the pursuit can continue.
• 16:22
  That's mental. In the scenes that follow, we
• 16:27
  get to know the crew a bit better At a shipman's dinner,
• 16:30
  and after the surprise is caught in a storm off Cape Horn, Jack
• 16:33
  is forced to leave a crew member behind to drown.
• 16:37
  To wives and sweethearts, may they never meet.
• 16:40
  That's your favorite saying, man, isn't it?
• 16:42
  It is because that would definitely be anarchy if those
• 16:45
  two got together. So.
• 16:47
  Definitely goes about. I'm going to talk about that
• 16:49
  dinner scene though, because what I love about this scene is
• 16:52
  it just shows you nothing changes like hundreds of years
• 16:55
  ago. You get all the lads together,
• 16:57
  they have a few drinks and out come all the same old stories
• 17:01
  they've been told so many times. All the crap jokes come out as
• 17:04
  well, but you've had a few so everyone thinks it's hilarious.
• 17:08
  It's just totally lads being lads back in the day.
• 17:10
  They should have done the podcast, shouldn't.
• 17:12
  They? Should have done.
• 17:14
  But like, Can you imagine being back then on seeing 2 weevils on
• 17:17
  your food and just being like, yeah, that's fine, Grooves
• 17:20
  crawling all over your food and we're going to freak out about
• 17:22
  that the slightest. Not really.
• 17:23
  Absolutely disgusting. I just empathize with Stephen in
• 17:26
  this scene so much, though. Like, he knows he's being set up
• 17:29
  for something here with this question about the weevils.
• 17:32
  He knows it isn't a serious question.
• 17:34
  Well then, if you're going to push me only to get that
• 17:37
  punchline thrown in his face, John, it's like when Main Westy
• 17:40
  sat here and we know you're lining up some joke.
• 17:43
  We know what's coming and there's nothing we can do to
• 17:46
  stop it. Yeah.
• 17:47
  He's going to steamroll over it. I didn't know what a Weevil was.
• 17:52
  It took some third watch of this to go.
• 17:54
  Oh. This is crazy.
• 17:57
  Yeah, I mean, this dinner we get to meet and know the crew a bit
• 17:59
  better, so it's important. But some of the banter inverted
• 18:03
  commas, Jack's joke about the weevils is abysmal.
• 18:07
  It is. It's abysmal do.
• 18:09
  You know who loves it the most? Jack.
• 18:11
  He loves it. Yeah, loves his own.
• 18:13
  Smoke is cross delivery, but as we have two weevils, it's awful
• 18:19
  and it's Lord Nelson I do. What about passing the salt
• 18:21
  isn't much better? No, the second one about Nelson
• 18:24
  not needing a cloak does work, as it defines the kind of values
• 18:27
  the men have. Nelson's Yeah for King and
• 18:28
  country. Captain Warm.
• 18:30
  Which reminds me of you, Bestie. Yours is for king and country
• 18:32
  keeps you warm, doesn't it? Absolutely.
• 18:34
  Yeah, 100% When the guys love Nelson nearly as much as the
• 18:38
  lovers Sing song Building out the sea shanties, I do like the
• 18:42
  Sing Spanish Ladies, which Quint also sings in joy Oh.
• 18:46
  Yeah, yeah. Imagine him in there drinking
• 18:48
  cans, getting his scars out. Telling massive stories.
• 18:52
  Arm wrestling everyone. Yeah.
• 18:56
  So yeah, it's a good scene, and that's important in establishing
• 18:58
  the kind of characters the men are, But the execution of some
• 19:01
  of the Gargas could have been a bit better for me.
• 19:04
  Right, that's fair enough. We did mention the toast, and
• 19:06
  the film never tells us. But if you know your naval
• 19:09
  history, you'd know what day this scene takes place.
• 19:11
  On the toast Aubrey gives to wives and sweethearts, may they
• 19:14
  never meet. That was the traditional toast
• 19:16
  for Saturdays in the Royal Navy. All right.
• 19:18
  And for Matt as well. Yep, Matt, it is.
• 19:23
  Matt It's all right for fighting.
• 19:25
  There it is. Wow.
• 19:28
  And we see a portrait in Jack Squatters of a woman who we
• 19:31
  assume is either the wife or sweetheart, and that was created
• 19:34
  for the film but is based on Eliza Izzard, which is real
• 19:38
  miniature portrait by Edward Green Malbourne from Eighteen O
• 19:41
  1. Right, nice.
• 19:42
  Again, authentic. Not Eddie Izzard.
• 19:45
  Thank you. Eddie Izzard.
• 19:49
  Yeah, it's a pretty well known painting.
• 19:50
  Apparently we also see a letter written by a jacket dress as
• 19:53
  somebody called Sophie, and in the book, Sophie's the name of
• 19:56
  Jack's first ship. So that's where they got that
• 19:58
  name from. Yeah, it's his wife, presumably.
• 20:00
  OK, he's not writing a letter to a ship, is he?
• 20:03
  Wouldn't surprise me. He wants the way he talks about
• 20:05
  the surprise. She's in her prime.
• 20:09
  I'm going to go for the first bit of real peril in the film,
• 20:13
  like peril where you think, OK, we're on site, Jack's got a hold
• 20:17
  of this, he knows exactly what he's doing, we're really with
• 20:19
  him. And then all of a sudden this
• 20:21
  storm comes in. And this is the first time that
• 20:24
  we really explore this duality. And he's already said the joke
• 20:28
  that we've talked about the Lester of two weevils, which is
• 20:30
  meant to be Lester of two evils. And this is the first time he
• 20:32
  has to make that decision, and he does it all the way through
• 20:34
  the film. Do you let one man go out?
• 20:36
  Does the whole crew go down? And not a second.
• 20:39
  But this feels safe at all. I mean, the continuity and the
• 20:43
  editing is just outrageous, the way that this is just so
• 20:46
  visceral and just so real. And there's such a conflict of
• 20:49
  emotions that one hand it's it's one after the other in the
• 20:52
  dialogue, now it's an anchor, it's pulling us down.
• 20:55
  And then the next bit of dialogue is he's going to make
• 20:57
  it. He's going to be all right.
• 20:59
  It's just so, so good. And the fact that like there's
• 21:02
  not one bit of water gets on the lens, nothing gets the camera
• 21:07
  and you're like, how on earth is that possible?
• 21:09
  You never, ever brought out of that world.
• 21:11
  You don't feel like you're watching this through a camera.
• 21:13
  You feel like you're watching it through your own eyes and this
• 21:16
  bit you really experience. You like swim back.
• 21:20
  Who's swimming in that I? Know Michael Phelps?
• 21:25
  Butterfly. But I mean, it's just such a
• 21:29
  brilliant, brilliant moment in the film where you realize that
• 21:33
  maybe Jack's not in control of everything, maybe he's ambition
• 21:36
  is going to be the downfall here, so it kind of puts you on
• 21:38
  the back foot. It's a really, really pivotal
• 21:40
  scene and really important. Yeah, I think this might be the
• 21:43
  best action scene in the film for me.
• 21:46
  The guy who Jack cuts loose. What do you think?
• 21:48
  Yeah, possibly. William Wally, he's called, he
• 21:50
  set up earlier. He's the guy who creates a model
• 21:52
  of Yakaran and gives it to Jack. So we know him and it's a
• 21:55
  classic moment from a film set. See, I think they're having to
• 21:58
  leave somebody behind the drown. Bit of a trope, but I think they
• 22:01
  do it really well. The effects work on the shot of
• 22:04
  the mass as it collapses into the ocean, Taking Wally with it.
• 22:06
  That's excellent. That's seamless, isn't it?
• 22:08
  Yeah, really good. And it is genuinely sad, That
• 22:11
  shot of Wally just in the waves as he watches the surprise sail
• 22:14
  away. What an awful way to go that is
• 22:17
  beautifully shot and sitting here at night mixes up the
• 22:19
  visuals really well. It's a great sequence for me
• 22:22
  and. Makes it harder to do.
• 22:23
  Yeah, exactly. Well, it's got to be authentic
• 22:27
  this Sunday, OK? Fine.
• 22:29
  Shit. In those effects for the Storm,
• 22:31
  they were a combination of practical and digital effects
• 22:33
  which were handled by ILM and the effects supervisor Stefan
• 22:37
  Fangmeyer said, Where you told him their work had to be
• 22:40
  invisible and the best on screen Storm ever created.
• 22:44
  No pressure then. No pressure.
• 22:45
  Yeah, that's. Good.
• 22:46
  That's about high. Yeah, Stephen Fangmail was hired
• 22:48
  to oversee things because he'd worked on The Perfect Storm in
• 22:51
  2000, which is a pretty good experience when you want to
• 22:54
  create a storm, I think. Thankfully, we don't have that
• 22:56
  superimposed face at the end of this God and.
• 23:01
  Then the ship that was in a tank on a gimbal to make it rock as
• 23:04
  if in motion and the dumped 8000 gallons of water from tanks onto
• 23:09
  the ship and used wave and wind machines to create a storm
• 23:11
  effect. And he also used real footage
• 23:14
  and that was from the storm filmed at Cape Horn by a Natural
• 23:17
  History cinematographer called Paul Atkins.
• 23:19
  And he had filmed around the world trip on a replica of
• 23:22
  Captain Cook ship, which was the HMS Endeavour.
• 23:25
  Wow, right. Better name.
• 23:27
  Yeah, definitely a bit unoriginal, if they call it
• 23:31
  that. Yeah, fair enough.
• 23:34
  Well, yeah, Paul Atkins was brought in by We Are and he said
• 23:36
  there's ADP when they shot this storm sequence.
• 23:39
  Yeah, right. And.
• 23:39
  ILM did the CGI work as well, like when the mast snaps.
• 23:42
  I suspect that's why they probably said the night quite
• 23:44
  early CGI, so that blends the footage together probably a bit
• 23:47
  more easily. I would, yes.
• 23:49
  I think it works really well. Looks great.
• 23:51
  Oh, it does. I mean, I couldn't tell. 3-4
• 23:53
  times watching, I'm still finding it hard to differentiate
• 23:56
  between the practical and the digital effects.
• 23:58
  And that's the best way to use them, I think, Yeah.
• 24:00
  Absolutely. And that is the beginning of
• 24:03
  Master and Commander naval warfare, tragic death, sing
• 24:06
  alongs and huge effect sequences.
• 24:08
  It seems to have it all so far. Yeah, we've only just started.
• 24:12
  Terrible jokes as well. Yeah, don't forget that.
• 24:18
  The director. The director of Master and
• 24:23
  Commander was Peter Weir, a leading figure of the Australian
• 24:26
  New Wave movement of the 70s and 80s.
• 24:29
  We are also had a number of well known Hollywood films under his
• 24:31
  belt at this point, including Witness, Deadpool Society and
• 24:35
  The Truman Show. Yeah, a very experienced head by
• 24:38
  this point. Then Matt, how is Peter?
• 24:40
  We have direction on Master and Commander.
• 24:43
  I think it's excellent and I think it's what Peter Weir does
• 24:45
  best. He creates worlds and he takes
• 24:48
  his ego out of the equation and makes every choice the right
• 24:52
  choice to serve the story. So I can witness the most
• 24:54
  filling sequence, not film. It's when they build a bond, and
• 24:57
  that sounds ridiculous. That's true, yeah.
• 24:59
  But it's right for that film. You love.
• 25:01
  We are like. I do love we like.
• 25:03
  Absolutely. I.
• 25:03
  Just love the vibey beings. I just love the vibey beings so
• 25:07
  much. I really do and I think Master
• 25:08
  Commander has so many right choices.
• 25:10
  In a similar way, it's not back-to-back action sequences
• 25:13
  because that's not what it was like back then.
• 25:15
  It was a long tiring journey, months if not years at sea, and
• 25:19
  I think we appears as it to get that across.
• 25:22
  Like when the surprise is being pursued by the Akron, it
• 25:24
  obviously can't be a high speed pursuit, but disguising that
• 25:27
  smaller board as a distraction to throw the Akron off the scent
• 25:31
  again, we understand. Well, that's what they would do.
• 25:33
  And he makes that sequence really work.
• 25:35
  And little touches, like the fact that the camera does tilt
• 25:38
  side to side ever so subtly on the surprise, not so much that
• 25:42
  it's distracting and actually makes you seasick, but enough so
• 25:45
  that you don't look at it and go well.
• 25:46
  The camera is so level and still they're clearly not at sea.
• 25:49
  It's just a little touch, but it serves a story.
• 25:51
  So it does have these big action sequences, but it's all the
• 25:54
  little touches along the way that build this world.
• 25:56
  Like, as we've said, Pirates of the Caribbean came out the same
• 25:59
  year as this, which is really fun film, but only one of those
• 26:03
  films feels like a real journey back in time and it's this one
• 26:06
  and I think that's to ease credit that it does feel like
• 26:08
  that. Yeah, I mean you can see why the
• 26:10
  studio were keen and we are directing I think.
• 26:13
  Oh yeah. When he was younger, he'd spend
• 26:15
  5 weeks out at sea himself, so he had some real experience.
• 26:17
  OK, he'd made a classic book adaptation in Picnic and Hanging
• 26:21
  Rock already. He made a classic war drama in
• 26:23
  Gallipoli. And you already had big
• 26:25
  Hollywood successes like we mentioned and Green Card as
• 26:28
  well. It pays off because directing
• 26:33
  wise this feels like a film in very safe hands.
• 26:36
  There's some big effects LED action scenes here and the
• 26:38
  spectacular and well put together, there's some character
• 26:41
  drama. We handled that really well too.
• 26:44
  It looks beautiful. We'll talk about that more when
• 26:47
  we get to the DP. Russell Boyd in the crew
• 26:48
  section. The work from the costume and
• 26:50
  design departments is brilliant too.
• 26:52
  Lots of very different skill sets on this film, all
• 26:54
  delivering great work. And the thread that links them
• 26:56
  all is Peter Weir. He's overseeing everything and
• 27:00
  does all of it successfully. It feels like an accurate
• 27:02
  depiction of early 19th century naval life.
• 27:05
  I mean, I don't know for sure. I wasn't there, but it feels
• 27:08
  authentic. Yeah.
• 27:10
  I mean, you know better than we do.
• 27:11
  You study it, Yeah. We'll take your word for John.
• 27:14
  But I feel pulled into the world.
• 27:16
  I think periods can sometimes be a tough setting for a film to
• 27:18
  connect with an audience like Barry Linden or Age of Innocence
• 27:21
  or Classics. But both among the least loved
• 27:24
  Kubrick and Scorsese films? Probably.
• 27:26
  Yeah. Doesn't seem to have that
• 27:27
  problem, though. This is engaging, and he builds
• 27:29
  the world in a way that I think most people can relate to.
• 27:32
  Yeah, which when you're making a film with a $150 million budget,
• 27:35
  you kind of have to do. So yeah, it doesn't quite come
• 27:38
  up with The Truman Show as my favorite Peter we are, but
• 27:41
  Martha and Commander, I think it's a top quality director in
• 27:43
  action for me. Yeah, I mean, it definitely is.
• 27:46
  And like you said, they're John with period pieces.
• 27:48
  People automatically just take that as a given, right?
• 27:50
  It's a period piece. So we, that's it.
• 27:53
  It's a character in itself. I don't really have to do much
• 27:55
  work because you understand the history and I'll just put them
• 27:57
  in that cost you and then that's it.
• 27:59
  But I think what we had did is he just went deeper with that
• 28:02
  and I'm going to mention authenticity again and I'm going
• 28:04
  to mention it again and again and again.
• 28:06
  But it just feels like everyone's on the same page.
• 28:08
  It feels like everyone's turning around and looking to Peter,
• 28:10
  We're going, what do you want us to do?
• 28:12
  And I will do it. He's just got some of the best
• 28:15
  performances out of these, some of these actors.
• 28:17
  I mean, everyone's totally believable in their role.
• 28:19
  And I think there's a lot of respect for Peter Weir and how
• 28:23
  real he wants to make it. And he doesn't just want to make
• 28:26
  it a period drama, he wants to make it almost like a
• 28:29
  documentary in a really grand scale of things, with a story
• 28:34
  and an emotion behind it. It's the realism is just as
• 28:37
  important as the narrative, and everything works to that degree.
• 28:41
  It just gives me a headache to think of how much thought and
• 28:46
  effort went into every single aspect of this.
• 28:49
  Attention, the detail is insane. Mind blowing, you could punch in
• 28:53
  on a close up in any one of these shots and you're not
• 28:56
  making any mistakes. You could spin the camera around
• 28:58
  360° and you're not saying anything that takes you out of
• 29:01
  that world. It's just done so well.
• 29:04
  You're inspired by the film and I honestly think because of
• 29:07
  Peter Weir directing this, This is why people adore this film.
• 29:10
  You know, the amount you put into something is what you can
• 29:12
  take away from it. And I think he's just poured a
• 29:13
  lot of his soul into this and people walk away from this
• 29:16
  going. I've seen something really
• 29:17
  special and that's down to Peter Weir.
• 29:20
  Well, the person with the original idea to adapt Patrick
• 29:22
  O'Brien's Aubrey mature and series in the film was wasn't
• 29:25
  Peter Weir. It was Tom Rothman.
• 29:28
  He was an executive at 20th Century Fox, and when he became
• 29:31
  chairman and CEO, he immediately put forward the idea of adapting
• 29:35
  these books. OK, do you know much about that?
• 29:38
  No. Yeah, when Rothman worked at the
• 29:40
  Samuel Goldman company in the mid 90s, he tried to get Master
• 29:43
  and Commander off the ground. There's an adaptation, and he
• 29:46
  had wandered way to direct, but he said no.
• 29:48
  And then in 2000, we came into the Fox studios to talk about
• 29:52
  what projects might have for him.
• 29:54
  And Rothman pitched the idea again, and he gave Way a mock
• 29:57
  Captain Sword, and said what I think you should do is take
• 30:00
  command of the surprise. Bit cheesy from Rothman, that
• 30:04
  isn't it. Really cheesy.
• 30:06
  You fitted well the shipment dinner with that sort of Banda.
• 30:10
  Of the sword and everything. Well, we, I did see we do at
• 30:13
  this time on some conditions. First, he said the studio had to
• 30:17
  buy the HMS Rows that we talked about and refit it as a
• 30:19
  surprise, a bit demanding. Second, he said they had to base
• 30:24
  the script on the 10th book in the series, not the first one.
• 30:28
  And he said he wanted to keep the sword the Rothman gave him.
• 30:32
  You said yes. Would you kind of have to after
• 30:34
  giving him that speech? Well, yeah, you can't dig it
• 30:35
  back, can you? I'll have it back please.
• 30:39
  So as we've mentioned, we are one of the film to be as
• 30:41
  authentic as possible to what life would have been like on a
• 30:44
  19th century man of War. The costume designer was Wendy
• 30:47
  Stites, Peter Weir's wife. She won an Oscar for the film
• 30:50
  and her team made 2000 costumes, 2000 hats, 1900 pairs of shoes,
• 30:57
  400 lbs of hair for the actress to wear.
• 30:59
  That's just Russell Cruz way. And they brought in a watch
• 31:04
  company called Bridget, who have been around since 1775, and
• 31:07
  they've been all the watches for the actors that like actual kind
• 31:10
  of PE. Yeah, authentic is the word.
• 31:13
  It is definitely. I know as well that when we are
• 31:16
  researching for the film, you studied lots of paintings of the
• 31:18
  time and that made him want to find people with 18th century
• 31:21
  faces, as he put it. Just weathered them.
• 31:26
  And he gave Mary Selway, the casting director, these
• 31:28
  paintings and photographs of fishermen from the 1840s.
