Today I'm going to share one of my absolute favorite soundtracks with you, that for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), which is one of the most beautiful scores I've ever heard. It contains both original music composed by Iva Davies, Christopher Gordon, and Richard Tognetti and classical pieces by Mozart, J.S. Bach, Boccherini, and others. Why the mix? Because the two main characters, Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) and Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany), play the violin and the cello.
(In the books the movie is adapted from, they first met at a concert, where Aubrey annoyed Maturin by tapping his toe and waving his hand to the beat -- Maturin dismissed him as a gauche musical naif, only to discover that Aubrey was actually a gifted violinist. Not only that, but Aubrey was in command of a ship about to sail that needed a surgeon, and Dr. Maturin was in need of a job, and so an unlikely friendship was formed.)
Here's a scene from the movie where they play a song that's on the soundtrack, part of one of Mozart's Violin Concerto No. 3:
And here's one of my favorite written-for-the-score tracks, "Into the Fog." A lot of the music for this movie is very militaresque, as befits a movie about a British warship that involves a healthy number of naval battles. Lots of drums, some strings, some fifes and other wind instruments. I love listening to it in the morning, when I need to get myself motivated to make breakfast, etc.
And here's one final song, which also happens to be from the end of the film, a snippet of Boccherini's "La Musica Notturna Delle Strade di Madrid No. 6." Or, as I call it, "the song where Aubrey and Maturin pretend they have guitars."
I consider this movie to be one of the finest book-to-film adaptations ever, and I've always been so happy that it has a splendid soundtrack to match.
Today JT, from the trailer review posts, is here to write about movies based on books.
Hi, this is JT here, hoping I don't bore you all to death with a post like this. I read a lot, so as a matter of course I am very interested in films that are based on novels. I intend to highlight some I am familiar with, and a few that I don't like so much...Anyway, as I was thinking about this, it struck me that though it may be clear that Hollywood's idea well is running dry, what Hollywood there is is propped up mightily by works of the pen. In a broad definition, you might even say that even the Marvel franchise is based on literature. (ok, it's not so broad to say that, but I for one prefer to stick to hard-bound novels). As it happens, only the animated studios are really making original ideas anymore, and even How To Train Your Dragon is a published book, albeit for a young age group. In this post and the following ones I am going to lay out some of my thoughts on the novels and the movies that they produced.
Ben-Hur
Lew Wallace's Ben-Hur is 1) subtitled A Tale of the Christ and as focused on Christ's time on Earth as the movie makes it out to be. 2)800 pages long, if I remember my numbers right. 3) contains pages upon pages that describe one setting meticulously before going to the action (a film-maker's dream, I've heard) and 4) entirely deserving of a movie three hours long.
Ben-Hur is one of Charlton Heston's most famous roles, and I think he owned it, though I am no judge of acting. Everything that happened in the film was in the book, as shown, including the sea battle and the famous chariot race. However, I believe they did remove one or two scenes of deep philosophic thinking and consolidate a couple of characters due to length.
Lew Wallace was a Union officer during the Civil War who wrote the whole story around that time. He is officially the founding member of Hollywood's genius club, which includes only James Cameron (although Titanic was just one historical event in which he placed characters) and J.R.R. Tolkien, as the only people to write a story that spawned a movie that won ten or more awards, at 11.
Master & Commander:The far Side of the World
Patrick O'Brian's Master & Commander series includes 20 books, of which The Far Side of the World is number ten. The movie bears almost zero resemblance to the book, which for the only time in my experience is a brilliant idea. If you read all 20 books like I did, you realize that Far Side of the World is a dead fish in the middle of an action-packed series riddled with sea battles. By contrast, the book (which this film follows almost in name only) involves sidetracks that make no sense in the middle, and an end of cordial diplomacy that is mind-numbingly lame compared to the suspenseful chaotic shaky-cam sea battle we got on film. When I mention it I tell people that the right way to appreciate the stories would be to get the books, and when you reach FSW, replace it with the film. Russel Crowe did brilliantly in his role Jack Aubrey and Paul Bettany did Stephen Maturin just like he was supposed to. I have no idea why this film is so underrated, because I've forgotten what year it came out. If you like Russel Crowe you should check it out. But beware, this film has no time for your _____ hobbies!
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
I have not seen the film version yet, mainly because I tend to read the book first if there is one. I just recently read the book and enjoyed it a lot, although I don't think I would go back for a second reading. (So far, LOTR are the only books I've been able to pick up more than once, not counting ones I read when I was twelve). Anyway, to get a little background on it I looked up the wiki page and it made me want to see the film, because I see no significant differences between the two. I think Gary Oldman was a brilliant choice for the lead based on the character in the novel and the roles I have seen him do (though I know nothing about acting nuances, so I always think everyone did brilliantly unless they are outrageously wooden...)
