Master and Commander – Far Side of the World, loosely based on one or another novel by Patrick O’Brian, was a movie that I needed to see twice to enjoy. The first time I saw it, I was so annoyed by the wholly nonsensical plot, that the French would build a “super-frigate” sized privateer to prey on British whale ships in the Pacific, that I quietly grumbled to myself for most of the film . (The plot violates both common sense and the economics of privateering, as any obsessive, overly picky, nautical history buff would no doubt insist on explaining to you at great length. )
The second time I saw the film, I managed to ignore the plot and enjoy the glorious cinematography and the wonderful special effects storms and fog, not to mention the footage of the Rose, the replica frigate that became HMS Surprise, or the full scale model of the ship on which 90% of the footage was shot, which resulted in a production budget of $135 million or so.
Now, Russell Crowe, who played Captain Jack Aubrey in the movie, has launched a campaign on Twitter to promote a sequel to the movie. And why not make a sequel? The movie got great reviews, after all. The problem is that the movie only grossed about $209 million, which means that after subtracting the theater owner’s cut and the cost of advertising, the movie lost money. Not necessarily a lot of money, but it was a loser nevertheless, and the corporations who make movies these days usually do not make sequels of money losing movies. Then again Crowe is a “star,” so who knows?
Crowe calls for Master and Commander sequel
The Gladiator star is keen to reprise his role as Jack Aubrey in the film based on the Napoleonic Wars.
And he’s posted a message on Twitter.com in a bid to garner support from his fans to help resurrect the film.
He writes, “If you want a Master and Commander sequel I suggest you e-mail (film executive) Tom Rothman at Fox and let him know your thoughts.”
And Crowe’s appeal has already worked – a Fox spokesperson has revealed the company has so far been inundated with requests for the movie and admits staff are now looking into the prospect.
For those who tweet and wish to support Crowe’s efforts, the hash code is :
@20thcenturyfox Please make a sequel to Master & Commander! (via @cinemablend & @russellcrowe) #holdfast
I saw the movie then read all of O’Brian. I loved the books and haven’t stopped reading nautical fiction since. The movie that was made was a hash of all the books, but one thing seems clear- Russel Crowe is a perfect Aubrey. There is much more depth to O’Brian and many movies could be made.
Please make some more!
Considering there aren’t too many nautical movies made in the past 20 years, another would be great. Master and Commander was a tale, but the characters and scenes were fantastic, the sound especially had recieved special attention.
The ship ‘Surprise’ is still in San Diego.
I have read the O’Brian Master and Commander series and loved it. The movie’s technical side was great, Russel Crow was fantastic as Capt Aubrey. But was disapointed with the way the screen writers mangled the story. I will go and see the sequel. But please be true to the story in the next one.
We wholeheartedly support a sequel to Master & Commander. We so enjoy this movie we watch it every 2 or 3 months and never tire of it. A terrific movie for the whole family!!
I can watch Master and Commander over and over , back to back , very awsome movie.
Great for the whole family.
First of all, the HMS Surprise is not a whaling vessel or a corvette, but a small warship or corvette. The plot is based on a true story in which a similar ship captures a French warship during the Napoleonic Wars. The plot is, therefore, a lot more plausible than you think. The Surprise wasn’t a whaling vessel, which is why they disguised themselves a one to evade the French vessel.
HMS Surprise was a 28 gun frigate, both in fiction and in history. What made the plot so implausible was that the French privateer in the movie was modeled after an American “super frigate” like the USS Constitution. A frigate of that size and cost makes no sense whatsoever. For the cost of one USS Constitution sized frigate, the French could have built and deployed a veritable fleet of privateers.
The Patrick O’Brian novel, “Far Side of the World” involved HMS Surprise and a US Navy frigate, which would make more sense historically but might have been harder sell to an American movie audience.
Why the director and screenwriters decided to make the French ship a privateer rather than a naval vessel is beyond me, but that was the part of the plot that made no sense.
Having read all 23 books written by Patrick O’Brian about his naval alter ego Jack Aubrey and Dr. Maturin, “Master and Commander Far Side of the World” (the combining of two of his books) was faithful in its depiction. While movies of this type are expensive to make, I believe they are worth it, in that we are taken back to a time in history when the world stood on the brink of domination by Napoleon. While his land campaigns took place predominantly in Spain, Portugal, Flanders, Russia and most of central Europe, on the high seas he was literally all over the globe and the only naval power that stood in his way was the British Navy. Had he been successful in conquering Europe, world domination was definitely on his agenda – that is where the British Navy had a major role in staving off those aspirations.
Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany were superbly cast as Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Maturin. Unfortunately this first film did not delve into Maturin’s character more deeply especially his espionage activities against the French. This would make for great storey telling. I (and other fans like myself) can only hope that the studios will see the wisdom in pairing these two fine actors once again and reprising their roles in a sequel…it is not too late.
Before labeling the idea of the French super-frigate implausible, note that their heavy frigate Forte, launched in 1794 with the same armament as the USS Constitution and sent to the Indian Ocean to raid British commerce, was taken by the smaller British frigate Sybille in 1799 after she was mistaken for a merchant ship at night. O’Brian doesn’t stray so very far from history.
A French Navy super-frigate may not be implausible. A French super-frigate privateer, however, makes no sense. An owner of privateers could launch a dozen commerce raiders for the cost of one USS Constitution. O’Brian may not stray too far from history, but the screenwriters clearly did not understand the difference between naval and private ships of war.
To be fair, the original plot of Far Side of The World had the HMS Surprise chasing an American Frigate into the Pacific to hit the British Whaling Fleet. The Americans did send naval vessels and privateers to do that, but they were not one of their large frigates. Unfortunately I don’t think American audiences could have swallowed the fact of Americans as antagonists in a movie so they changed the vessel to a French privateer. I think they tried to pass it off as an American built ship with a French naval crew, but that was also pretty implausible in 1812.
People forget that the US had fought a “quasi” naval war with France between the revolution and War of 1812 for many of the same grievances we had with Britain prior to the War of 1812. I don’t think the USA would have given one of their best ships for the French to use as a privateer during that war either, but for the sake of cinema and American audience reception it was a story change I accepted, and it is a great film I still watch on DVD over and over again.