• 31:31
  And he said, find people for the crew who look like this.
• 31:35
  And they needed 130 people to man the surprise.
• 31:38
  And she saw over 7000 people. A lot of work.
• 31:42
  She just come to like South Shields.
• 31:44
  Everyone looks like that. I've got a couple of boats there
• 31:47
  as well. Yeah, exactly.
• 31:49
  And this is my favorite bit. The production team made about
• 31:52
  27 miles of rope for the rigging on the surprise.
• 31:55
  But most of the rope had to be made, especially because on
• 31:59
  modern rope the strands have a right hand lay.
• 32:02
  Back in the early 1800s, it would have had a left hand lay.
• 32:06
  I mean, that's ridiculous. Who's going to know that?
• 32:08
  Yeah, you can't notice. I was thinking the second time
• 32:11
  watching this. That's a left hand.
• 32:12
  Later thank. You for your Wesley.
• 32:15
  Big fan of rope. We are also brought in a guy
• 32:19
  called Andy Ray Ellis to be on hand through the shoot as
• 32:21
  ceiling master. He'd worked on refitting the HMS
• 32:24
  rules after Fox bought it and we have wanted him there.
• 32:27
  As I give technical advice and try out to train the crew and
• 32:31
  how to basically be the crew on board, yeah.
• 32:34
  Yeah, he said that his role kind of evolved and everybody would
• 32:37
  come up to him with questions during the shoot.
• 32:39
  He said that Russell Crowe would examine every word in the script
• 32:42
  and ask for advice on like how to deliver certain words or who
• 32:44
  we should say to in the crew. Looked at shouting, Hazar went
• 32:48
  on. It seems.
• 32:50
  But that all works because, I mean in terms of how real it
• 32:53
  seems, it just stands up so well, I think the film.
• 32:56
  Yeah, 170 people are asking you questions every fucking 2
• 32:59
  seconds. Andrea Ellis must have been
• 33:01
  like, I'm just going to grab a cannonball and fucking dive.
• 33:06
  Well, Master and Commander was nominated for 10 awards at the
• 33:09
  Oscars, including Best Director and Best Picture.
• 33:12
  Lost out to both for the same film.
• 33:14
  You remember what? Return of the King.
• 33:17
  Peter Jackson for Director and The Lord of the Rings Return of
• 33:19
  the King for Best picture For us though some impressive work from
• 33:23
  Peter Weir and Master and Commander as Director.
• 33:25
  Yeah, it's a wonderful thing. Very much so, yeah.
• 33:31
  The cast. There's a large casting master
• 33:36
  and commander, mostly comprising the HMS Surprise, ranking
• 33:39
  officers and enlisted sailors or foremost jacks.
• 33:43
  It's a big old crew and we're going in the detail on our two
• 33:46
  leads, OK One of those is Paul Bethany as ship surgeon, Doctor
• 33:49
  Stephen Mature. And we're starting with the
• 33:51
  Master and Commander himself, or?
• 33:53
  We are. Wesley.
• 33:57
  Don't put me in charge of anything.
• 34:01
  So Ian W plays Captain Jack, Captain Jack, Aubrey, Lucky Jack
• 34:08
  to some. Hazar.
• 34:11
  Captain the surprise. He leads us through most of the
• 34:13
  narrative, taking the mission to catch soccer on personally,
• 34:16
  having one or two fallout with Stephen, and ultimately
• 34:19
  capturing the French vessel. And he's like Vanessa May on
• 34:23
  that fiddle Westie. Oh, beautiful, isn't he?
• 34:26
  How is Russell Crowe as Lucky Jack?
• 34:29
  He's great, isn't he? Such a demand and presence on
• 34:31
  screen. It's just so believable.
• 34:33
  Fills the screen with just this huge ego and this huge
• 34:37
  confidence. And he is the authenticity that
• 34:39
  I've been talking about. He just absolutely owns the
• 34:41
  role. He lives it and he's absolutely
• 34:43
  into it. You can tell he's into it.
• 34:44
  To wear that V-neck and to pull that off with that chest and
• 34:48
  just with that, you know that command.
• 34:51
  Imagine that. Impossible.
• 34:53
  But he does it like you take him seriously at the same time.
• 34:57
  But when he gives somebody a compliment, you feel warm.
• 35:00
  When he doesn't have a goal at Holland at the start and he says
• 35:02
  he did the right thing, you feel completely relieved because he
• 35:05
  just commands respect. And I think Russell Crowe at
• 35:08
  this point was just so good at that.
• 35:10
  You can tell he's bonded the whole crew.
• 35:12
  He got everybody together, they visited the set, they visited
• 35:15
  the ship, they got everybody involved and he was just part of
• 35:18
  everything. He just gives everyone space and
• 35:21
  he's just so kind, I think in this film as an actor and you
• 35:24
  watch him and you just think, wow, that's just so like
• 35:27
  genuine. It's genuinely good.
• 35:29
  There's none of this is Hammy, none of it.
• 35:31
  I mean, some of the lines you've just been like, get back to your
• 35:33
  Sexton just wanted Russell cross his Sexton, let's be honest.
• 35:39
  And he. Goes.
• 35:40
  With the plume, beautiful. But he just absolutely owns this
• 35:45
  role. And for every second he's off
• 35:47
  the screen, you want him on the screen.
• 35:49
  That's how good he isn't this. Yeah, I agree.
• 35:52
  I think Crow was very good as Jack, I would say, without quite
• 35:54
  hitting the heights of what we know he's capable of.
• 35:57
  I mean, we've just seen him as Maximus a couple.
• 35:59
  Of years, yeah. This way, he's massive.
• 36:01
  But this character, the he hits the heights of what this
• 36:03
  character needs, Yeah, he's not. He's not massively heroic going
• 36:06
  it by himself. He needs to be part of a crew
• 36:08
  and he is that. He's like a leader.
• 36:11
  Yeah, yes. I think my favorite moments of
• 36:13
  his here are the parts where we see him as Jack Aubrey, the man
• 36:16
  that mostly comes in the scenes with Stephen as their friends,
• 36:19
  particularly the two or three times The Clash kind of
• 36:22
  ideologically argue about the best course of action to take.
• 36:25
  Talk about those things a bit more shortly, but I think crows
• 36:27
  really good in those where I'm not a massive fan of the moments
• 36:31
  where he's playing like Lucky Jack, the captain of the ship.
• 36:34
  His persona is a bit different, which I like, but he's a touch
• 36:37
  theatrical at time is for me. He's always like, well done
• 36:40
  lads, extra Russian of grog for all of you.
• 36:43
  That's great Do. You know what Grog is, by the
• 36:46
  way? Booze, isn't it?
• 36:48
  Well, yes, I don't mind lungs. Booze.
• 36:52
  It's water down rum. Which doesn't sound all right.
• 36:55
  No, it doesn't. Doesn't, yeah.
• 36:57
  I think Jack and Maximus have a lot of similarities.
• 36:59
  I mean, Jack's not in quite as good nick as a Spaniard, is he?
• 37:02
  No. No, definitely not.
• 37:04
  Jackson is crawl. Looks like he's just beyond two
• 37:07
  over this band. 30 odd photo. Grunts remember them. 30 odd
• 37:11
  photo grunts for Jesus Christ. But Jack and Maximus are both
• 37:15
  stoic, brave, both reasonable, got a strong sense of duty.
• 37:19
  But what Jack's missing that we do get with Maximus for me, I
• 37:22
  think, is vulnerability. We'll see Maximus breakdown in
• 37:24
  tears at one point in Gladiator. We don't need that necessarily,
• 37:27
  but there could be some kind of Arc or learning.
• 37:30
  I mean, Jack gives advice to Holland about how to deal with
• 37:32
  the foremost Jacks, which is clearly terrible advice because
• 37:35
  within minutes Holland was throwing himself off the ship.
• 37:38
  But yeah, yeah, we don't see any real remorse or even
• 37:41
  acknowledgement from Jack that he had the chance to save home
• 37:43
  but didn't. Yeah, I would have liked it if
• 37:45
  Jack had learned from that and used that new learning, whatever
• 37:48
  it was in defeating the Acuron. I mean, there's your rock.
• 37:51
  But in terms of cross performance, aside from the
• 37:53
  blonde ponytail, which I could do without, he used to work
• 37:56
  smart. He is a leader.
• 37:58
  Which I think you're right, Wesley, is everything the script
• 38:00
  calls for, really. Yeah.
• 38:01
  I mean, you mentioned Saving Private Ryan earlier on.
• 38:03
  I think he could have learned something from that.
• 38:05
  Like when after Wade's death, you know, when you see Hanks
• 38:07
  breakdown, he needs something like that.
• 38:09
  Just be like, right. OK, yeah, I get that.
• 38:11
  I get that, definitely. I think he's just got the
• 38:13
  natural authority this kind of role needs, doesn't he?
• 38:16
  Like the man who has to lead everyone else in the potential
• 38:19
  death, but they'll follow him anyway and do anything he says.
• 38:22
  And because he has that natural authority, he can't pull off
• 38:25
  that hair. I think he gets real with it.
• 38:27
  He he doesn't care that he's packed on a bit of timber for
• 38:29
  this role. He doesn't have to look great
• 38:31
  because he is great. That just comes from within.
• 38:34
  There's not many actors I think could pull off that shot where
• 38:37
  he's at the top of the mast when the pursuing the acron and the
• 38:40
  camera just pulls back and he's. Standing there on it.
• 38:43
  And he doesn't look ridiculous. It's only Russell core at this
• 38:47
  point in his grade could pull that off and.
• 38:48
  He is fucking beaming at that point.
• 38:51
  Smile loves. This he's having the best time
• 38:57
  ever. And you know, I think the
• 38:59
  Maximus comparison isn't in restaurant, because what I would
• 39:01
  say about that is that Maximus in that film, his arc is fuelled
• 39:05
  by quest for vengeance. Here Jack is just doing his duty
• 39:08
  and he doesn't want to be outsmarted by the Akron again,
• 39:11
  which is fine in the works with film, but it's not as personally
• 39:14
  as engaging as what he gets to do with Maximus.
• 39:17
  But Crowe is just such a natural fit for this role.
• 39:20
  He takes you with him every step of the way.
• 39:22
  Yeah, Crowe said. He wasn't sure about the first
• 39:25
  draft of the script, but it was the chance to work with Peter
• 39:27
  Weir that made him sign on to play Jack.
• 39:29
  In the books, Jack is described as being quite stout, which is
• 39:33
  why Crow put the weight on for the role.
• 39:35
  There's your real reason he signed on.
• 39:37
  No worker regime for this one. Just get the band back together.
• 39:41
  Exactly. Just have loads of McDonald's
• 39:43
  and look like I've got a melted Milky bar on your head.
• 39:48
  And Speaking of Gladiator, actually I know that Crow had a
• 39:50
  mini break during production, a master and Commander so he could
• 39:53
  fly to London for the funeral of Richard Harris.
• 39:55
  Harris. Aurelias and Gladiator.
• 39:57
  Yeah, they were good friends, weren't they?
• 39:58
  They were. Great friends, great drinkers,
• 40:00
  yeah. Absolutely.
• 40:02
  In the cast, they themselves. They spent two weeks in a boot
• 40:05
  camp before filming started, and that's where they learnt how to
• 40:08
  sail, how to fight with pistol and a cannon, and how to fight
• 40:11
  with the cutlass. But Crow turned up a few days
• 40:13
  before everyone else because he felt as captain.
• 40:15
  He should know more than the crew, and he also spent three
• 40:18
  months learning to play a violin, and he called that the
• 40:21
  hardest thing he's ever had to do for a role.
• 40:24
  Well, those jumping sessions do look great.
• 40:27
  Legitimate. To be fair, they're both really
• 40:29
  good. Yeah, that is outrageous.
• 40:31
  Calling them German sessions a jump.
• 40:37
  Fiddly, diddly, diddly did. I'm with you before West.
• 40:42
  You live on like. That I know, but it's it's a
• 40:44
  little bit more intense than that.
• 40:45
  I'd like to say I'm in session. Crew said that the first violin
• 40:50
  they gave him for the part was a German violin.
• 40:52
  He said Jack should play something more refined, but they
• 40:55
  had no budget for anything more expensive.
• 40:57
  So Richard Tognetti, one of the composers, tracked down a violin
• 41:00
  made by Leandro Bisiak in Milan in 1890 and Crow paid for
• 41:05
  himself. He said the play in that
• 41:07
  specific violin is an extraordinary experience.
• 41:10
  Well, Yorkshire did in 2018 for $104,000.
• 41:14
  Jesus should have played itself. Very nice.
• 41:17
  Indian production, because so much of it was on water, they
• 41:20
  built a recreational field nearby, which is where the cast
• 41:23
  and crew go to just let off some steam and crow organised the
• 41:27
  game of rugby between the crew with the surprise and the crew
• 41:29
  of the Akron. Of course he did.
• 41:31
  And to no one's surprise, the surprise won.
• 41:34
  I bet they fucking did. Yeah, of course he did.
• 41:37
  He's absolutely tons of fun at this point.
• 41:38
  He's plowing into everyone. I will have my vengeance.
• 41:44
  Yeah, I saw some behind the scenes footage of the Ruby match
• 41:46
  and beforehand Crow did the hacker.
• 41:48
  You know the kind of war dance to the news yourself.
• 41:52
  Wow. To everyone.
• 41:54
  He's the one team as well. And for his performance is Jack
• 41:57
  Aubrey. Russell Crowe was nominated for
• 41:59
  a Golden Globe and for us, not his very best maybe, but he is
• 42:02
  very good in the film. Yes, everything.
• 42:05
  The role needs him to be, I think, and that's the most
• 42:06
  important thing. Our second lead is Doctor
• 42:10
  Stephen, mature and played by Paul Bettany, the surgeon aboard
• 42:14
  the surprise. Stephen is a close friend of the
• 42:16
  captain that will often a loggerhead with him, perform
• 42:19
  surgery on himself and has a love of Natural History.
• 42:22
  Yes, we do not have time for his damned hobbies though.
• 42:25
  Matt. We don't.
• 42:28
  What do you think of Doctor Stephen and Paul Bettany playing
• 42:30
  him? I think he's brilliant.
• 42:32
  Stephen is such a key role because if it wasn't for him, I
• 42:35
  don't know how much he could take of Jack because he's so
• 42:38
  duty bound. He's so focused on the job and
• 42:41
  pursuing that Akron at all costs and it is a deliberate choice.
• 42:44
  But he can be infuriating. See, you need someone like
• 42:47
  Stephen almost as the conscience on his shoulder.
• 42:50
  You need the character that that can't see him.
• 42:53
  Why are we doing this? Are you sure this is the right
• 42:55
  thing to do? Have you thought about doing
• 42:57
  this differently for the men? And I'll go back to the scene
• 43:00
  where they're talking about Nelson, Zeal for King and
• 43:02
  Country. It's a really important shot be
• 43:05
  get that reaction trot from Stephen where he's almost
• 43:07
  rolling his eyes at that idea. Because Zeal to him means nine
• 43:11
  men have been killed and he's had a amputee at the arm of a 13
• 43:14
  year old boy. And Bettany sells all that
• 43:17
  cynicism and rationality beautifully.
• 43:19
  But it's always combined with that sense of knowing how much
• 43:22
  he and Jack trust each other despite these disagreements that
• 43:25
  have like Stephen can say things to Jack no one else would dare
• 43:28
  to on that ship. And you get the sense Paul
• 43:31
  Bettany could probably say things to Russell Cole.
• 43:33
  No one else would dare to when they were making this like, you
• 43:36
  know, calm it down a bit, Ross. Come on.
• 43:39
  And I think those like 2 performances, I think they just
• 43:42
  dovetail together so effectively.
• 43:43
  And I think Bettany is the real heart of this film.
• 43:45
  It's probably the best performance in the film, I think
• 43:47
  for me. Yeah, in the books apparently.
• 43:50
  I've not read them, but in the books Stevens described as being
• 43:52
  5 foot 6 odd looking and distorted, whatever that means.
• 43:57
  Wow. OK.
• 43:58
  Where I mean Paul Bettany's 6 foot three in a fairly handsome
• 44:01
  fella, but from what I've seen, even die hard fans of the book
• 44:04
  don't question his casting and I think that's just because he's
• 44:07
  excellent. I mean he's a very good actor,
• 44:09
  always brings dramatic way to a role and I think he nails the
• 44:12
  part of Stephen Stephen's the audience window into the world a
• 44:16
  lot of the time. He doesn't understand a lot of
• 44:18
  the naval terms like us. So when Jack or the crew are
• 44:20
  explaining things to Stephen, they explain them to us really.
• 44:24
  So for him to be that kind of connection between the film and
• 44:26
  the audience, I think Stephen has to be likable and betting he
• 44:29
  can do that in his sleep. To be honest.
• 44:32
  He brings a great realism and a groundedness to the film, which
• 44:35
  I think is very much needed to counter the kind of pomposity in
• 44:38
  bravado of Jack. And I think he and Crow work
• 44:40
  very well together. Like I said, Stephen has kind of
• 44:43
  an arc. I think initially he wants Jack
• 44:45
  to basically torpedo the whole mission so he can go iguana
• 44:47
  spotting, which was never going to happen.
• 44:50
  But by the end he says subject to the requirements of the
• 44:52
  service when his trips been cancelled.
• 44:54
  So he seems to have changed a bit.
• 44:56
  I need a bloody quick worker, isn't he?
• 44:59
  When he's operating on blame you to start after that first
• 45:01
  battle, he saw his arm off in about four seconds.
• 45:04
  Off with. That, yeah, I mean, there's a
• 45:07
  word here that strikes me that neither of you guys said.
• 45:10
  Which is you can see authentic. I'm not is that is the humanity
• 45:17
  in this the version of of sense and intelligence?
• 45:21
  And Jack does have an intelligence, but it's very much
• 45:23
  based on conflict. Go straight out them don't have
• 45:27
  any tactics. That's of what Nelson would do.
• 45:29
  Whereas Bethany is mature and is is got that sense of
• 45:33
  intelligence of like maybe we should use tactics here.
• 45:36
  Maybe you're just wrong mature and has the rule that Jack can't
• 45:40
  do. He could do any other role on
• 45:42
  that ship but he couldn't be the Doctor because he doesn't have
• 45:45
  that humanity with people. He doesn't really know how to
• 45:47
  talk to the kid. He just he automatically
• 45:49
  mentions Nelson. He automatically mentions
• 45:51
  warfare. He's really awkward around him,
• 45:53
  isn't he, When he injured. He tells what he understands,
• 45:56
  which is just conflict. Whereas what Bettany brings to
• 45:59
  this is a real sense of that duality between the two, that
• 46:03
  real common sense, that lack of ego, and he plays it really well
• 46:07
  and I think he knows what he's doing with it.
• 46:09
  There is nothing on this that is just over the top.
• 46:12
  And even when Jack's asking him and makes a fool out of him at
• 46:15
  the dinner table, nothing's then taken personally.
• 46:18
  It's just OK, that's what he needs to do.
• 46:20
  He needs to make a fool out of me, to make himself seem more
• 46:22
  intelligent. When in reality, Stevens answer
• 46:26
  to that joke is factually perfect.
• 46:29
  It's so intelligent. I would have that one because of
• 46:31
  this, this, this, and he's like who we will do.
• 46:33
  It's this. Which is kind of what warfare is
• 46:36
  with medicine, isn't it? He wears some outrageous gear.
• 46:39
  That's not what I would wear on the silence.
• 46:42
  Not at all. Too many layers at some points.
• 46:45
  Ridiculous glasses, Ridiculous guy.
