Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

I can't even believe how sensitively such a one-sided issue can be portrayed. For two hours, I wanted to serve on the Surprise under the perfect captain Crowe and fight for England. It's a shame that the script can't adapt to Weir's fantastic directing and sometimes slips into completely unnecessary twists, like in the case of the superstition about Jonah. (07/17/2007)

Thanks to the engaging filmmaking and realistic setting, I can safely say: I was there with them. On the ship during the storm, during the battles and during the moments of relaxation, and I was not bored at all. In the opening battle I was thrown into the whirlwind of the action, with blood, sweat and tears at my fingertips, during the scene with the crashing my ship was being tossed from side to side, and on the Galapagos I relaxed with the Doctor to the strains of the double bass and it was enjoyable. If Weir wanted to show a detailed portrait of life on an English battleship, he succeeded. If he wanted to make an adventure story, he certainly didn't miss. And certainly not with this select ensemble of actors. I believed Crowe and Bettany and their captain and doctor, respectively, every second. And by the way, do you want to know how a scarecrow can help win a naval battle? Then don't hesitate with this film. (06/30/2004)

Master and Commander is a picture not so much about great sea battles, but more a study on Captain “happy Jack" Aubrey. Peter Weir’s ingenious direction is aided by the great Russell Crowe and the no less excellent Paul Bettany. Wonderful shots of the sea alternate with the amazing wildlife of the Galapagos. I found the music very powerful. (09/02/2007)

This is no idyll on a yacht, there's no love line, no picturesque sunsets, no heroic ending, just the open ocean and two wooden boats. Weir's Master & Commander is a cinematic phenomenon that was as close to reality as we've ever seen in historical films, but this doesn’t mean that it is a live-action documentary. In addition to a great cast, the film also features a lavish production design, which also proves the enormous costliness of nautical films. It is therefore difficult to ever see the real highlights of the Napoleonic Wars, such as Trafalgar, the Nile and the whole life of the famous British Admiral Horatio Nelson. (03/03/2016)

In terms of its production quality, Master & Commander is a spellbindingly impressive project that’s beautifully anachronistic in relation to the trends of the time when it was released. Because of that, however, it inevitably fell short of box-office expectations and failed to become the start of a film franchise, but that doesn’t change the fact that its qualities have stood the test of time. Especially today, when digital effects have long since lost their wow effect, the stubborn authenticity on display here is breathtaking in its immediacy and physicality. In line with the book series whose name the film bears, the narrative focuses on depicting the battleship as an organism and all aspects of life throughout the hierarchy of its crew. To heighten the drama, the individual peripeteias represent the best of the events of the naval battles. The ingeniously constructed screenplay flawlessly connects the two storylines. To the same effect, the individual cut sequences and dolly shots help to map the topography of the ship while constantly illustrating the real dimension of both ordinary tasks and the chaos of battle. (07/22/2023)