• 46:48
  But he's the heart of the film. He's not the one that you
• 46:50
  notice, but he's the one that you need to add texture and
• 46:53
  depth in humanity. So Paul Bettany is very good,
• 46:57
  but he wasn't issuing for the part of Stephen and a couple of
• 47:00
  other well known actors were concerned by we're.
• 47:03
  OK. Right, Heath Ledger was one.
• 47:05
  Right. And the other was Ray Fines.
• 47:08
  Fines would have been good. Yeah.
• 47:09
  Both would have been very good, I'm sure.
• 47:11
  Yeah, Yeah. Crow and Bethany had worked well
• 47:13
  together in A Beautiful Mind just before this.
• 47:15
  So I wonder how it would impact that hard on we are casting
• 47:18
  Bethany. Yeah.
• 47:19
  And Bethany had been a member of the Sea Cadets when he was a
• 47:22
  kid, right? And he said This is why he was
• 47:24
  one of the only members of the cast who didn't get seasick at
• 47:26
  all during production. And then as part of his
• 47:28
  preparation for the part, he went to the Royal College of
• 47:31
  Surgeons in London to learn how to use 18th century medical
• 47:34
  instruments. And before filming, Bethany and
• 47:36
  Core visited the HMS Victory in Portsmouth.
• 47:39
  Because that's a real 18th century ship.
• 47:41
  Wow, 18th century medical instruments in the game of
• 47:44
  cello. No, no, no, no.
• 47:47
  The knives are not no, no. Yeah, the Victory was Nelson's
• 47:51
  ship in the Battle of Trafalgar, and apparently on that visit to
• 47:54
  the Victory, Crow turned up with the rest of his band as well.
• 47:58
  Absolute carnage. That one.
• 47:59
  Like he loves that one. Beer and burgers everywhere.
• 48:02
  Yeah, and Matt mentioned the field where the cast and crew
• 48:05
  played rugby. But something that was created
• 48:08
  just for the cast was a special club that was like an outhouse
• 48:11
  that had a pool table, Internet and some drinks.
• 48:13
  It was nicknamed the Monkey Bar on set.
• 48:17
  And yeah, apparently Crow brought in some guitars and the
• 48:19
  drum kit as well. Of course he.
• 48:21
  And the rest of the barn. This just a big jolly for crow,
• 48:25
  isn't it? It is absolutely loving it.
• 48:28
  Pile on the beef and just rip out the country songs.
• 48:32
  Before we finish on Paul Bethany, it's time for our first
• 48:35
  a TRMP. One question.
• 48:36
  OK. OK.
• 48:37
  So one of the benefits of signing up as an ATR and patron
• 48:40
  is that will answer your questions on the show.
• 48:42
  And we have one now on Paul Bethany.
• 48:44
  OK. So, Gary Proctor.
• 48:47
  Hello, Gary. He's asked what are your views
• 48:50
  on Paul Bethany? Is he better as a supporting
• 48:53
  actor IEA beautiful minded Knights tale, MCU films Master
• 48:56
  and Commander or as a leading actor IE Wimbledon Priest,
• 49:00
  Legion or Gangster #1? Right.
• 49:03
  What do you think, Matt? Well, I always enjoy Paul
• 49:07
  Bettany performance, but I think he does have a career where it
• 49:09
  feels like he's never found the leading role that could propel
• 49:13
  him to being an absolute star. They saw that he probably should
• 49:15
  be to be fair. So I would say I do think his
• 49:17
  best roles are in support because yeah, you got this.
• 49:20
  We'll just mention a beautiful mind.
• 49:22
  I think he's a real stand out in that.
• 49:23
  He is. You can tell.
• 49:25
  I think that's where that friendship with Crow did start
• 49:27
  and we didn't mention it and I haven't seen it in a long time,
• 49:30
  so I can't make any claim whether it's any good or not,
• 49:32
  But I do remember thinking he was really funny in a Knights
• 49:36
  tale where he plays Chaucer. Good film.
• 49:38
  Yeah, when it comes to leading roles, I do struggle to think of
• 49:41
  one from him, so and that's not a reflection on him.
• 49:44
  I just don't think someone just used him right yet in the
• 49:46
  leading role. Yeah, I mean the examples given
• 49:50
  there a Beautiful Mind, The MCU and Master and Commander in
• 49:53
  supporting roles versus Wimbledon and Priest is the
• 49:55
  lead. Yeah, I think Gary's kind of
• 49:57
  answered his own question, to be honest.
• 49:59
  Kind of. I thought he was typing that.
• 50:00
  Outgoing, yeah. Yeah, Wimbledon.
• 50:04
  I mean, yeah, I do think Paul Beckman is a very good actor,
• 50:06
  but I'm not sure he has the presence to lead huge films.
• 50:09
  He's not Russell Crowe, is he? No.
• 50:11
  No, I do like him in Journey's End as well.
• 50:13
  The World War One drama, and he's a pretty good bad guy.
• 50:16
  And Solo. The Star Wars Story, I thought,
• 50:18
  yeah, yeah, yeah, nice. I mean, being pretty good in the
• 50:20
  Star Wars film nowadays, there's no mean feat.
• 50:23
  So yeah, I do prefer him in supporting roles for sure.
• 50:26
  Yeah, I mean, I've got to agree. I saw this question.
• 50:28
  It was like, and the MCU. I was like MCU, like, I'm not
• 50:31
  that out of touch with the Marvel Cinematic, you know?
• 50:33
  Who the fuck's he and I in, man? I was like, I'm gonna have to
• 50:36
  have a look at this. But he's the voice, yeah, of the
• 50:38
  computer, right? And he's vision as well.
• 50:40
  Yeah, right. OK.
• 50:41
  But for me, the standout performance was The Da Vinci
• 50:44
  Code. He makes that film actually
• 50:47
  legible. Yeah, silence.
• 50:48
  Yeah. It's like, wow, somebody's
• 50:50
  taking this seriously. Yeah, yeah, because I love that
• 50:53
  boot. If it hadn't been for Bettany in
• 50:54
  that film, it would have been an absolute cartoon.
• 50:57
  But he really kind of grounds it and makes it into something.
• 51:00
  And that's that's my most memorable performance is Da
• 51:02
  Vinci Code and A Beautiful Mind. I've don't think I've seen any
• 51:06
  of the films that he's been a lead man in.
• 51:08
  Watching a film called Wimbledon for me is an absolute
• 51:13
  impossibility. I wouldn't watch Wimbledon, the
• 51:17
  actual sporting event. So for me, 100% support
• 51:21
  nightmare. 100%, yeah. Yeah.
• 51:24
  For his performance as Stephen Mature and Paul Bettany was
• 51:26
  nominated for a BAFTA and for us a very good supporting turn from
• 51:30
  him. Yeah, he's.
• 51:31
  Great. Definitely, yeah.
• 51:33
  There is a much wider cast too. Of course, we'll talk more about
• 51:36
  Lee Ingleby as Harlem and Max Perkins as Blakeney, but also
• 51:40
  anybody who watches a British TV will be familiar with the faces
• 51:43
  of James Darcy as Pullings, Robert Pugh was Alan David
• 51:46
  Thrill fall as Killick, Max Bennett's Calamy and Billy Boyd
• 51:49
  as Bonden. And our two leads, Russell Crowe
• 51:52
  and Paul Bethany, They carry things well.
• 51:54
  Oh, I. Definitely do, yeah, 100%.
• 52:03
  All the right movies will be back shortly.
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• 54:40
  The middle. Into the middle of Master and
• 54:45
  Commander and the death of Wally has dampened spirits aboard the
• 54:48
  surprise. Yeah, the tragic scenes
• 54:50
  revolving around Holland. The Jonah are coming.
• 54:52
  But first, it's more lucky Jack and Doctor Steve it.
• 54:56
  Is it is? So after the action-packed, Act
• 55:00
  One We Are brings us back to work with some character drama
• 55:03
  and friction between the Captain and the surgeon, Jack and
• 55:06
  Stephen disagree. Firstly over Jack's stubborn
• 55:09
  pursuit of the Acuron and then Stephen's obsession with the
• 55:12
  Galapagos Islands. Yeah, yes.
• 55:14
  So what you want me to talk about?
• 55:16
  I'm going to talk about the argument to have afterwards.
• 55:19
  He's gone overboard because I think this is a really important
• 55:23
  character moment for these two here and for the film in
• 55:25
  general. It's the first time we really
• 55:27
  see a flaw in Jack. He was warned about the ability
• 55:31
  of the mass to stand up in that storm, but he's so single
• 55:33
  minded. On he went and pursued the
• 55:35
  course anyway, which is his duty as he points out.
• 55:38
  But it's come with the cost of a man's life and obviously none of
• 55:41
  the men can say anything to remember about it.
• 55:44
  But Stephen Khan, and I think Bettany plays the scene so well.
• 55:48
  You can see he's treading so carefully.
• 55:50
  You know, I'm talking to you as a friend or as the captain, you
• 55:53
  know, he wants to establish what ground they're on.
• 55:55
  And it's not that Jack doesn't care.
• 55:57
  You can see how guilty he feels, and Stephen isn't trying to
• 55:59
  guilt trip him. But Stephen is the only one who
• 56:02
  can ask these questions. You know, Shouldn't we have
• 56:04
  turned back weeks ago? Isn't this just about your pride
• 56:06
  now? And I think if there is a theme
• 56:08
  in the film, it's about what is the cost of duty when you placed
• 56:12
  it above everything else. And I think this is probably the
• 56:14
  best scene in exploring that. Yeah, I agree.
• 56:17
  I said earlier that I think Crow's best moments, acting wise
• 56:20
  anyway, come in the debates between Jack and Stephen.
• 56:23
  I think Crow and Bettany bounce off each other really well and
• 56:26
  this is the first time that happens.
• 56:28
  From what I understand, the friendship of Jack and Stephen
• 56:30
  is the kind of bedrock of Patrick O'Brien's books.
• 56:34
  And we are clearly understand that by making that relationship
• 56:37
  a key part of the film as well. Jack's a man of pride and duty,
• 56:40
  Stephen a man of science. And where they kind of meet is
• 56:44
  in art. They bond over music, which is
• 56:46
  kind of a middle ground. Yeah, that's a nice bit of
• 56:48
  writing. And those music scenes are
• 56:50
  especially important for Jack. I think it's like he expresses
• 56:52
  with a violin ball the things his position as captain stop
• 56:55
  them doing with words sometimes. Yeah, good point.
• 56:58
  And this particular argument is really good.
• 56:59
  Where Stephen sees they should have turned back weeks ago.
• 57:02
  It's well written and well acted and is the first time we see
• 57:04
  anybody question look EJ's opinion.
• 57:07
  So it was much needed from that point of view, I think, yeah.
• 57:10
  Definitely, very much lucky jail like.
• 57:14
  Wouldn't call him that was fierce.
• 57:15
  Yeah, too right. I'm going to go for another
• 57:17
  disagreement between the two, because these are, like you
• 57:20
  said, John. It's some of the best character
• 57:22
  moments and some of the best act moments in the film, and it
• 57:24
  really does carry it along. And the argument about Pheasant,
• 57:26
  the Calabacus Islands, is just so on the nose almost.
• 57:31
  It's kind of just ridiculous where he's just like haven't got
• 57:35
  time for your damned hobbies, Sir.
• 57:38
  Put that. I'm going to put that in your
• 57:39
  place with that. It really, and that's the most
• 57:41
  brutally can be to him though, isn't it?
• 57:43
  It's like and belittles him and makes him believe that what he
• 57:47
  believes in isn't important and what is important is the colours
• 57:51
  and everything else is just. If we have time to do it then
• 57:54
  that's fine. But what I found out through
• 57:56
  multiple watches of this is that these islands save them both
• 58:00
  eventually. That's the whole point.
• 58:02
  It's the safe haven. It's the place that they need to
• 58:04
  get to. It is the place where he steps
• 58:06
  off the ship and thinks about himself and you know, you're
• 58:09
  gonna hold this with somebody and they just want to go off and
• 58:11
  get pissed, but you want to go to the beach and just have a
• 58:13
  nice time, you know what I mean? I just want to go to the
• 58:16
  restaurant and just have something nice to eat and just
• 58:18
  have a bit of a chilled out and it's like, no, no, no, we're
• 58:19
  going out. We're getting absolutely
• 58:21
  smashed, man. I said, well, you're going to
• 58:22
  regret that in the morning if we just went somewhere nice.
• 58:25
  And it's just, it has that kind of there's almost a relationship
• 58:28
  here, but this really highlights the characters.
• 58:31
  And again, shows how determined Jack is.
• 58:34
  But again, is that to everyone's expense just so he can be
• 58:39
  Nelson? Almost.
• 58:40
  Do you know what I mean? Stevens trying to say you are
• 58:42
  this person, you're not who you think you are.
• 58:45
  Let's take everyone's opinion on board and it really works.
• 58:49
  It does. I mean, I think the reason the
• 58:50
  Galapagos Islands are used as a setting of these like scientific
• 58:53
  discoveries is probably because of Charles Darwin.
• 58:56
  Lots of it. Understanding of evolution came
• 58:58
  from the Galapagos Islands. That gives the setting a lot of
• 59:01
  period relevant weight, so it works really well.
• 59:03
  And these scenes aren't just well acted, I think they're
• 59:06
  really well written to The way the conversations develop
• 59:09
  naturally from innocence into like yelling at each other is
• 59:11
  really good. And after the opening, where the
• 59:13
  film's told us Yep, we know how to film action sequences, it's
• 59:17
  now telling us we know how to write as well, which is
• 59:19
  impressive. And film dialogue.
• 59:21
  Exactly, yeah. But Stephen's argument, Yeah,
• 59:23
  definitely needs some work to aboard an HMS ship and he
• 59:27
  suggested the captain England that they abandoned their orders
• 59:29
  so we can go off and freeze from swimming iguanas.
• 59:32
  He's got no chance. I just feel sorry for Stephen,
• 59:36
  like he's seen iguanas that can swim.
• 59:38
  No one's ever seen that before and he's all dressed up pro he's
• 59:41
  got a sun hat on and ever then. Just need a deck chair.
• 59:44
  Looks like he's wearing like a dressing gown as well.
• 59:46
  It's really weird. Yeah, it is weird.
• 59:48
  He just needs like you know that sunblock where they cover the
• 59:50
  whole nose? It's all white.
• 59:53
  But there is a child's Darwin reference in the film here, when
• 59:55
  the watch in the iguanas, one of the crew says disgusting, what's
• 59:58
  all over it, right? And that is apparently what
• 1:00:00
  Darwin said when he first saw them.
• 1:00:02
  Yeah, that turned me stomach that bit.
• 1:00:04
  Yeah, a man of science there. So the pursuit continues, and
• 1:00:10
  the film takes a turn into some good dramatic writing.
• 1:00:13
  Oh, absolutely. Yeah, some of the best.
• 1:00:17
  From there even more intense character drama Things have been
• 1:00:21
  brewing between the non commissioned crew and Midshipman
• 1:00:23
  Holland for the whole film and it comes to a head now Yeah
• 1:00:27
  branded a Jonah and curse on the ship, Holland goes above deck in
• 1:00:30
  the middle of the night and hurls himself into the murky
• 1:00:32
  ocean depths, killing himself. Yeah, he does.
• 1:00:36
  The night's dog is just before the dawn Westie, apparently.
• 1:00:39
  So your favorite scene? Yep, a little bit misery.
• 1:00:43
  But my is Nagle disrespects Holland on the deck.
• 1:00:47
  But I mean, has he got good reason to?
• 1:00:49
  Does the film actually support what he's saying is true?
• 1:00:53
  Is he a bad influence? The morning of the Batley didn't
• 1:00:56
  have the guts to beat the quarters.
• 1:00:57
  Fair enough. His entire gun crew was killed
• 1:01:00
  except for him. OK.
• 1:01:02
  As soon as he went up, the losing will falls.
• 1:01:05
  He was responsible for that. And it was his watch.
• 1:01:07
  When the loss of the wind, I mean, that's enough.
• 1:01:09
  That's enough for me in this century to be like he's bad news
• 1:01:14
  bears and he's just, he's just not good to be there.
• 1:01:17
  And I think it's one of the best moments from Crow as well, when
• 1:01:21
  he's trying to just gear him up and say, look a man, this is
• 1:01:25
  what you need to do. You need to be an asshole
• 1:01:27
  basically. And I've been a manager in a
• 1:01:30
  couple of jobs that I've done and you do not expect to have
• 1:01:32
  any friends. And that's, I think Holland's
• 1:01:35
  too soft for this. He's too soft for the world.
• 1:01:37
  He's like Paul Kosoff and free like he's too soft.
• 1:01:41
  There's a reference for you. Wow.
• 1:01:43
  Look it up. That's the whole place is too
• 1:01:45
  nice of a guy to be in a rock band.
• 1:01:47
  You know what I mean? It's just too much emotion.
• 1:01:49
  He thinks too much. And the great thing about the
• 1:01:52
  film and the great thing that Peter We're does is a ways an
• 1:01:54
  audience feel really sorry for him.
• 1:01:56
  And then it's rectified itself and the wind comes back and you
• 1:01:59
  go, ah, right. And you believe in superstition.
• 1:02:03
  You start to go, well, what is actually real in the world?
• 1:02:06
  And this is a Wesley theory, but I think the whole surprise is
• 1:02:09
  just an algorith about the moon Lantern.
• 1:02:16
  It's a great moment and I think it's great from cruel when he's
• 1:02:19
  just straight in there and he's like you climb an irons and
• 1:02:22
  flogs him and this really highlights that.
• 1:02:25
  Yeah, the crew blame Holland for Wally's death, but the first
• 1:02:28
  time we see tension between them is when the crew was singing
• 1:02:30
  Spanish ladies earlier on. And oh God, it's so painful.
• 1:02:35
  God. Steven's like, what do you?
• 1:02:37
  Wonderfully true voice Mr. Holland, But the crew are
• 1:02:39
  furious about it. Yeah, change the song, don't
• 1:02:42
  they? Imagine being Quinch, he'd
• 1:02:44
  interrupted. Oh, imagine just eating an apple
• 1:02:46
  with a massive knife. But I don't like Nagle.
• 1:02:51
  The guy who disrespects Holloman gets fogged for his troubles.
• 1:02:54
  I don't like him either. I don't think it's a
• 1:02:56
  particularly great performance, to be honest.
• 1:02:58
  I think it's one of them. Once you go, he's trying too
• 1:03:01
  hard. Yeah, Brian Dick, the actor is
• 1:03:03
  called. He also played Ernie Wise in
• 1:03:06
  ABBC. Drama about Morgamin Wise.
• 1:03:07
  OK, he's obviously more likeable than he is, yeah.
• 1:03:10
  Yeah, much more. And Holland is played by Lee
• 1:03:12
  Ingleby from the Northeast Set TV show Inspector George Gently.
• 1:03:16
  So nice to see him in there. Oh, there you are.
• 1:03:19
  No wonder killed himself. Yeah, I mean, when Holland does
• 1:03:25
  kill himself, I mean, he's been so out of place from the
• 1:03:28
  beginning, like at the start, omen and on about what to do
• 1:03:31
  when he first sees the Akron, to the point where, you know,
• 1:03:34
  people below have to urge him to do something, make a decision,
• 1:03:38
  Yeah. And as you say, when having that
• 1:03:39
  sing song and dance on deck and he starts long, just like tap it
• 1:03:42
  along to the beat so awkwardly. Oh God, so painful.
• 1:03:46
  It's like you have been at like a wedding reception in
• 1:03:48
  someone's, like, stone cold sober because they're the
• 1:03:51
  designated driver. Yeah, they're trying to get in.
• 1:03:53
  It's just like don't even attempt.
• 1:03:55
  It I know, you see. It's awful.
• 1:03:57
  He's just like a lost kid in a man's world.
• 1:03:59
  Like Blakeney has more leadership qualities than he
• 1:04:01
  does in Blakeney's 13. He's half his age, yeah, and
• 1:04:05
  that friendship that they do have, Holland and Blakely, I do
• 1:04:08
  think that's been really nicely develops.
• 1:04:09
  He feel Blakely squeef when Holland does jump overboard, and
• 1:04:13
  unfortunately for him, it just gets that really haunting moment
• 1:04:15
  where he just descends into the depths.
• 1:04:18
  It. Yeah.
• 1:04:18
  I mean, it is quite jarring for me to watch it because it just
• 1:04:21
  pulls on the heartstrings a little bit.
• 1:04:22
  It's just, he's not right. No.
• 1:04:24
  But I would imagine there's so many people in that period where
• 1:04:27
  they weren't prepared for what it was like.
• 1:04:29
  Oh. Absolutely.
• 1:04:29
  Again, that's the authenticity of it.
• 1:04:31
  It's just it's superbly done. He's a man with a fork in a
• 1:04:34
  world of soup. But yeah, I think it's really
• 1:04:39
  sad and all that stuff with Holland.
• 1:04:40
  It comes at the right time. And the film needs it, though,
• 1:04:43
  because Jack's posturing and Stephen banging on about
• 1:04:45
  blizzards and bugs. Tiny beetle as well.
• 1:04:48
  Tiny. That'll do.
• 1:04:50
  All right. Great.
• 1:04:52
  But Stephen and Jack argue again about whether Nagle should be
• 1:04:54
  flogged, which is 1 disagreement.
• 1:04:56
  Too many for me to be honest. At this point, all Jack and
• 1:04:59
  Stephen seem to do is argue. Just get the cello out, I'll
• 1:05:02
  sort it out. Yeah, exactly.
• 1:05:04
  Home killing himself. What a way to go That is
• 1:05:06
  Cannonball in your pocket, straight down to the hot place.
• 1:05:09
  Yeah, I mean, you need business when you do that really needed
• 1:05:12
  sequence, I think from the film's point of view.
• 1:05:14
  Yeah, and for anyone that doesn't know, Jonah comes from
• 1:05:16
  the Bible. Because there's the book of
• 1:05:18
  Jonah, and in that Jonah disappears a command from God
• 1:05:21
  who sends a storm to attack the ship that Jonah's on, and the
• 1:05:24
  crew throw Jonah overbought so the storm will stop.
• 1:05:26
  And since then, that's where the sailor's superstition has come
• 1:05:29
  from. A Jonah is a person who brings
• 1:05:31
  bad luck to a ship. Right.
• 1:05:33
  OK. That makes sense.
• 1:05:34
  Yeah, he was also a character in the Bino Jonah, a sailor, where
• 1:05:38
  he was like this gormless, chinless clutz who would
• 1:05:40
  accidentally sink every ship he was on like uncle.
• 1:05:43
  Albert. Everyone listening to this good
• 1:05:45
  please squeeze a be no reference in that.
• 1:05:48
  Don't. Yeah.
• 1:05:49
  Oh, this is great. This is great.
• 1:05:51
  Fact, in the novels, Holland doesn't commit suicide.
• 1:05:53
  He's murdered by a character called Horner.
• 1:05:56
  He's not in the film, but Holland gets Horner's wife
• 1:05:58
  pregnant. So Horner kills them both and
• 1:06:01
  then hangs himself. Great facts.
• 1:06:04
  Isn't it? I'm not going to read these
• 1:06:05
  books. These something.
• 1:06:08
  Yeah, I mean, I see why they changed it.
• 1:06:09
  It's nice and simple in the film, I think.
• 1:06:11
  Yeah. Although it might have been nice
• 1:06:13
  to have like a woman in there at some point, yeah.
• 1:06:16
  Also when home jumps overboard, the witnesses.
• 1:06:19
  William Blaine, you mentioned the 13 year old officer played
• 1:06:21
  by Max Perkis. He has quite a bit to do in the
• 1:06:24
  film, I think. Yeah, he does, Yeah.
• 1:06:25
  What do we think of him in there?
• 1:06:27
  I think it could have gone really badly wrong this role
• 1:06:29
  like a posh 13 year old running about the deck.
• 1:06:32
  Sounds awful. Just sound awful.
• 1:06:34
  Could have been really irritating.
• 1:06:35
  I mean, I have seen better child performances, but I think
• 1:06:38
  considering how many of his scenes with Craw and with
• 1:06:41
  Bethany, I think he holds his own.
• 1:06:43
  But then he does a good job. Yeah, apparently like 13 year
• 1:06:46
  old midshipmen did exist at the time and we're tracked no
• 1:06:48
  differently on the ship. So we want to show that in the
• 1:06:51
  film. And I like how blatant these
• 1:06:53
  kind of a protege of both Jack and Stephen.
• 1:06:56
  He's an officer like Jack, with an interest in Natural History
• 1:06:59
  like Stephen. Yes, yeah, should.
• 1:07:01
  Have got him in the band The Missing Piece.
• 1:07:03
  He's got one arm. Definitely.
• 1:07:08
  Beat the quarters just. Want to be?
• 1:07:10
  Just on the two and the four, if you don't mind.
• 1:07:13
  And we've mentioned a few members of the crew now, so it
• 1:07:15
  seems like a good time to ask our second day TRM Patron
• 1:07:18
  question, seeing as it is about the crew.
• 1:07:20
  OK, let's do it. So amon kidding.
• 1:07:23
  Hello, Amon. He's asking who would be your
• 1:07:25
  ultimate movie crew captain, first mate, doctor, slash
• 1:07:29
  science guy, shipwrecked lady, young plucky kid who dies and
• 1:07:32
  evil guy who tries to do mutiny. And initially it works, until it
• 1:07:36
  all goes tits up. Now you talk like an Irishman
• 1:07:39
  even. Nice.
• 1:07:41
  I assume he's Irish. Might not be.
• 1:07:43
  Well, yeah. So, Wesley, yeah, your ultimate
• 1:07:46
  movie crew. All right, Well, I've gone for
• 1:07:49
  people that would be available now.
• 1:07:50
  Lovely without any more bullshit.
• 1:07:52
  OK. Catherine Anthony Hopkins.
• 1:07:56
  Lovely. Very nice, right?
• 1:07:57
  He'd be massive, wouldn't he? You would love that first mate,
• 1:08:00
  Kelly Murphy. Lovely underneath.
• 1:08:03
  That'd be nice. Doctor.
• 1:08:04
  Science Guy Mark Ruffalo. Bow tie.
• 1:08:08
  Shipwrecked lady Emily Blunt, obviously.
• 1:08:10
  Obviously she would be wonderful young kid who dies Barry Cuban.
• 1:08:16
  Give me 30. We can play any age, you know,
• 1:08:21
  stick some Milky bar in his head, an evil guy who does the
• 1:08:24
  mutiny. I was thinking, well, who could
• 1:08:25
  be really, who's really popular now?
• 1:08:26
  It's really good. But he's like play against type
• 1:08:30
  and I would have Bradley Cooper in there.
• 1:08:32
  Right. Oh, yeah.
• 1:08:33
  Yeah, that could work, Yeah. Yeah, that's my crew for me at
• 1:08:35
  the minute if I was to make it, but I haven't got the energy, so
• 1:08:38
  someone else is going to have to make it.
• 1:08:40
  I'm not Peter Weir. I'd watch our Westie for sure.
• 1:08:44
  Yeah, Nice. Thank you.
• 1:08:45
  Well, I read Eamon's question slightly differently.
• 1:08:48
  I thought he was meaning like established captains, etcetera
• 1:08:51
  from previous films. You can take it that way if you
• 1:08:53
  like, yeah. Wow, that's going to take you
• 1:08:56
  about a couple of weeks. Well.
• 1:08:57
  It took a while. I mean Captain, Obviously Kirk.
• 1:09:01
  No other choice but get Kirk. John's loving that.
• 1:09:03
  The shot? Lovely.
• 1:09:05
  Yeah, yeah, first mates, I've gone back to Zulu and Nigel
• 1:09:08
  Green, who plays colour Sergeant Bourne, very.
• 1:09:11
  Nice. He's.
• 1:09:11
  Just awesome. And that he's the guy you want
• 1:09:14
  in every battle back in your piece.
• 1:09:15
  Amazing. Absolutely, You're alive.
• 1:09:20
  Got along now, lads. That's what you want from him,
• 1:09:23
  Doctor. Science guy.
• 1:09:24
  Gandalf, obviously. Shipwrecked lady.
• 1:09:26
  I've gone through Ripley from the beginning of Aliens.
• 1:09:28
  I think she fits the bill. OK.
• 1:09:31
  Lovely, young plucky kid who dies mute.
• 1:09:33
  Nearly in three, unfortunately, which we'd all like to forget
• 1:09:36
  but just happened. Yeah, I'm confused by this.
• 1:09:39
  Well, just wait, you hear me? Last one.
• 1:09:40
  Mute in the sky. Billy's in in Titanic.
• 1:09:43
  OK, right. OK, Got you.
• 1:09:44
  I have a child. I have a child.
• 1:09:46
  I'm all she has in the world. Like, so you're taking the
• 1:09:50
  character that they played in that film and then you're
• 1:09:52
  putting it into the new film. Yes.
• 1:09:55
  Right. OK, I'll get you.
• 1:09:56
  I'll listen back to that when it comes out.
• 1:09:58
  Hopefully it'll make more sense then.
• 1:09:59
  Wouldn't count on it. John, you're not doing one.
• 1:10:05
  Just be the fucking cast of the Enterprise, wouldn't it?
• 1:10:09
  OK, yeah, and go for that. I never got another chance to do
• 1:10:12
  this again. My all time Star Trek crew.
• 1:10:14
  Oh. Amazing.
• 1:10:16
  You know this just off the top of your head.
• 1:10:18
  Save it, Save it for parent because people are paying money
• 1:10:20
  for this. So, Captain, Yeah, I've gone for
• 1:10:25
  my story, took Kirk, so I've got to go for Captain Picard.
• 1:10:28
  Four on my loads of speeches, Yeah.
• 1:10:30
  First mate, his number one Will Ryker will have sex with any
• 1:10:34
  alien, OK, Which is always a good thing.
• 1:10:36
  Take your word for it. Doctor, I've gone for Doctor
• 1:10:39
  Bashir of Deep Space 9. No, actually, scratch that.
• 1:10:42
  I'm going for the Doctor from Star Trek Voyager who was a
• 1:10:46
  hologram. So that's pretty cool.
• 1:10:48
  Brilliant. Shipwright Lady Jazzy Edax,
• 1:10:51
  obviously. Have a look at her and you'll
• 1:10:53
  see why. OK, right.
• 1:10:55
  Plucky kid who dies? There's got to be Wesley
• 1:10:57
  Crusher. Got to be.
• 1:10:58
  Not too much of his pluck. But if he dies, that annoying
• 1:11:00
  little shit is definitely going in there for that.
• 1:11:04
  And the guy who tries to mutiny is Data Also start.
• 1:11:10
  What A twist. Wow.
• 1:11:11
  Because there is never. So where we just mutiny?
• 1:11:13
  And there's a bloody good one. OK, nice.
• 1:11:16
  Honest to God, I did not expect that at all.
• 1:11:18
  And that was fucking joy to listen to it.
• 1:11:21
  Was wonderful. I've never seen your face light
• 1:11:24
  up so much. You like Oppenheimer of Star
• 1:11:26
  Trek. It's outrageous.
• 1:11:29
  Destroyer of worlds, yeah, And that is the end of the middle.
• 1:11:33
  We get to the heart of the film with some tough character drama.
• 1:11:36
  Holland's gone, and Jack and Stephen decide to stop
• 1:11:39
  bickering. There's a ship to catch, after
• 1:11:41
  all. There is.
• 1:11:42
  The Enterprise. Surprise, surprise, the crew.
• 1:11:51
  Films with huge budgets usually have huge crews.
• 1:11:54
  That's the case on Master and Commander.
• 1:11:56
  And if the team is behind the scenes we're talking about now,
• 1:11:59
  that is the composers on the film as well as the visual teams
• 1:12:02
  in terms of both cinematography and visual effects.
• 1:12:05
  But first, as we usually do, we're kicking things off with
• 1:12:08
  the screenwriters. OK.
• 1:12:11
  So the credit of screenwriter as a master and commander are Peter
• 1:12:13
  Weir and John Collie, with someone credited work by Akiva
• 1:12:16
  Goldman. We are.
• 1:12:18
  We know about a director who often wrote as well.
• 1:12:20
  This was his eighth writing credit.
• 1:12:22
  John Collie, though this was only his second screen writing
• 1:12:25
  credit after Paper Mask in 1990, an adaptation of his own novel.
• 1:12:29
  Right, right. He also wrote four episodes of
• 1:12:32
  Bergerac, John Collie. Oh.
• 1:12:35
  So great work there, obviously. Obviously.
• 1:12:38
  How about Master and Commander Westy?
• 1:12:40
  I mean, it's the right and it's just the backbone of the film,
• 1:12:43
  isn't it? There's no ad Lib in this at
• 1:12:45
  all. No, no.
• 1:12:46
  Can you just ad Lib anything now?
• 1:12:48
  You can't needs to be on the page because we've talked about
• 1:12:51
  the accuracy, we've talked about the authenticity and it is
• 1:12:54
  really authentic. The dialogue really works.
• 1:12:57
  It's not good. You want it to be now because
• 1:12:59
  it's so colorful and it's so entertaining.
• 1:13:02
  And for them to find all of this information from the source
• 1:13:05
  material and make it make sense. And how fans of the book applaud
• 1:13:10
  this, Yeah, I think it's just a real credit to Peter Weir and a
• 1:13:13
  real credit to John Collie as well, just to come together and
• 1:13:16
  say we are sticking to this source material.
• 1:13:18
  We are not going to add anything into it to make it popular.
• 1:13:22
  We're going to be very true to the source material.
• 1:13:25
  And it's one of the very rare films where you go, they've
• 1:13:27
  stayed true to the source material and it's absolutely
• 1:13:30
  worked. There's a real confidence in the
• 1:13:32
  writing and they know what they're going to do and they
• 1:13:34
  know what they're going to say and they know what they need to
• 1:13:35
  address. And it's all on the page for me.
• 1:13:37
  I think it's fantastic writing. Yeah, I agree.
• 1:13:40
  Like I said earlier, I think the scenes between Jack and Stephen
• 1:13:43
  are where I start to really notice the writing, and that
• 1:13:45
  carries on from there. For the rest of the film, yeah,
• 1:13:48
  I think the narrative chasing the superior enemy vessel is
• 1:13:51
  very good. You'd probably expect a good
• 1:13:52
  plot from a book adaptation. The two lead characters are very
• 1:13:55
  good and well actors like we talked about.
• 1:13:57
  I would say the secondary characters aren't massively
• 1:14:00
  memorable for me, which I imagine is not the case in the
• 1:14:03
  books judging by how popular they are.
• 1:14:05
  So I think they might suffer a bit.
• 1:14:07
  Where the film does excel in the writing for me is in the
• 1:14:09
  research. We talked about how we are
• 1:14:11
  wanted authenticity from the design teams and that's
• 1:14:14
  definitely there in the writing as well.
• 1:14:16
  We and colleague and Patrick O'Brien clearly know the subject
• 1:14:19
  matter very well. I like all the old Sea dog style
• 1:14:22
  dialogue that we hear all the way through the film and I
• 1:14:24
  really like how they really explain what it means.
• 1:14:27
  Like yeah, beat the quarters. They never explain it.
• 1:14:30
  The audience is intelligent enough to figure out that it
• 1:14:32
  kind of means battle stations basically.
• 1:14:35
  I think this is a great example of historical fiction.
• 1:14:37
  It's respectful to the reality and feels like a look into the
• 1:14:40
  past without sacrificing the narrative or entertainment.
• 1:14:44
  Really good screen writing for me.
• 1:14:45
  There's. A real respect there isn't there
• 1:14:47
  and they're not changing it for anybody and that really works.
• 1:14:49
  Yeah, for the books and for the time as well, I think.
• 1:14:52
  No, definitely, yeah. Yeah, you can absolutely tell
• 1:14:55
  that this is an adapted screenplay in the source
• 1:14:57
  material has been written by someone who lives and breathes
• 1:15:00
  this subject in the sea, right? I don't care how much research
• 1:15:04
  you do by yourself, unless this is something you're passionate
• 1:15:07
  about, it's never going to come across as well as it does here.
• 1:15:10
  Like you guys, I love the dialogue because as you say, it
• 1:15:13
  doesn't over explain it. When Jack realises they're being
• 1:15:16
  chased by the Akron and he says run like smoke and oakum, I
• 1:15:19
  don't know what oakum is. I don't understand That phrase
• 1:15:22
  is a series of words, but in this world and in the context, I
• 1:15:26
  know it's serious and that's all you need to know immediately.
• 1:15:28
  Let's go fast. You don't need it explaining.
• 1:15:31
  And it's the same with how well the hierarchy on the ship is
• 1:15:34
  portrayed. You can see the various levels
• 1:15:36
  of men. Some of them can't have a joke
• 1:15:39
  with Jack or Shaw, a bit of cheek like Alan or Killick, but
• 1:15:42
  some absolutely can't. And you can see the mini
• 1:15:44
  hierarchies on there, like who's the Boston's maid, Who's the
• 1:15:47
  carpenter's maid? Who answers to who?
• 1:15:49
  And what's good for me is that Stephen questions these
• 1:15:52
  hierarchies. You know, when Jack says the men
• 1:15:54
  must be governed, Stephen comes back to him.
• 1:15:57
  Well, that's the excuse of every tyrant in history.
• 1:15:59
  So there's depth in there as well.
• 1:16:01
  I think it's very detailed and very convincing writing.
• 1:16:05
  Very nice. The first book in the Aubrey
• 1:16:07
  Mature and series was published in 1969.
• 1:16:11
  The film is mainly adapted from the 10th book Far Side of the
• 1:16:14
  World, but also takes elements from Master and Commander, the
• 1:16:16
  first book and one called HMS Surprise.
• 1:16:19
  Yeah, it's like a compilation of highlights, I think, from the
• 1:16:21
  series. Yeah, I think that's where the
• 1:16:23
  title comes from as well, isn't it?
• 1:16:24
  Because the honor in both books. Exactly, yeah.
• 1:16:26
  On the title of like the far side of the world is smaller
• 1:16:29
  font, it's like the same. Exactly.
• 1:16:31
  I think Master and Commander works great as a film title as
• 1:16:34
  well as a book title. Yeah, I do think the title let
• 1:16:37
  it down though. Just call it Master and
• 1:16:38
  Commander. Yeah, that's.
• 1:16:39
  Fine. Oh yeah, you don't.
• 1:16:41
  Need to go to the far side of the fart.
• 1:16:44
  Yes, as you might expect, there's quite a few references
• 1:16:46
  to lots of the other books. You know, for the fans, they get
• 1:16:50
  them. So one is the book is set in
• 1:16:52
  1812, but the film takes place in 1805.
• 1:16:55
  And that's because in the book the ship, The Surprises hunting
• 1:16:58
  isn't a friendship called the Acron.
• 1:17:00
  It's AUS ship called the USS Norfolk, and they set it early
• 1:17:03
  to make the bad guys French instead.
• 1:17:06
  Right. Yeah, we are said the change is
• 1:17:08
  probably obviously because American studios were never fun
• 1:17:11
  to film where they were the enemy.
• 1:17:14
  Definitely not. And changing it to the French,
• 1:17:16
  the Battle of Trafalgar was 1805.
• 1:17:18
  After that, the French were in such a naval force, so to be
• 1:17:20
  realistic and authentic, they had to move it before that so
• 1:17:23
  they could make the French the bad guys.
• 1:17:24
  Right, OK. I mean search is paying off
• 1:17:27
  there, Johnny. Imagine that on your first date.
• 1:17:33
  I've tried, it doesn't go down well.
• 1:17:35
  Do you know what I know, know about?
• 1:17:39
  And then at one point Stephen says to Jack, the French have
• 1:17:41
  their spies in England and elsewhere, as do we, and then
• 1:17:44
  the book. Stephen is an intelligent agent
• 1:17:46
  who infiltrates the French. Oh wow.
• 1:17:48
  Really? That'll be cool.
• 1:17:49
  Yeah, I wonder if that meant something, because it's
• 1:17:51
  something he doesn't need to say and it goes nowhere in the film.
• 1:17:54
  So it's something very much like kind of nudge, nudge, wink wink
• 1:17:57
  book readers. Yeah, it does.
• 1:17:58
  Yeah, yeah, yeah. And then talking of Stephen,
• 1:18:00
  before he plays the cello, he flexes his fingers.
• 1:18:03
  And that's the reference to the books where Stephen is captured
• 1:18:06
  by the French and the torture and the break all his fingers.
• 1:18:09
  Right. If they didn't take his dry wet,
• 1:18:13
  that would have been a big mess, no?
• 1:18:15
  How do you take that? You can't take me fingers.
• 1:18:17
  But you'll never dig me wet. Exactly.
• 1:18:20
  And then if you look closely, Jack has a scar.
• 1:18:22
  Do you? It's never mentioned, but in the
• 1:18:24
  books Jack was shot in the ear by a musket ball, which is where
• 1:18:27
  the scar comes from. Nice.
• 1:18:29
  Right. She didn't shave that hair off.
• 1:18:33
  Just the ponytail got hit with the musket ball.
• 1:18:35
  Probably fine for me. I think those things aren't like
• 1:18:38
  touches or fans of the novel, though.
• 1:18:39
  They'll say that I know what it means.
• 1:18:41
  Yeah, I love that. I would love that.
• 1:18:43
  You know, being an avid reader of 10 novels and you're going,
• 1:18:46
  wow, they're not even explaining that.
• 1:18:47
  I know that. Yeah, that would be great.
• 1:18:49
  Yeah, brilliant. And like Matt just said, the
• 1:18:50
  name of the enemy ship in the book was the Norfolk.
• 1:18:53
  The name of the Acron comes from Greek mythology.
• 1:18:55
  It's the name of a river in Hades, the underworld, where you
• 1:18:58
  go after you die. Yeah, Hades is the Greek God who
• 1:19:02
  has the dog with three heads. All right, nice.
• 1:19:04
  Yeah, that river could only be crossed by boat and if someone
• 1:19:07
  touched it they'll lose their memory.
• 1:19:09
  I think also would just sound really cool.
• 1:19:10
  Is the name of the bad ship. Is that where you have to like,
• 1:19:12
  pay the ferryman as well you have to like?
• 1:19:14
  Yeah, that's the one. Yeah, I.
• 1:19:15
  Think that's why? Yeah, right.
• 1:19:17
  And also at one point we and Collie toyed with the idea of
• 1:19:20
  adding a love interest for Jack. They decided not to go that in
• 1:19:23
  the end, but apparently we was considering Keevin Knightley for
• 1:19:26
  that part of the went with it. Oh, wow.
• 1:19:29
  Wow. Lucky Jack, all right.
• 1:19:33
  She would have been a bit young, though, wouldn't she?
• 1:19:34
  She was only about 18 would. Have thought so, yeah.
• 1:19:37
  There is actually one woman in the film, if you've noticed.
• 1:19:39
  Yes, when the company port isn't it.
• 1:19:42
  Yeah, they're getting supplies. She was one of the natives.
• 1:19:45
  That's right, yeah. It's when the surprise comes in
• 1:19:47
  to refit. At the South Sea Island we see a
• 1:19:49
  few locals. One's a beautiful young woman,
• 1:19:51
  obviously, and Jack gives her a lingering gaze.
• 1:19:54
  Obviously. Of course it does.
• 1:19:56
  That's all he needs. Beat the quarters lad and there
• 1:20:00
  was a real life inspiration for Jack as well.
• 1:20:02
  Patrick O'Brien, apparently based on a real life Navy
• 1:20:05
  captain, called Lord Thomas Cochran and he captured over 50
• 1:20:09
  enemy vessels and in badly disguised his ship which was the
• 1:20:12
  HMS Speedy as American to confuse the Spanish ship that
• 1:20:15
  was twice as big as his was. Right.
• 1:20:18
  That's unfamiliar, Yeah. Another terrible name for a
• 1:20:21
  boat. Speech speedy.
• 1:20:22
  You know, Speedy Gonzalez. I know.
• 1:20:25
  And the line the pulling says about the advice he got from
• 1:20:27
  Lord Nelson. Never mind maneuvers, always go
• 1:20:30
  straight at him. Yeah, that line was taken from
• 1:20:32
  Thomas Cochran's diary. It was something Nelson
• 1:20:34
  apparently said to him when they met.
• 1:20:36
  Which is pretty cool, right? It is pretty cool, but it's
• 1:20:38
  terrible advice. Yeah, plow straight in.
• 1:20:42
  Don't think about it on the open sea like it's the last thing I
• 1:20:45
  would do. Are you explaining how to do
• 1:20:47
  naval warfare? The Lord Nelson was.
• 1:20:48
  Yes, I am. Where's these columns?
• 1:20:52
  They're going to pull it down. Time for Peter on question #3
• 1:20:57
  now. And it comes on the historical
• 1:20:59
  fiction aspect of the film as we were just talking about, OK, so
• 1:21:02
  Burke Swanson. Now then Burke.
• 1:21:05
  Well, Burke says Master and Commander is one of my favorite
• 1:21:08
  films are depicting A historically accurate setting.
• 1:21:11
  Aside from changing the dates to make France the enemy instead of
• 1:21:13
  the US, Yeah, What are a few of you Jen's favorite historical
• 1:21:17
  films? OK.
• 1:21:19
  Historical or historically accurate?
• 1:21:21
  I've gone for historically accurate.
• 1:21:23
  I think it's probably because this film is so authentic and it
• 1:21:26
  has that accuracy that I've just have to go for Braveheart.
• 1:21:31
  There's a few. I mean, I was a real sucker for
• 1:21:35
  them, like, you know, Spartacus, Lawrence of Arabia, Sulu loved
• 1:21:40
  all them kind of big historical epics.
• 1:21:43
  But recently I've kind of had to think about and go, well, what's
• 1:21:45
  historically like, makes sense. And that was how it was.
• 1:21:49
  And it was like Apollo 13. I think it's one of them films
• 1:21:52
  where you go. Yeah, that's exactly what it was
• 1:21:54
  like. Or Black Hawk Down, Ridley
• 1:21:56
  Scott's film. But the one that stands out for
• 1:21:58
  me, and it is still in my top three films of all time and a
• 1:22:02
  very historically accurate film and a beautiful film.
• 1:22:05
  And one of the best films ever made is The Assassination of
• 1:22:08
  Jesse James by the covered Robert Ford.
• 1:22:09
  Lovely. That's a beautiful film, and
• 1:22:12
  that's historically absolutely spot on.
• 1:22:14
  I've never seen a gunfight in a bedroom that's been more
• 1:22:17
  accurate than that in my fucking life.
• 1:22:19
  You think any cowboy can just shoot somebody on the horizon?
• 1:22:23
  They can't. Them guns were shit.
• 1:22:25
  Yeah, I think he misses them from about 3 yards.
• 1:22:27
  Doesn't. He He does, yeah.
• 1:22:28
  And then they hits him in the arm and it's oh fucking hell.
• 1:22:31
  That's what a bullet was like. Yeah, it makes sense.
• 1:22:34
  I mean, historical covers, quite a lot of films, yeah.
• 1:22:36
  But if we're talking as in like hundreds of years or more, I'm a
• 1:22:39
  big fan of Gladiator, which we've already.
• 1:22:41
  Mentioned, yeah, yeah. Yeah.
• 1:22:42
  Again, not for its historical accuracy necessarily, because it
• 1:22:45
  just makes stuff up, but as historical blockbuster epic
• 1:22:48
  score that's right up there. For us, being in the Colosseum,
• 1:22:51
  that's pretty close. Fantastic.
• 1:22:52
  Imagine. Yeah.
• 1:22:53
  My favorite though, and finally I get a chance to mention, is
• 1:22:56
  because it's lost in about 400 of the polls we do when choosing
• 1:22:59
  episodes. Oh, here we go.
• 1:23:01
  We know what it's going to be. We'll go first, John.
• 1:23:05
  We'll get it in eventually, I promise you.
• 1:23:07
  Favorite Star Trek crew and Amadeus in one episode, yes.
• 1:23:09
  We've done it. We've done it.
• 1:23:12
  Fuck the haters, yeah? So Amadeus, the Mozart biopic,
• 1:23:15
  I'm going to say waxing too lyrical for the podcast.
• 1:23:18
  That will never happen. It will happen.
• 1:23:19
  We'll get it sorted. We'll like.
• 1:23:21
  But it is a magnificent piece of work in basically every aspect
• 1:23:25
  of filmmaking, and for my money, better even than One Flew Over
• 1:23:28
  the Cuckoo's Nest. Wow, wow.
• 1:23:30
  It's by the same director, Milosh Foreman.
• 1:23:32
  I'm not just randomly comparing it to a totally different film,
• 1:23:34
  yeah. OK.
• 1:23:37
  Yeah. So yeah, Amadeus, historically
• 1:23:39
  superb production design and costume design.
• 1:23:41
  And Amadeus is unbelievable. Yeah.
• 1:23:44
  Yeah, agreed. Yeah.
• 1:23:46
  Again, I tried to go down the accuracy route.
• 1:23:48
  I think Zulu is worth mentioning because that is fairly accurate
• 1:23:52
  to how that battle played out. They did do a lot of research.
• 1:23:54
  They did, obviously some details do change.
• 1:23:57
  I mentioned Nigel Green's character in real life.
• 1:23:59
  He was a lot younger, but by and large, in terms of how that
• 1:24:02
  battle went, it's largely accurate.
• 1:24:04
  Yeah, I mean, there's the French commissary.
• 1:24:06
  He had a lot more to do with it and he wasn't a coward.
• 1:24:08
  But you know, that would vote for it and we'll talk about it.
• 1:24:11
  But I think in terms of the strategy, the Zulus is the
• 1:24:13
  attacks and the strategy of the men on walks drift.
• 1:24:15
  That's all based on how it went. Yeah, absolutely.
• 1:24:17
  Yeah. The horns of the Buffalo and
• 1:24:18
  everything else, Yeah. Yeah, I also think Lincoln is
• 1:24:21
  worth mentioning here. You know that the film about the
• 1:24:23
  frame of the slaves where very little warfare in it.
• 1:24:26
  And it's all about like the backroom deals and the horse
• 1:24:29
  trading and the favours that had to be given out to various
• 1:24:32
  senators to pass that legislation to free the slaves.
• 1:24:34
  Or that I think is very, very historically accurate.
• 1:24:37
  I think that was quite shit on because it was Spielberg.
• 1:24:40
  Yeah, it's like, oh, but that's Spielberg.
• 1:24:42
  He doesn't know what he's talking about.
• 1:24:43
  He's fantastical. Is it right now?
• 1:24:44
  But he's Yeah, he did Schindler's List and everyone
• 1:24:46
  took notice of that, yeah. And then when he tries to do
• 1:24:48
  something else historical, they're like, not Spielberg.
• 1:24:50
  Yeah, I think he doesn't really. Yeah.
• 1:24:52
  It doesn't really make sense. Yeah, and the last one I did
• 1:24:54
  want to mention is the Titanic sinking in general, because
• 1:24:57
  obviously James Cameron's Titanic.
• 1:25:00
  The main correction he made was showing the fact that it's split
• 1:25:03
  in two before it sank, because previous versions of the film,
• 1:25:06
  they didn't realise that that had happened.
• 1:25:08
  But I would say if you want the really accurate version, it's
• 1:25:11
  the version from the 60s A Night to Remember, which I think it's
• 1:25:13
  just a much more accurate portrayal of life on the Titanic
• 1:25:16
  before it sank. Have a child.
• 1:25:20
  Yeah, doesn't have Belize and unfortunately doing that.
• 1:25:23
  For their work as right as a master and commander, Peter We
• 1:25:26
  and John Collie received no major award recognition.
• 1:25:29
  They just lost The Lord of the Rings anyway.
• 1:25:32
  Yeah, some excellent and authentic writing.
• 1:25:35
  It's wonderful writing. It's.
• 1:25:37
  Authentic. Yeah, it's that word again.
• 1:25:41
  From the writing, we're sailing onto the music and the composers
• 1:25:45
  and master and commander were IVA Davies, Christopher Gordon
• 1:25:48
  and Richard Tony Yeti. IVA Davies was known as founding
• 1:25:51
  member of Australian rock outfit Ice House.
• 1:25:54
  Fan of those guys, Matt? Oh, love them, Yeah, but all the
• 1:25:58
  albums. On vinyl.
• 1:26:02
  Christopher Gordon was known for his music on Australian TV, and
• 1:26:05
  Richard Tonyetti, we mentioned earlier, was an international
• 1:26:08
  violin soloist. All right, so Davies, Gordon and
• 1:26:11
  Tonyetti together at last. Yes, horrible.
• 1:26:13
  Like the music of Master and Commander Matt.
• 1:26:16
  It feels very, very subtle to me at first listen because it's not
• 1:26:20
  hugely or TT, it's not hugely bombastic.
• 1:26:24
  The only time it feels huge is when you listen to it on its
• 1:26:26
  own, which I've done a couple of Times Now in the last couple of
• 1:26:29
  days. Yeah, it has that huge boom and
• 1:26:31
  percussion sound to it. It's got the drums, it's got the
• 1:26:34
  whistles. But when you watch the film, I
• 1:26:36
  think the music is just interlaced with the visuals so
• 1:26:39
  well it underpins the action. It doesn't overwhelm it.
• 1:26:42
  Yeah, it's not maybe something you'd be humming afterwards,
• 1:26:44
  unless you've listened to it a lot, but it's definitely one of
• 1:26:48
  the elements of the film where the more you watch it, the more
• 1:26:50
  you realise just how good this music is.
• 1:26:53
  I agree. I think it's not until you come
• 1:26:54
  to talk about the music in the film that you realize is how big
• 1:26:57
  a part it all has to play. Not just the score, but it's
• 1:27:00
  part of the narrative. We talked about Jack and Stevens
• 1:27:03
  like dueling banjos and the crew bursting into song every 5
• 1:27:07
  minutes. It's like South Pacific.
• 1:27:10
  I like those moments though, especially the singing in the
• 1:27:12
  ward room where the officers think, don't forget your old
• 1:27:14
  shipmates, don't forget your own shipmates.
• 1:27:27
  That is brilliant green track and the score is excellent.
• 1:27:31
  The most obvious thing would have been for the right loads of
• 1:27:33
  swashbuckling cues and stuff. But no, it's mortar and bark at
• 1:27:37
  one end and then at the other. They've clearly taken
• 1:27:39
  inspiration from like old sea shanties of the time, and it all
• 1:27:42
  fuses together really well. I love that as a way to take us
• 1:27:45
  into that world using the music of the time.
• 1:27:48
  I think it's a big part of the world building and the way music
• 1:27:50
  is used all the way through different kinds of music as
• 1:27:52
  well. I think it's genuinely really
• 1:27:54
  impressive. Yeah, I totally agree.
• 1:27:56
  I saw this in the structure. I was like, this is there's a
• 1:27:59
  score to this, like this music is there.
• 1:28:03
  Like, I have to watch it again. It's like the third or fourth
• 1:28:05
  time I watched it, like you guys have said, and it really is
• 1:28:08
  interlaced with it. And I don't think that it was
• 1:28:12
  made to reflect that time. It is that time, yes.
• 1:28:16
  Just everything that we as looked at on this film, honest
• 1:28:20
  to God, it gives me a migraine of like, the level of detail.
• 1:28:24
  He's just went, oh, we're going to do this sea shanty from here.
• 1:28:26
  I'm going to have more talk and it's just going to blend.
• 1:28:29
  And he doesn't use it as an emotional cue.
• 1:28:32
  He doesn't go, look, this is a sad moment.
• 1:28:34
  There's the strings, there's the big soundtrack.
• 1:28:36
  It's on Hans Zimmer coming in, going way there.
• 1:28:39
  He doesn't need that. No.
• 1:28:41
  It really is a hand in hand with the visuals and intertwines.
• 1:28:44
  Even if you played this to me now, I couldn't go.
• 1:28:47
  Oh, that's from Austin Commander.
• 1:28:49
  Yeah. Yeah.
• 1:28:50
  I would say this sounds like it should be from Austin Commander.
• 1:28:53
  Yeah, yeah, that's what this is all about.
• 1:28:54
  And I think that considering how big this film looks, yeah, it
• 1:28:57
  could have a sweep and big score.
• 1:29:00
  Epic, massive. That's.
• 1:29:01
  What you would normally get, wouldn't you?
• 1:29:03
  Yeah, yeah. Exactly.
• 1:29:03
  But it's not there. It's beautiful throughout all of
• 1:29:06
  it. Well, something we don't always
• 1:29:08
  go into massive detail on, which I think maybe we should here is
• 1:29:11
  sound design. Oh yeah, the sound designer of
• 1:29:13
  Martha and Commander was Richard King.
• 1:29:15
  He won an Oscar for the film. It's outrageous.
• 1:29:18
  It's it's like everything else. It's subtle and it's grounded,
• 1:29:21
  but then it explodes when it needs to be.
• 1:29:23
  So just the bits that you don't notice until you really pay
• 1:29:26
  attention. Like the constant creaking in
• 1:29:28
  the background and the constant lap and really of the waves.
• 1:29:31
  Yeah, in the quiet moments, but then when the action comes on,
• 1:29:34
  it's just chaos and it's. Boom, boom, boom.
• 1:29:37
  And it just throws the end of the world again.
• 1:29:39
  And you know, we've mentioned him, Richard Kind.
• 1:29:41
  He was the sound designer and he worked closely with the film's
• 1:29:44
  lead historical consultant, a guy called Gordon Leacor.
• 1:29:48
  And they found 19th century Canon collectors who owned a 24
• 1:29:53
  pounder and a 12 pounder Canon. I mean, one in one Canon is
• 1:29:56
  outrageous enough. Imagine one in two.
• 1:29:59
  So they went to their studio and recorded the sounds of the
• 1:30:02
  cannons firing and also the squeaks of the cannonball as it
• 1:30:05
  flew overhead. And that's what they use in the
• 1:30:07
  film. It's outrageous.
• 1:30:09
  There's so many times I've said turn the sound off and watch
• 1:30:11
  this film and you know what's going on.
• 1:30:13
  Yeah, this film. Turn the visuals off and just
• 1:30:15
  listen to it and you'll know exactly what's going on.
• 1:30:18
  Yeah, that's how good the sound design is in this.
• 1:30:20
  It's absolutely outrageous. It is exceptional.
• 1:30:23
  I mean a 19th century Canon collector.
• 1:30:25
  I found my new hobby, yeah. Expensive.
• 1:30:28
  Probably. And to get the sound of the
• 1:30:31
  cannonballs actually hitting the ships, they went to an artillery
• 1:30:34
  range with those cannons, set up wooden targets, and blasted them
• 1:30:37
  with the cannons. Best job ever, that.
• 1:30:40
  Sorry. I love that.
• 1:30:41
  I love that. Shouting let fly at the time.
• 1:30:43
  Brilliant. And to create the sound of the
• 1:30:47
  wind during the storm sequence we're talking about, King
• 1:30:49
  created a wooden frame rigged with 1000 feet of line.
• 1:30:53
  He put it on the back of a pickup truck and drove at 70
• 1:30:56
  miles an hour. He mixed the sound of that with
• 1:30:59
  a BBQ grill. Like what?
• 1:31:01
  What? I've driven 70 miles an hour.
• 1:31:03
  I never thought I need to stick a BBQ grill on.
• 1:31:05
  This not sound like a storm, like it's never happened.
• 1:31:08
  I bet Russell Crowe was living the BBQ as well.
• 1:31:10
  It's. The only reason the BBQ Grill is
• 1:31:14
  in there? But I mean, the sound design
• 1:31:17
  stands out, doesn't it? All the way through.
• 1:31:19
  Definitely out to the film. It's so it's so good.
• 1:31:22
  So some great sounds, a master and commander, a great use of
• 1:31:25
  music, diegetic and non diegetic, and Richard King,
• 1:31:28
  sound designer deserving of that Oscar.
• 1:31:31
  Definitely. The sound design is the score of
• 1:31:33
  this film, yeah. That's how Master and Commander
• 1:31:38
  sounds. How about how it looks?
• 1:31:41
  Well, we're about to find out as we talk the visuals on the film
• 1:31:43
  by covering off the cinematography and visual
• 1:31:46
  effects work. The director of photography was
• 1:31:48
  Russell Boyd working with Peter Weir for the fifth time, and the
• 1:31:51
  effects studios were ILM Asylum and Wetter Workshop.
• 1:31:56
  Yeah, Cinematography for you, Is it Wesley?
• 1:31:58
  Every time. Normally I watch a film and go
• 1:32:00
  right, OK, what lens was that and how was that?
• 1:32:03
  This is one of the first films that I've seen recently where I
• 1:32:05
  didn't really care. I don't think anyone shot
• 1:32:08
  anything like this. A ship at sea and there's a real
• 1:32:11
  visual representation of science versus nature, of man, made
• 1:32:15
  structures versus the ocean, everything against you.
• 1:32:19
  Like, I mean the silhouettes of people just climbing down the
• 1:32:22
  fields of stuff. And it's a but it doesn't feel
• 1:32:25
  pretentious at any point. It doesn't feel like it's put in
• 1:32:27
  there to go. This is visually beautiful.
• 1:32:29
  I mean this Russell Boyd's didn't like Crocodile Dundee.
• 1:32:33
  One and two. But I mean he did Gallipoli as
• 1:32:37
  well and I think he's got a real close relationship with we're
• 1:32:41
  and knows exactly what we're. Once.
• 1:32:43
  Yeah, never once did I go, oh that's a 35, never wants to go
• 1:32:47
  all the punching on an 85 on a close up here it feels like
• 1:32:49
  we're just in the camera and it's just the same lens all the
• 1:32:52
  way through and that's the best thing that you can do.
• 1:32:55
  I think as a cinematographer is take people out of the mechanics
• 1:32:57
  of it, especially me. If I'm looking for the mechanics
• 1:33:00
  in it and I can't find them, it didn't pull us out of the story,
• 1:33:03
  it pulled us into the story. And Russell Boyd being like so
• 1:33:07
  overlooked as a cinematographer, I think he is the Stephen for me
• 1:33:10
  in this crew, no ego whatsoever. He's not putting shots in there
• 1:33:14
  that don't need to be in there. There's not these big massive
• 1:33:17
  sunsets. You know, like you mentioned
• 1:33:19
  that when Jack's on the mask and the camera comes round, there's
• 1:33:23
  a helicopter shot. And that's incredibly hard to do
• 1:33:25
  and incredibly fucking expensive in 2003.
• 1:33:28
  But it. Really, really works for the
• 1:33:30
  story. Like it's not doing it just to
• 1:33:32
  go or doesn't that look great to do any justice to?
• 1:33:35
  Russell Boyd's work in this film is that every shot that you
• 1:33:39
  watch feels as good as it looks. That's a cohesive piece of work
• 1:33:43
  and that's real cinema. Yeah.
• 1:33:46
  So an interview with Russell Boyd where we started off by
• 1:33:48
  saying Master and Commander Gee, that was a hard film to make.
• 1:33:52
  I'm not. Fucking surprised.
• 1:33:53
  And I wouldn't have said Gee either.
• 1:33:55
  It would be like, fucking me. And it's one of those films
• 1:33:58
  where the cinematography looks really hard to do at least as
• 1:34:02
  well as this anyway, because it's stunning.
• 1:34:04
  You don't notice it though, either, unless you really look
• 1:34:06
  and go Yeah, actually, yeah, that's beautiful.
• 1:34:08
  Yeah, yeah. I mean whenever we see a wide
• 1:34:10
  shot or establishing shot of the ship and there's quite a lot,
• 1:34:13
  it's just like wow, Not just because of how well framed and
• 1:34:16
  how well shot is, but because it's like, well, that's how it
• 1:34:18
  would have looked 200 years ago, surely.
• 1:34:20
  Yeah, Yeah. The helicopter shots of the ship
• 1:34:22
  are just jaw-dropping shots where we see the ships and
• 1:34:24
  silhouettes are equally brilliant.
• 1:34:26
  And that scene where Calamy goes out on the raft at night to
• 1:34:29
  create a decoy for the Acura on the chase, Yeah, yeah, the
• 1:34:32
  lighting of that scene is outrageously good.
• 1:34:35
  It feels like you're there. It's incredible.
• 1:34:36
  Isn't it? And it's just like 1 lamp.
• 1:34:38
  And then you still see it in the distance.
• 1:34:40
  And he creates depth in the frame.
• 1:34:41
  You know how the music moves, like the ocean moves.
• 1:34:44
  So is the camera. There's Dutch angles.
• 1:34:46
  Yeah. Yeah.
• 1:34:47
  Without it saying, oh, there's a problem here.
• 1:34:48
  That's incredibly difficult to do without someone going.
• 1:34:50
  All the cameras moved. It's.
• 1:34:52
  Brilliant. Yeah.
• 1:34:54
  And that decoy trick is something that Thomas Cochran
• 1:34:56
  did again in real life. The madman.
• 1:34:58
  All right, really. I think this feels like it's
• 1:35:00
  shot by a team who know exactly what they're doing, but also
• 1:35:03
  have the creative talent to be innovative, which gives you this
• 1:35:06
  great blend of being classically shot and also looking modern.
• 1:35:10
  I mean, the cinematography just feels timeless, maybe the most
• 1:35:12
  impressive part of the film for me.
• 1:35:14
  Absolutely, 100%. In 90% of the film is set at
• 1:35:18
  sea, but only 10 days of the shoot was spent about the HMS
• 1:35:21
  Rose replica out at sea. They spent 100 days shooting at
• 1:35:24
  Baja Studios in Mexico because there they had a 20 million
• 1:35:28
  gallon water tank. Wow.
• 1:35:30
  Yeah, no. And they created a replica of
• 1:35:33
  the replica mounted on a gimbal and shot most of the film there.
• 1:35:37
  That is an enormous tank. It's also where James Cameron
• 1:35:40
  shot lots of Titanic. Imagine.
• 1:35:42
  Yeah. All right.
• 1:35:43
  OK. Yeah.
• 1:35:43
  Yeah, seems to be the go to place where big productions now.
• 1:35:46
  Pirates of the Caribbean film there as well, so Baja Studios
• 1:35:50
  must be doing all right. Yeah, there must be.
• 1:35:52
  But then it's a testament to Boyd that all them films were
• 1:35:54
  shot there, and this one is the most believable.
• 1:35:56
  Yeah. Yeah, exactly.
• 1:35:57
  Yeah. We're and Boyd had developed a
• 1:35:59
  technique from other films where they would shoot scenes with
• 1:36:01
  multiple cameras, which save time on shooting, obviously.
• 1:36:04
  And he spent time research into the films that had been shot at
• 1:36:07
  sea so he could learn from the problems that the film makers
• 1:36:09
  come across. Jaws.
• 1:36:11
  One of those, surely. The shark works in this film.
• 1:36:18
  Well, I want to talk about the visual effects, because when I
• 1:36:20
  put my first notes together for these episodes, the first thing
• 1:36:23
  I genuinely wrote down was invisible, because that's
• 1:36:27
  exactly what they are. It's invisible effects,
• 1:36:29
  seamless. Like all logic tells you,
• 1:36:31
  there's obviously going to be visual effects in here, but
• 1:36:34
  they're blended in so well. There's not one moment where
• 1:36:37
  something is so clearly CGI or on a green screen.
• 1:36:40
  That it takes you out of the film.
• 1:36:42
  Whether it's a storm, the boats, the fog, the Gunsmoke,
• 1:36:46
  everything just blends together to be completely convincing.
• 1:36:50
  It does. I mean, I just said the
• 1:36:51
  cinematography might be the best part of the film, but the
• 1:36:53
  effects aren't far behind. No brilliant.
• 1:36:55
  Like I said, there were three effects studios, so there were
• 1:36:57
  two full scale shapes like you mentioned Matt.
• 1:37:00
  A replica of the HMS Rose and a replica of the replica of the
• 1:37:03
  HMS Rose. There was a scale model created
• 1:37:06
  the surprise that was done by WET a workshop who we are hired
• 1:37:09
  because they just don't miniature work on Lord of the
• 1:37:11
  Rings. Yeah, that's not a bad thing to
• 1:37:13
  have in your modelling portfolio, is it?
• 1:37:14
  Definitely not. Definitely not.
• 1:37:16
  Middle Earth and then Asylum created CGI automatics of the
• 1:37:19
  ships, and once those were approved, they were sent to ILM,
• 1:37:22
  who would then digitally composite the CGI ships into the
• 1:37:24
  real footage. In any shot where we see both
• 1:37:27
  ships at the same time, that always made sure at least one of
• 1:37:30
  them was real, either one of the replicas or the scale model to
• 1:37:33
  give it that real world weight the models can bring.
• 1:37:36
  I mean, it's all just exceptional.
• 1:37:37
  It looks fantastic today to me. Whether it's a replica, a model,
• 1:37:41
  or CGI, I don't question any of what we see ever in the film.
• 1:37:44
  No. No, definitely not.
• 1:37:46
  And when they were working on Lord of the Rings, whether it
• 1:37:48
  had coined the term pictures because their scaled models were
• 1:37:51
  huge and the scale model they made of the surprise was about
• 1:37:55
  30 feet in length, and they spent five weeks filming the
• 1:37:57
  model as well. The level of detail they went to
• 1:38:00
  was insane on that as well. Yeah, whenever they use a
• 1:38:03
  different material to the real ship, like the sails, they would
• 1:38:06
  do calculations to make sure I'd still weighed exactly the same
• 1:38:10
  as the would have bought then. So the ship still moved in the
• 1:38:12
  same way in the water. Crisis, right?
• 1:38:15
  Can you? Imagine, Wesley, we're going to
• 1:38:17
  shoot a film on a ship. Do you want to be for.
• 1:38:19
  No, I don't. I don't.
• 1:38:20
  Want. To do this fucking hell.
• 1:38:22
  For their work on the film, the visual effects teams were
• 1:38:25
  nominated for an Oscar, but they lost out to you know who.
• 1:38:28
  Lord of the Right. The King, Return of the King of
• 1:38:30
  course. Whether yeah, so a huge behind
• 1:38:33
  the scenes team, a master and commander and the people have
• 1:38:35
  mentioned there John Collier's Co writer IVA Davies,
• 1:38:38
  Christopher Gordon, Richard Torn.
• 1:38:40
  Yet he is composers Russell Boyd as DP and what I workshop Asylum
• 1:38:44
  and ILM on the effects. Astonishing work all across the
• 1:38:47
  board. Absolutely.
• 1:38:48
  It couldn't have been any better, I don't think.
• 1:38:51
  No. The End.
• 1:38:58
  The final act of Master and Commander is all smoking dorkum
• 1:39:01
  as the Acuron makes a return for one final battle.
• 1:39:04
  Before that, though, we've got a bit of time to spend with the
• 1:39:07
  dock. We do.
• 1:39:08
  We do. So after all the arguments
• 1:39:10
  between Jack and Stephen, they finally start getting along and
• 1:39:13
  all it takes is for Stephen to get shot.
• 1:39:16
  That's all. Normally the kid.
• 1:39:19
  After a crew member accidentally hits the dock on the deck,
• 1:39:22
  Stephen performs a life saving operation on himself before
• 1:39:24
  getting his reward that trip to the Galapagos Islands.
• 1:39:28
  Yeah. The words physician here myself
• 1:39:30
  have never been more literalistic.
• 1:39:32
  I know, right? Yeah.
• 1:39:33
  I mean, this whole sequence is just incredible, isn't?
• 1:39:35
  I mean, from the moment that he gets shot.
• 1:39:38
  Because there's like an albatross, I believe.
• 1:39:41
  Yeah. And that's bad news for sailors.
• 1:39:44
  And that, again, is like this real superstitious thing.
• 1:39:48
  And it's it brought into it. And it's like, does the
• 1:39:50
  superstition work? Well, it did with Holland, and
• 1:39:53
  it did with the wind coming back, so they need to pursue
• 1:39:56
  that. But then they shoot the doctor
• 1:39:57
  because of that superstition. Again, a duality.
• 1:39:59
  Again, wonderful. That's just incredibly well done
• 1:40:03
  and incredibly well written. I mean, reading it in the
• 1:40:06
  script, a bird lands and then they shoot the doctor.
• 1:40:09
  How the fuck are you going to do that?
• 1:40:12
  And then it's the authenticity of just that bit of shit is the
• 1:40:15
  problem. Yeah.
• 1:40:17
  Yeah, and that is wonderful. Like, I've never ever really
• 1:40:20
  thought about something to be so realistic where you go, you've
• 1:40:23
  been shot, right? If that just went straight
• 1:40:25
  through, it'd be fine. But there's just this bit of
• 1:40:27
  shirt we need to get out. But the bring them onto the
• 1:40:30
  islands to save himself, That's where he's always wanted to be.
• 1:40:33
  It's a real poetry here and he's just like, he brings him on
• 1:40:36
  outside to stretch my legs. But you see Jack Winston, he
• 1:40:39
  can't do it. Are you OK?
• 1:40:41
  And the reaction shots from crew here are incredible.
• 1:40:44
  He's going to throw up at any moment.
• 1:40:47
  When it boils down to it, this is what you're doing to people.
• 1:40:49
  But you don't want to say that. You want to see the big picture,
• 1:40:51
  but this is the reality of it. So well done.
• 1:40:55
  I believe that this was done for real 100%.
• 1:40:59
  I believe Paul Bettany cut his stomach.
• 1:41:03
  It just went, yeah, that actually fits that bit of
• 1:41:06
  material. And this whole sequence to me
• 1:41:08
  hits home the humanity. Like I talked about with
• 1:41:10
  Bethany's character and the in Bethany's delivery, there's no
• 1:41:12
  strings come over the top where he's like cutting himself open.
• 1:41:15
  And it's not like, Oh my God, it's not like that at all.
• 1:41:19
  That's stripping away the ego. There's nothing more you can do
• 1:41:22
  than cut yourself open in front of people and go, this is how
• 1:41:25
  vulnerable I am, this how vulnerable we all are.
• 1:41:28
  But if people could see genuinely how vulnerable you
• 1:41:30
  are, they'll give you a chance. But you never get that chance.
• 1:41:33
  And it's a powerful, powerful moment.
• 1:41:36
  If you look at it from that point of view, when you go,
• 1:41:38
  look, I'm one of your best friends, this is how good I am
• 1:41:40
  at saving people. And from that moment, Jack has a
• 1:41:43
  completely different take on it. It's almost like God was
• 1:41:46
  emotional and I watched it and that's in the right, that's in
• 1:41:49
  the performances. That's just pure Peter Weir, and
• 1:41:52
  it's just an incredible, incredible sequence.
• 1:41:56
  That guy. He's aiming for the albatross,
• 1:41:58
  but just taking pot shots across the deck with his musket.
• 1:42:02
  You've ruined everything I've said The.
• 1:42:05
  Most heartfelt thing where she's ever said.
• 1:42:07
  All right. And he's John with his joke when
• 1:42:09
  all the jokes coming. And then during the operation,
• 1:42:13
  there's another guy not holding the nurse straight.
• 1:42:16
  You've got one job. I know, but that's the whole
• 1:42:19
  point. It's like nobody else can
• 1:42:20
  stomach this but Stephen. He's the most humane person in
• 1:42:23
  the world and the most humane person on the ship, so you have
• 1:42:25
  to listen to him. Yeah, I think with the
• 1:42:27
  operation, I think Bettany is just excellent.
• 1:42:29
  Conveys the agony that Stevens going through really well, makes
• 1:42:32
  look like a terrible thing to have to do, which obviously it
• 1:42:35
  is, Yeah. And it's an important scene, not
• 1:42:37
  as part of the narrative necessarily, but in terms of the
• 1:42:39
  relationship between Stephen and Jack.
• 1:42:41
  With Jack abandoned the mission to save Stephen.
• 1:42:43
  Yeah, this finally scene, they might actually like each other
• 1:42:46
  and it's massively memorable. Like I mentioned, I've not seen
• 1:42:49
  this film in over 20 years and the part I remembered most
• 1:42:51
  vividly with Stephen performing surgery on himself.
• 1:42:54
  Yeah, I've never seen a bit of material go into another bit of
• 1:42:57
  material where I've been so satisfied with the whole fucking
• 1:43:01
  life. Oh, it's fine.
• 1:43:03
  Yeah. Fuck for that.
• 1:43:04
  There's no other bits in there. Oh, God.
• 1:43:06
  Thank you. OK.
• 1:43:06
  It's just like a massive relief, isn't it?
• 1:43:08
  There was a scene that was shot for around this time in the film
• 1:43:11
  that was taken out of the final cut.
• 1:43:13
  The Surgeon's mate Higgins pretends to extract one of
• 1:43:16
  Stevens worms from the gums of a sailor and tells him that it was
• 1:43:19
  too thick. Steven tells him off for not
• 1:43:23
  being honest and then turns and bangs his head on a low beam.
• 1:43:26
  We took it out as he thought it'd be a little bit too silly.
• 1:43:29
  Again, the authenticity that would happen, right?
• 1:43:31
  Surely it would have. Surely that would happen all the
• 1:43:33
  time. Yeah, yeah, it could have been
• 1:43:35
  played in a way where it would have felt authentic and a little
• 1:43:38
  bit more humor. I wouldn't be against that to be
• 1:43:40
  honest. Yeah, just a touch as.
• 1:43:42
  Long as there's more Weevil jokes.
• 1:43:46
  Yeah, when they get to the Galapagos though, like Stephen
• 1:43:49
  has heard this moment, he really has.
• 1:43:51
  Like he's had to put up with Jack shit all throughout the
• 1:43:54
  film. Jack Shit.
• 1:43:55
  Brilliant. Yeah, he's being shot by one of
• 1:43:57
  his own men. How to operate on himself
• 1:43:59
  because no one else is up to it. So when he gets the chance to
• 1:44:01
  have some proper downtime here, you think, yes, this is so well
• 1:44:05
  deserved for this character. He's so happy for him.
• 1:44:08
  And it's one of those storytelling choices that I
• 1:44:11
  think in different hands it shouldn't work.
• 1:44:13
  But it really does, he. Because in amongst all the
• 1:44:15
  battles in the storms, you've got the sequence which really
• 1:44:18
  does get across what it must have been like to have been the
• 1:44:21
  first people to set foot in these places and draw pictures
• 1:44:24
  and capture specimens of these animals that no one has set eyes
• 1:44:29
  on before. And there's this wonderful sense
• 1:44:31
  of discovery in the sequence, like just that scene where they
• 1:44:36
  just sit next to the giant turtles in the measure of the
• 1:44:39
  necks, you think. It's lovely that it is.
• 1:44:41
  Lovely moment. It's a lovely moment.
• 1:44:43
  You think that would surely be the first thing you delete.
• 1:44:45
  But it's all pivotal to the film.
• 1:44:47
  Yeah. And I think it's where you say
• 1:44:48
  where, see, it's the humanity of it.
• 1:44:50
  Yeah. It's thinking, God, these these
• 1:44:52
  people are just discovering stuff.
• 1:44:54
  And it's so great and it's so happy for them it's.
• 1:44:56
  Like, did Terrence Malick direct this bit?
• 1:44:59
  It's very Terrence Malick all of a sudden.
• 1:45:01
  And because that's so genuine, I think when Stephen sees the
• 1:45:03
  Acron, it is a bit of a gut punch for him.
• 1:45:06
  But it's not too much because yeah, he has to leave the
• 1:45:09
  specimens behind. He, he, he doesn't get to spend
• 1:45:12
  as long there as he wants to. But he's still got his moment,
• 1:45:15
  he's still got to see them and he's he's still got to spend the
• 1:45:18
  time investigating. So he might not be as single
• 1:45:21
  minded as Jackie is when it comes to fulfilling his duty,
• 1:45:24
  but he still realizes in this moment what the right thing to
• 1:45:26
  do is. Yeah, definitely.
• 1:45:29
  Yeah, I think it's great being on the island, mainly in terms
• 1:45:32
  of mixing up the visuals a bit, but they get there and Stephen
• 1:45:35
  makes them walk 10 miles across the island, 10 miles there, 10
• 1:45:38
  miles back. No chance.
• 1:45:41
  But then it brings us right back into the overall narrative
• 1:45:43
  pretty expertly. Stephen's examining that bug,
• 1:45:46
  then a focus pull and suddenly the acurons in the background.
• 1:45:49
  That's really good. Stephen's good, isn't he?
• 1:45:52
  It's great, but it's it is predictable.
• 1:45:54
  Like the first time I saw it is that we're going to go to the
• 1:45:56
  other side of the island. I was like, you're going to see
• 1:45:58
  the Agaran, Of course. What's he going to do?
• 1:46:02
  What's he going to sacrifice? It's.
• 1:46:03
  Brilliant. It is doing really well and when
• 1:46:05
  he's chasing that book, I've never seen anyone more pleased
• 1:46:08
  with himself to catch your beetle.
• 1:46:10
  Maybe you're going? Oh, there it is.
• 1:46:12
  I knew that was. And this was the first feature
• 1:46:17
  film to ever shoot on the Galapagos Islands.
• 1:46:19
  And the moment Stephen sees the Akron that was filmed on one of
• 1:46:23
  the islands called Pinter. And don't know if you remember,
• 1:46:25
  but it was in the news a few years ago because that was the
• 1:46:28
  home of Lonesome George, who was a giant tortoise and he was the
• 1:46:32
  last of his subspecies and he died when he was over 100 years
• 1:46:35
  old. Wow.
• 1:46:37
  So who the measure? Well, yeah, Lonesome George.
• 1:46:40
  He'd been there by himself for about 60 years, which is pretty
• 1:46:42
  lonesome. And that is presumably why we
• 1:46:44
  get that scene where we see Stephen studying the creep of
• 1:46:47
  giant tortoises. One of them might be Lonesome
• 1:46:49
  George. Who knows?
• 1:46:51
  What a fucking brilliant life. Lonesome Levicus Island.
• 1:46:56
  Sunny. Someone just turns up after 90
• 1:46:58
  years and measures your neck and then you die.
• 1:47:00
  I love that. So a very brief visit to the
• 1:47:04
  Galapagos Islands Seems like a beautiful place though sure, but
• 1:47:07
  sweet. Oh yeah, Lovely, lovely.
• 1:47:11
  With Stephen finding the Acuron again, the hunt is back on, and
• 1:47:15
  after being inspired by one of Stephen's stick insects, Jack
• 1:47:18
  comes up with a plan. Nice.
• 1:47:20
  In one almighty Final sea battle, the surprise pretends to
• 1:47:23
  be a whaling vessel, ambushes the Acuron and takes the Phantom
• 1:47:26
  of Shame as a prize. Yeah, right, lads.
• 1:47:29
  I know there's not a faint heart among you, So how do we find the
• 1:47:32
  climactic showdown? I love it and I think it's
• 1:47:36
  tribute to, again, the authenticity of this material,
• 1:47:39
  because on the face of it, I wouldn't have thought you can
• 1:47:41
  disguise a ship that convincingly.
• 1:47:43
  But Patrick O'Brien says you can't.
• 1:47:46
  Then I absolutely believe him. I absolutely believe that it can
• 1:47:48
  happen in this film. And what I really like about it
• 1:47:51
  is, is it does bring together Jack's tactical acumen, along
• 1:47:55
  with Stephen's knowledge of nature, like they've always been
• 1:47:58
  clashing throughout the film, those two things.
• 1:48:00
  And now it's harmonious and it's done just right.
• 1:48:03
  It's not too on the nose, It's done just right.
• 1:48:06
  And he actually says it as well, though, doesn't he just?
• 1:48:07
  Yeah, I didn't think nature would progress warfare.
• 1:48:10
  It's it's wonderfully done. It is.
• 1:48:11
  I really like that. And the preparation does have
• 1:48:14
  one of the few moments that makes me laugh in the film, and
• 1:48:17
  it's when everyone's getting into disguise and taking off the
• 1:48:19
  uniform and Jack says to kill it.
• 1:48:21
  Come on, you 2, and it's just Killick's reaction.
• 1:48:23
  His attitude was basically fuck's sake, do I have to like
• 1:48:28
  I'm the chef? So I really like that just
• 1:48:31
  really nicely. Just comic moment.
• 1:48:33
  And then when Jack gives his speech before they go in the
• 1:48:35
  battle. I'll admit there's a lot of
• 1:48:37
  technical detail in there that I don't quite understand, but
• 1:48:40
  Cross sells it like 100%. No one gives an inspirational
• 1:48:45
  battle speech like Russell Crowe does.
• 1:48:47
  You know, by the end I'm practically shouting his tsar
• 1:48:49
  along with the rest of you. And then you get that bit let
• 1:48:53
  fly and the music kicks in and the cannons have blown the shit
• 1:48:57
  out of everything. And I love that shot of the mast
• 1:48:59
  falling into the sea. It's great stuff.
• 1:49:01
  Yeah, finally let his hair down. He.
• 1:49:03
  Does. Yeah.
• 1:49:06
  Well, again, disguising his ship is something that Thomas Cochran
• 1:49:08
  did in real life. But yeah, they changed the name
• 1:49:11
  to the Siren. Yes.
• 1:49:13
  As in, like the mythical creatures that would lure in
• 1:49:15
  sailors. Yeah, not the most subtle thing
• 1:49:17
  then. No, not at all.
• 1:49:19
  Yeah, it was so beautifully. Don't know how quickly they did
• 1:49:21
  that. It's taken me 5 weeks to paint
• 1:49:23
  me sitting room. And the percussive music and the
• 1:49:27
  score when we're building the battle is brilliant.
• 1:49:29
  It's like these low beating drums.
• 1:49:31
  Like bum bum. Yeah, yeah, sounds like the
• 1:49:33
  T1000's about to turn up. Imagine.
• 1:49:36
  Don't be fucking great. I have one double bass.
• 1:49:41
  Once the ball starts, it's massive.
• 1:49:43
  I know, dance know, the historian said about this
• 1:49:45
  battle. He's never seen a bad depiction
• 1:49:47
  of fighting at sea, right? Which coming from an expert,
• 1:49:49
  that's reason enough alone to watch it for me.
• 1:49:52
  The sound design again is incredible.
• 1:49:54
  The sound of the calm and fire and the holes being smashed is
• 1:49:57
  huge. Very much reminds me of James
• 1:49:59
  Cameron as a sequence, which is obviously a huge compliment is
• 1:50:02
  he's like a master when it comes to wine, the collection, and
• 1:50:04
  this is a level approaching James Cameron I think.
• 1:50:07
  Yeah, definitely. Yeah, and that's Sea Battle that
• 1:50:09
  took four weeks to film. And because there was so many
• 1:50:12
  stunts, not all of them were prepared in full, and that was
• 1:50:15
  to reduce the risk of stuntmen being injured before filming.
• 1:50:18
  So the shots of the boats were also a combination of CGI scale
• 1:50:22
  models and the full size replicas.
• 1:50:24
  That is mental. If it's not dangerous the
• 1:50:26
  economy practices, you might as well just film me for real.
• 1:50:31
  I'll go for when it really kicks off and it goes hand to hand
• 1:50:34
  combat and they get on there and there's just such deception.
• 1:50:38
  But the great thing about this film is that you don't leave
• 1:50:41
  that ship and you are part of it.
• 1:50:43
  And then when you do leave it, you are fucking terrified.
• 1:50:46
  Everything seems so foreign and so different and you have to
• 1:50:50
  just board this the ship and it has this kind of parody.
• 1:50:53
  Again, this duality where it's almost the same thing, but these
• 1:50:57
  action sequences are so visceral and so well done and so well
• 1:51:02
  shot, you just think, well where's Peter we as weakness in
• 1:51:05
  this film? He hasn't got one.
• 1:51:08
  He can do these big action sequences that have on a wide
• 1:51:11
  shutting and do them on a close up.
• 1:51:12
  We can do these incredible dialogue sequences into these
• 1:51:15
  great character moments. And again, he makes a sword
• 1:51:18
  fight into a character piece. If you watch this without
• 1:51:21
  watching the rest of the film, you go out.
• 1:51:22
  That makes absolutely no sense. But when you watch the whole
• 1:51:25
  film and you know exactly who everyone is, you know exactly
• 1:51:28
  where you are, loads of snidey grenades getting thrown in
• 1:51:31
  there, loads of snide. It starts with guns.
• 1:51:36
  You know, the guns run out. Again, we're talking about
• 1:51:38
  authenticity. We're talking about, you know,
• 1:51:40
  real. This is exactly what it would
• 1:51:41
  have been like, and how good it would you be if your gun runs
• 1:51:44
  out. You've got one shot.
• 1:51:45
  You got one shot, yeah. And the way that they go on tech
• 1:51:48
  nothing. Oh, that's it.
• 1:51:49
  It's done and there's just these great moments where it's just
• 1:51:52
  you don't trust anybody. There's a real level of anxiety.
• 1:51:55
  But these whole action sequences are fucking fantastic where you
• 1:51:59
  kind of like, totally believe it.
• 1:52:02
  And it's so well edited that I can't even begin because we edit
• 1:52:06
  in this film second to none. Look at the amount of shots that
• 1:52:09
  are put into these. It's just you've got a low shot,
• 1:52:12
  people running over the camera. You've got, like, lots of
• 1:52:15
  swipes, you've got lots of clothes, it's got lots of wage,
• 1:52:17
  got lots of you don't know what's going on, but you know
• 1:52:19
  what's going on and it's just such a joy to watch.
• 1:52:23
  Yeah, it is. I do enjoy a good swashbuckling
• 1:52:26
  Cutlass Jewel, don't we all? Although I'm not sure how the
• 1:52:28
  Acuron crew managed to orchestrate everyone playing
• 1:52:31
  Dead so quickly. And even worse, why did the
• 1:52:34
  surprise crew fall for it? Everyone dead.
• 1:52:36
  There's about 200 of them and I'm just like, well, the job's
• 1:52:39
  done, Sir. Especially when the surprise
• 1:52:40
  have just pulled these rules themselves.
• 1:52:42
  It's brilliant. There's because they called the
• 1:52:44
  surprise, but they get surprised, surprise, surprise.
• 1:52:48
  Well, yeah. But then Jack goes below deck
• 1:52:50
  and he falls for it again with the captain.
• 1:52:52
  He's dead. He has a sword.
• 1:52:53
  He does. Yeah.
• 1:52:54
  Ask me no questions. I'll tell you no lies.
• 1:52:56
  Get stabbed as well doesn't. He's like, I think the French
• 1:52:58
  horn is a little bit on the nose.
• 1:53:00
  I've got to say, the French horn is a little bit too much.
• 1:53:03
  You never, ever cut to the buddies board.
• 1:53:05
  You never see that. So it's just so beautiful to go
• 1:53:08
  on there and go, oh, they're the same.
• 1:53:10
  We're all humans. It's a great thing to do.
• 1:53:12
  Yeah, I mean the cinematography is still brilliant in the
• 1:53:14
  editing, like you say, where see all the quick cuts in the
• 1:53:17
  handheld camera work. It feels like absolute carnage.
• 1:53:20
  But it's always really clear what's going on as well.
• 1:53:22
  Just great filmmaking for me. And there's at least two Wilhelm
• 1:53:26
  screams in there. Obviously, obviously.
• 1:53:29
  Again, it's the realism of it. I love the fact that there's
• 1:53:32
  barely any room to move. So you don't have any of that
• 1:53:34
  kind of OTT, fancy sort choreography.
• 1:53:37
  It's literally just hacking and slashing away.
• 1:53:39
  It's whoever's near to you. I love seeing Stephen get stuck
• 1:53:43
  in there. Higgins the assistant surgeon.
• 1:53:45
  I love that little touch where he sticks his finger in the
• 1:53:47
  cannon trigger to stop going off.
• 1:53:49
  Lethal weapon, isn't it? Looks like that, and I love that
• 1:53:53
  bit with Blakeney when the ships are so close and they're in this
• 1:53:56
  battle to be the first to get the cannons ready to fire and
• 1:53:59
  they're right up against each other.
• 1:54:01
  Yeah, I love that bit as well. And then it's the den.
• 1:54:04
  You Mon. After it's all done pulling, the
• 1:54:07
  takes command of the Acuron to take it back to port.
• 1:54:09
  But then we find out the captain of the Acuron is still alive.
• 1:54:12
  Shock aura and the surprise is back in pursuit to the streams
• 1:54:15
  of one final duet from Jack and Steve.
• 1:54:19
  A good way to wrap things up. I think it is.
• 1:54:21
  I think it's like the Lord Nelson scene all over again.
• 1:54:23
  So it's the lads getting together, having a German
• 1:54:26
  session. German session.
• 1:54:28
  German session, he will go. This is why people assumed there
• 1:54:31
  was going to be a sequel, because it's right.
• 1:54:33
  Off we go again, next mission, let's catch them.
• 1:54:36
  But it's because these who were so good together, you do want to
• 1:54:38
  see them again. And I think ending it like this,
• 1:54:41
  I think it got people so off. So there's going to be another
• 1:54:44
  one of these. Yeah, I guess the point is that
• 1:54:46
  the adventure never ends for these guys.
• 1:54:48
  And that's fine, but I don't feel massively satisfied by the
• 1:54:51
  way it ends, to be honest. I mean, if it was a new mission,
• 1:54:54
  they're getting you waters and they're like, yeah, we go again,
• 1:54:56
  get the fiddle out, great, But with them still feeling the
• 1:55:00
  Acuron, get your fiddle out. There's still way the word, the
• 1:55:02
  start. It's just feeling the story
• 1:55:04
  isn't finished for me. Right, OK.
• 1:55:06
  Is this just their lives from now on, chasing the ship
• 1:55:08
  forever? The final shot's really cool,
• 1:55:10
  though, That white shot of the surprise.
• 1:55:11
  Turning it just on the horizon. Brilliant now.
• 1:55:14
  I think it's a wonderful way to end the film and I was
• 1:55:16
  completely satisfied by it. There's so many subtle movements
• 1:55:20
  in this in that I would have loved more from the French
• 1:55:23
  captain. He's in remorse.
• 1:55:25
  He's he hands it over and he's just like looking down.
• 1:55:27
  He's like, oh, for fuck's sake, that's definitely, he's got no
• 1:55:30
  blood in his hands. There's nothing you can
• 1:55:32
  definitely tell he's just handing, that's all over.
• 1:55:34
  But it's the way that the change the instruments that really hit
• 1:55:38
  home with me is that they're not following the score anymore.
• 1:55:42
  And Steven actually picks the cello up and plays it like a
• 1:55:45
  bass. And he's like, and then they
• 1:55:47
  play the violin and he plays it like a guitar and they're
• 1:55:49
  playing it in a different way. And they're just like they
• 1:55:52
  understand each other, very nice.
• 1:55:54
  And they're not sticking to the rules anymore.
• 1:55:56
  The German. Yeah, well, you know the best
• 1:55:59
  way to have you done it, but it's just this real
• 1:56:03
  understanding. And I got that because these are
• 1:56:05
  classical instruments and to turn them into something new.
• 1:56:08
  And for me it was like this story's going on to something
• 1:56:11
  else and they understand each other.
• 1:56:12
  And I felt really safe at the end of the film.
• 1:56:15
  And for me, that was incredibly satisfying and a really, really
• 1:56:18
  good way to end the film. And that music got the plane at
• 1:56:20
  the end. That's baccarini's String
• 1:56:23
  quintet in C major. And the uses this piece because
• 1:56:26
  it gets mentioned by the characters in one of the novels,
• 1:56:28
  the third one which is called HMS Surprise.
• 1:56:32
  Yeah, always going back the novels.
• 1:56:33
  Yeah, I agree, Wesley. I also like how the stars from
• 1:56:35
  their instruments like guitars and how they're In Sync.
• 1:56:37
  Yeah. And finally, Jax Barnett pays
• 1:56:40
  off. He looks like David seen Opens
• 1:56:41
  with Spinal Tap on that guitar. Just want big bottoms and then
• 1:56:45
  on the way. And with that final jamming
• 1:56:49
  session, the chase continues. The story might not be done, but
• 1:56:52
  the film is. Absolutely, and I love that you
• 1:56:56
  can play that in your head long after the credits rule reception
• 1:57:03
  under Ward. An epic behind the scenes story
• 1:57:08
  and after it was all done, Master and Commander released on
• 1:57:11
  the 14th of November 2003. How do they do?
• 1:57:15
  Well, our residents start Station Midshipman Matt has the
• 1:57:18
  info. So let's fly Matt.
• 1:57:21
  Let's fly. He will go.
• 1:57:23
  So, on a budget of $150 million, Master and Commander grossed
• 1:57:28
  $211.6 million. On release, it was nominated for
• 1:57:32
  10 Oscars, as we've talked about, winning two, which was
• 1:57:35
  Richard King for Best Sound Design and Russell Boyd for Best
• 1:57:38
  Cinematography. And the other eight, as you
• 1:57:41
  guess, all run by Lord of the Rings.
• 1:57:43
  Return of the King. Wow.
• 1:57:45
  Yeah, the studio had talked about sequels, but those plans
• 1:57:47
  were scrapped with a disappointing box office return.
• 1:57:51
  And As for the critics, Roger Ebert, how did he rate Master
• 1:57:54
  and Commander do we think? I would say full marks me.
• 1:57:57
  Yeah, I reckon this would be something he really loved.
• 1:58:00
  You're right. It was the full walk from
• 1:58:02
  Admiral Raj. 4 stars out of four.
• 1:58:04
  And he said it recreates the world of the British Navy circa
• 1:58:07
  1805 with such detail and intensity that the sea battles
• 1:58:11
  become stages for personality and character.
• 1:58:13
  It achieves the epic without losing sight of the human.
• 1:58:17
  He said everything we've said and it's taken us three hours.
• 1:58:21
  That's why he's the most famous critic of the last 50 years and.
• 1:58:24
  He probably got paid more than us as well.
• 1:58:25
  Exactly. Christopher Hitchens, though,
• 1:58:27
  gave a very mixed review. He said the action lives up to
• 1:58:30
  its fictional and actual inspiration.
• 1:58:33
  However, any cinematic adaptation of O'Brien must stand
• 1:58:36
  afore by its success in representing Doctor Stephen
• 1:58:38
  Maturin on this. The film doesn't even fall, let
• 1:58:41
  alone stand. It skips the whole project.
• 1:58:45
  Wow. OK.
• 1:58:46
  He's referring, I think, to the film, not going into the fact,
• 1:58:49
  like we talked about, that Stephen's also a spy for
• 1:58:51
  England. Right, OK.
• 1:58:52
  I'm not sure there's time for that though.
• 1:58:54
  There's no space. For that was not time.
• 1:58:55
  For that not at all. In the sequels they were doing
• 1:58:58
  that, I would imagine. Absolutely.
• 1:58:59
  That's where I think the sequels would have gone, yeah.
• 1:59:01
  Yeah, to end this film on that last line is like, the bird is
• 1:59:04
  flightless. It's not going anywhere.
• 1:59:06
  Yeah, like that's enough. And writing in the San Francisco
• 1:59:09
  Chronicle, Mick LaSalle said the friendship of the Captain and
• 1:59:13
  the Doctor seems schematic, as if all the positive creates.
• 1:59:16
  An individual could have were divided equally between these
• 1:59:18
  two guys. The interaction is reminiscent
• 1:59:21
  of the Star Trek characters four or five movies down the line.
• 1:59:25
  Oh, wow. They just slap in the face for
• 1:59:27
  you. Star Trek 5, anything but five.
• 1:59:31
  It's definitely not as bad as that.
• 1:59:33
  I'll take your word for it. Shutting that punches got in the
• 1:59:35
  face in Star Trek Five. Wow.
• 1:59:37
  Wow. I'm in.
• 1:59:38
  Yeah, I'm watching that tonight. Yeah, there is maybe one
• 1:59:42
  argument too many between Stephen and Jack, but the film
• 1:59:45
  recovers from it for me. Oh, definitely, yeah.
• 1:59:48
  Absolutely. That's not a barometer to judge
• 1:59:50
  the film. Missed the point there I think.
• 1:59:52
  And then today on Rotten Tomatoes, Master and Commander
• 1:59:54
  has a critics approval rating of 85% and 80% from audiences, and
• 2:00:00
  on IMDb it currently sits with a rating of 7.5 out of 10.
• 2:00:04
  Oh, big. It is well thought of today,
• 2:00:06
  still popular I think really is. So the response to Master and
• 2:00:10
  Commander was mixed on its release.
• 2:00:11
  A bit of a box office flop, but some success at the Oscars.
• 2:00:15
  Fairly popular with critics and over time the film has grown in
• 2:00:18
  stature and seems to have found an audience in recent years.
• 2:00:21
  Yeah, definitely has, yeah. It's one of those house legs.
• 2:00:24
  See legs. See Legs, Sequels, and
• 2:00:31
  Influence. Sequels to Master and Commander
• 2:00:35
  were considered, but like we mentioned, those box office
• 2:00:38
  returns led to the studio holding any plans in their
• 2:00:41
  tracks. Would you like to have seen a
• 2:00:43
  sequel? I think I would have to see
• 2:00:45
  where else that could have taken these characters.
• 2:00:48
  I don't think so, no. I'm I'm very, very happy with
• 2:00:51
  how this ends. I mean, it just has such a level
• 2:00:54
  of detail that I don't know that could do it again.
• 2:00:57
  It's would have been detriment of the first film and it would
• 2:01:00
  have just maybe seemed a little bit tired.
• 2:01:02
  Right. Yeah, there are 20 books in the
• 2:01:04
  Aubrey Mature and series with plenty of source material to get
• 2:01:07
  into. Yeah, the lead characters are
• 2:01:08
  good. I mean, it could be maybe a
• 2:01:10
  couple or a trilogy. I'd have been up for that if it,
• 2:01:12
  like tied itself up at the end. Yeah, but I think it would have
• 2:01:15
  had to have believed it would be a trilogy like Lord of the Rings
• 2:01:19
  had to be. I don't think you can get this
• 2:01:21
  kind of drive back to a sequel. I agree you need to have an
• 2:01:26
  endpoint, don't you? Yeah, I think this endpoint is
• 2:01:28
  exactly where it needs to be. Well, there was a push for
• 2:01:31
  sequel in 2010. There seemed to be a lot of
• 2:01:33
  traction online and fans on social media trying to get the
• 2:01:37
  point across that a sequel should be made and Russell Crowe
• 2:01:39
  responded to this on Twitter and he said if you want a Master and
• 2:01:42
  Commander sequel, I suggest you e-mail Tom Rothman at Fox and
• 2:01:46
  let him know your thoughts. Oh, they are.
• 2:01:48
  Yeah, I bet Rothman was loving that.
• 2:01:50
  Inundated with emails from furious Master and Commander
• 2:01:53
  fans. Nothing has came of the sequel
• 2:01:56
  talk, though, Peter Weir later said.
• 2:01:58
  I tend to like to do one film. It was a fascinating experience,
• 2:02:02
  but do I need to do it again? I don't think so.
• 2:02:05
  No, I don't think Peter has ever made a sequel as he No, he
• 2:02:07
  doesn't think that's his style at all.
• 2:02:09
  Fair enough. So it looks like that's that.
• 2:02:12
  How about the film's legacy, though?
• 2:02:13
  Did it have an influence? I think it's legacy is the fact
• 2:02:16
  that in a way it has no legacy, but people wanted to have one.
• 2:02:20
  Which is why we do get that talk of or if this had had a sequel,
• 2:02:24
  can we get a sequel? You know, we've got nine Pirates
• 2:02:27
  of the Caribbean films, or however many of the were, and we
• 2:02:29
  didn't get one sequel to this. So in that sense, I think it
• 2:02:32
  still feels underappreciated and it feels like it was the last of
• 2:02:36
  its kind, like an adventure film, but more serious, aimed at
• 2:02:40
  adults and not at a younger audience.
• 2:02:42
  Yeah. And that's how I think it's seen
• 2:02:44
  to do something quite distinctive that probably should
• 2:02:47
  have had more of an impact. And if it has an influence, I
• 2:02:50
  don't know if I'd say it directly, but I would group it
• 2:02:53
  in with something like Dunkirk or even if you rewrote stuff
• 2:02:57
  that was done practically films that went no, we're going to do
• 2:03:00
  this as practically in camera as much as we can, and that's where
• 2:03:05
  I kind of group this. Yeah, I mean, I think you're
• 2:03:08
  right. I don't think the film was big
• 2:03:09
  enough to have much of an influence, unfortunately.
• 2:03:12
  It's definitely far more of an audience over the years,
• 2:03:14
  undeservedly saw because it does lots of things well.
• 2:03:16
  So I think hopefully its influence might be yet to come
• 2:03:19
  on film makers. I think firstly it's a very high
• 2:03:22
  quality piece of historical fiction.
• 2:03:24
  Like I said, historians have praised its accuracy and the HMS
• 2:03:27
  Victory exhibition in Portsmouth apparently has a film showing
• 2:03:29
  footage of the battle scenes from Master and Commander.
• 2:03:32
  So they think it's realistic, right?
• 2:03:34
  Also, I've not read the novels but I've really seen an
• 2:03:36
  adaptation that fans of the source material praised so
• 2:03:39
  highly. The fans of the books generally
• 2:03:41
  think we are did a great job. So any film maker could do a lot
• 2:03:44
  worse than looking Master and Commander for inspiration in how
• 2:03:46
  to adapt the novel. Yeah, I think the only sad thing
• 2:03:49
  is that Patrick O'Brien passed away in 2000, so never got to
• 2:03:52
  see the world he created realized on the big screen,
• 2:03:54
  unfortunately. It's really OK.
• 2:03:56
  Yeah, it's a shame. But yeah, a lot of lyrics to be
• 2:03:58
  had from the filmmaking here. I think hopefully that will
• 2:04:01
  happen at some point. Yeah, I mean, I totally agree.
• 2:04:03
  I think there's there's a lot to take from this and how to just
• 2:04:06
  believe in a project and not care about how much it's going
• 2:04:09
  to make or care about what the audience is going to be.
• 2:04:13
  A lot of films now are just based on how much money it's
• 2:04:17
  going to make. Shall we do with this?
• 2:04:19
  Because it's popular and it was trouts that the box office
• 2:04:23
  because of Return of the King and because of I.
• 2:04:25
  Didn't help you. Didn't help at all.
• 2:04:27
  But again, I'm just really happy that I've seen this film as it
• 2:04:31
  is. And there isn't sequels and it
• 2:04:32
  hasn't been diluted in any sense.
• 2:04:35
  That's exactly what people need to say from a cinematic point of
• 2:04:38
  view. We're not turning this into a
• 2:04:40
  franchise. It is what it is.
• 2:04:42
  The books are the franchise. Yeah, so there is a franchise
• 2:04:45
  there. If you want to delve into it, go
• 2:04:47
  and read the books. If you want to see it on the big
• 2:04:49
  screen, this is all you need. No sequels to Master and
• 2:04:52
  Commander then, despite there seeming to be public interest in
• 2:04:55
  one, and the film probably wasn't a big enough hit to
• 2:04:57
  impact Hollywood generally. But we think there's still a lot
• 2:05:00
  to be taken from Peter Weir's film.
• 2:05:02
  There's so much to be taken from it.
• 2:05:04
  Yeah, it's such an accomplished piece of work.
• 2:05:10
  All the right movies ranking. And that is the story of Master
• 2:05:15
  and Commander. We're not done just yet, though.
• 2:05:18
  Bizarre. Now it's time for all summaries
• 2:05:22
  where we rate the film out of 10.
• 2:05:24
  Mark your choice. Would you want to kick us off
• 2:05:26
  your summary and score for Master and Commander, please?
• 2:05:29
  Yeah, absolutely. It's so easy to tell why people
• 2:05:33
  like, adore this film and get devoted to it because that
• 2:05:36
  historical accuracy and the fidelity to it is so remarkable.
• 2:05:41
  I can't do anything But prayers paid away for taking this source
• 2:05:44
  material and going that's it, that's the world.
• 2:05:47
  I'm not putting anything in there to placate a contemporary
• 2:05:50
  audience who wants maybe more jokes or the want a young
• 2:05:53
  romance story in there. You want that.
• 2:05:56
  You've got Pirates of the Caribbean, you're going to get
• 2:05:57
  that in that film. Instead.
• 2:05:59
  He nails the story, he nails the details, he nails the world
• 2:06:03
  building with such attention to the craft behind it.
• 2:06:06
  The only thing that stops this being an absolute all timer for
• 2:06:09
  me is that I would have liked a bit more of an emotional punch
• 2:06:12
  at the end in some way, yeah. But having said that, I really
• 2:06:17
  do love that old fashioned vibe that I said at the top that this
• 2:06:19
  has. It does feel timeless.
• 2:06:21
  I love Paul Bettany in particular.
• 2:06:23
  I'm so glad this kind of film exists and he did make it the
• 2:06:27
  way he absolutely wanted it to and like say I get why people
• 2:06:30
  adore it. I'm just not quite there with
• 2:06:32
  it, but I'm still giving it a nine out of 10.
• 2:06:35
  Big score, so well, yeah. As I've said, I hadn't seen this
• 2:06:39
  film since it was released at the cinema, so over 20 years I
• 2:06:42
  was looking forward to watching it again as I knew lots of
• 2:06:44
  people do love it and I wasn't disappointed.
• 2:06:47
  A simple story that's told really effectively to strongly.
• 2:06:50
  Performances from Russell Crowe and Paul Bethany.
• 2:06:52
  Brilliant cinematography, stunning sound design, costume
• 2:06:55
  design, production design, visual effects, exceptional
• 2:06:58
  filmmaking all round really. And the person pulling all that
• 2:07:01
  together is Peter Weir. He clearly had a vision from
• 2:07:04
  reading the books that he wanted to realize on the screen and
• 2:07:07
  watching the film. I think he seems to have
• 2:07:09
  captured that authenticity. It's clearly something he was
• 2:07:12
  going for and it is authentic. A piece of period set cinema as
• 2:07:16
  you're going to see. That alone makes it worth
• 2:07:18
  watching. Yeah, but he makes it engaging
• 2:07:20
  as well and we care what's going on.
• 2:07:22
  I would say the tone is a touch too relentlessly serious for me.
• 2:07:26
  I love the groundedness, but they are very few levity breaks
• 2:07:29
  and when they do come, let that weevils gag.
• 2:07:31
  I'd rather they didn't. Fair.
• 2:07:33
  Enough. The funniest thing about the
• 2:07:35
  film is Russell Crowe's hair, which I might be wrong.
• 2:07:38
  I'm fairly sure that's not meant to be funny.
• 2:07:40
  No. It's a film that I like rather
• 2:07:42
  than love, but I respected a hell of a lot and in total it
• 2:07:46
  gets 8.5 out of 10 for me. Oh.
• 2:07:49
  OK, and Westy to finish yourself your summary and score for
• 2:07:52
  Master and Commander, please. Yeah, I mean, I'm very similar
• 2:07:55
  and I think it's a mix of both of your opinions that is really
• 2:07:59
  resonated with me when I watched it.
• 2:08:01
  And it is a film that I really respect.
• 2:08:04
  It's not a film that I went, Oh well, this is incredible and I
• 2:08:07
  want everyone to check it out. It feels like I want to watch it
• 2:08:09
  by myself and I got a lot from that.
• 2:08:11
  That's good. And it's not one that I want to
• 2:08:13
  shout about. And that's weird because I don't
• 2:08:15
  know why I don't really want to put people on the way because I
• 2:08:17
  don't want people to turn around and say I didn't like it,
• 2:08:19
  because of the seriousness, because of the ground in this,
• 2:08:21
  because of the authenticity. People will be turned off by
• 2:08:24
  that. That's not something that turns
• 2:08:26
  me off in cinema. That's something that really
• 2:08:28
  resonates with me and something that I am really, really engaged
• 2:08:31
  in. And I've seen a lot of films and
• 2:08:35
  there's a lot that I don't like. There's a lot that I love and
• 2:08:37
  there's a lot that I really appreciate and this goes in the
• 2:08:40
  appreciate category, and it is just wonderfully realized.
• 2:08:45
  It's a brilliantly rounded film and I appreciate the people love
• 2:08:48
  this film and I love the people love this film.
• 2:08:50
  I love that as well. And I will at some point we'll
• 2:08:53
  give this A10. I will catch up with you guys
• 2:08:56
  who love this film, I promise. Right now it's a solid 8.5 for
• 2:09:01
  me. Wonderful.
• 2:09:02
  So now we're setting sail for the yard was formerly known as
• 2:09:05
  Twitter, now X, to see what our followers think of Master and
• 2:09:08
  Commander. All right.
• 2:09:09
  OK. So John O'Brien, not sure if
• 2:09:12
  that's any relation to Patrick O'Brien at Obi Orbit, said glad
• 2:09:17
  this was voted for the podcast. 10 out of 10 for me.
• 2:09:20
  One of my favourites. Love the cast scenery, time
• 2:09:23
  setting, which they managed to get the next couple of movies
• 2:09:26
  made. I bet he does.
• 2:09:28
  If you wanted to write to the books, Bellamy at Bellamy, not
• 2:09:34
  him, said 10. It's just a great film.
• 2:09:37
  Gorgeous lookout and a superb cast.
• 2:09:39
  Came out with the cinema looking forward to the sequel.
• 2:09:41
  That never happened. There's a theme here, isn't
• 2:09:44
  there? Yeah.
• 2:09:45
  There is Is this not good enough for you people?
• 2:09:49
  It's wonderful. Just enjoy it.
• 2:09:50
  Watch it twice. There was a few people saying
• 2:09:52
  they wanted to see you turn into a Netflix series.
• 2:09:55
  I mean, that would be good. I mean, yeah, yeah.
• 2:09:57
  But I could see that have to be executive producer and be on top
• 2:10:00
  with it. And whether he's capable of
• 2:10:01
  doing that, whether he cares about that, I don't know.
• 2:10:03
  Yeah, I don't know. Either and one of our patrons,
• 2:10:06
  Will, Crawford said. I have and always will love this
• 2:10:09
  movie. When I first saw it, I thought
• 2:10:11
  it would be stale at some points, but was absolutely
• 2:10:14
  enthralled. To this day, I watched Master
• 2:10:16
  and Commander at least twice a year and rank it in my top 10
• 2:10:19
  military films, 10 out of 10. OK.
• 2:10:23
  Will Crawford and William beat the quarters.
• 2:10:28
  It's going to love that. It's going to be so true.
• 2:10:32
  And all together, our followers rated the film as What do you
• 2:10:35
  Think out of 10? That sounds really positive, so
• 2:10:39
  I'm going to go A9. It's going to be a high one.
• 2:10:41
  I would say definitely 9 at least.
• 2:10:43
  It was a touch lower 8.58.10. OK.
• 2:10:46
  All right. All right.
• 2:10:48
  So that gives Master and Commander 34.5 out of 40 in
• 2:10:51
  total did OK for itself. Yeah.
• 2:10:54
  Very much. And that's it.
• 2:10:56
  On Master and Commander. We hope you've enjoyed it and
• 2:10:59
  you're not thinking you don't have time for our damned
• 2:11:00
  hobbies. I'll grab a cannonball and
• 2:11:04
  disappear. Which I think you have
• 2:11:07
  disappeared. You're sitting in the pitch
• 2:11:08
  black. What's going on?
• 2:11:09
  My natural habitat mate. That's the way I roll.
• 2:11:15
  Next time, sometimes when you want to come clean, you have to
• 2:11:17
  play dirty, and Matt Westy and Luke are doing just that with
• 2:11:21
  Benny Blanco from the Bronx. As they talk, Carly goes where?
• 2:11:24
  Carlito. Yeah, just for Luke's
• 2:11:26
  impressions. That's.
• 2:11:28
  Gonna be the Luke. Show that one, yeah.
• 2:11:30
  Definitely. I'm looking forward to it.
• 2:11:31
  It's. Gonna be good, yeah.
• 2:11:33
  Well, in the meantime, to find out more about becoming a
• 2:11:35
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• 2:11:38
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• 2:11:42
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• 2:11:45
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• 2:11:47
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• 2:11:51
  well, as long as it's five stars.
• 2:11:52
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• 2:11:54
  Socially? You can keep up with all the
• 2:11:55
  right movies on Twitter now X where we are at 80 right Movies.
• 2:11:59
  We post threads on there that tell the stories behind classic
• 2:12:02
  films. Everything that we post has been
• 2:12:04
  said by somebody involved in the production or it comes from
• 2:12:06
  three separate sources, the same as the research on our podcast,
• 2:12:10
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• 2:12:22
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• 2:12:25
  so check that out. Does, yeah, get involved.
• 2:12:28
  Yeah, yeah. And we have a website full of
• 2:12:30
  great features at all the right movies.com I.
• 2:12:33
  Don't know how you do. We're all off now to commit our
• 2:12:35
  bodies to the deep, to be turned into corruption.
• 2:12:39
  Yes, come back for calling. It was way and well done, lads.
• 2:12:42
  Extra rational grog for both of you.
• 2:12:44
  You'll have mine as well. Waters down, Roma, can't we?