I did not figure out the mystrey before it was revealed, but that just makes it more fun. I think if I were to see the film I would like it.
Les Miserables
I didn't think to include this one at first, because i intended to stick to ones I thought were flying under the radar. However, when it came to it I could not pass it up. First of all, yes it is a romance novel really, but for all that I liked it more than I've liked anything since LOTR. Second, it is 1400 pages long and fills up the spaces with pages upon pages of side-tracks which meticulously describe 1830s Paris, human psychology, and various other elements that are relevant to the way the story is arranged. It could not have justice done to it in musical form, because of said length and that musical form apparently was only chosen so one could see a bunch of a-listers and a couple of almost a-listers shriek and cry while singing (even in the rain.:))
Which brings me to: Don't blame Russel Crowe. It was said that Russel Crowe can't sing, but I would like to explain here that by the standards of the stage version, he actually did fine. That's not singing, that's chanting. Different standards, all right? Although I could not get over the decision to sing every little argument...It wasn't actually a very good movie, unless all you want to see is The Gladiator in a French police costume chanting himself hoarse, while Wolverine and Catwoman run around being down and out and sorry for themselves, while Bellatrix lestrange and That Nut pretend to be barkeeps, not to mention the other hopelessly lost pair who absolutely MUST sing their romance duet in the middle of the line of fire, and then conveniently faint or die while Wolverine sings his own famous song...Did I mention the nine-year old (maybe younger) who should been 14? (I'm fairly sure of that. 'Course 14-year-old boys often can't sing, so that's that...)
I'm done now. I hope you got something out of this post, because I'd like to do more.
If you have yet to vote on this week's "Reader's Choice" please click here to check it out but so far Batman: Under the Red Hood and Goldfinger will be posted tomorrow and the next day.
Thoughts: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is based on the book series of Master and Commander booksby Patrick O'Brian and is set during the Napoleonic Wars. I had very little knowledge of Master and Commander before watching the movie except that JT/King Valun at The Window on the South and JT's Tales recommended the movie, which I would like to thank him for. Master and Commander was a great movie with top notch performances and well made period sets. The direction and camera works is fantastic and there is some great Cinematography in the movie. It is very difficult to describe why it is such a great movie without spoiling the movie; you just need to watch the movie for yourself.
Disclaimer: Fans of the book might enjoy this even more than I did.
Directed by: Peter Weir
Genre: Epic, War,
Release Date: November 14, 2003
Running Time: 138 minutes
MMPA rating: PG-13
The Good: Epic naval battles, Good opening scene, Excellent period set and costume design, Fantastic Cinematography,
The Bad:
Plot: The following plot summery is copied from Wikipedia.com.
The film takes place in May 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars. Captain "Lucky Jack" Aubrey of HMS Surprise is ordered to pursue the French privateer Acheron, and "Sink, Burn, or take her a Prize." As the film opens, a crewmember aboard the British warship hears a bell sound and the ship becomes alert. As captain Aubrey looks through his telescope at the fog, he sees cannonfire, and the ship is ambushed by Acheron, a ship twice as large as the British warship is. Surprise is heavily damaged, while its own cannon fire does not penetrate the enemy ship's hull. Later in the battle, Surprise's rudder is shot off and her steering wheel is blown away, making the ship unsteerable, adding to the fact that the ship is taking water fast. Using smaller boats, the crew of Surprise tow the ship into a fog bank and evade pursuit. Aubrey learns from a crewman who saw Acheron being built that it is heavier and faster than Surprise, and the senior officers consider the ship out of their class. Aubrey notes that such a ship could tip the balance of power in Napoleon's favour if allowed to plunder the British whaling fleet at will. He orders pursuit of Acheron, rather than returning to port for repairs. Acheron again ambushes Surprise, but Aubrey slips away in the night by using a clever decoy buoy and ships lamps.
Following the privateer south, Surprise rounds Cape Horn and heads to the Galapagos Islands, where Aubrey is sure Acheron will prey on Britain's whaling fleet. The ship's doctor, Maturin, is interested in the islands' fauna and flora; Aubrey promises his friend several days' exploration time.
Watch the movie to see what happens next.
Plot: 8.7/10- The characters are interesting and the concept was original, only the pacing dragged a little bit in some parts of the movie but it was still entertaining.
Action: 7.8/10- Although there are only action scenes at the beginning and the end of the movie, they are very well made and impressive.
Acting: 8.6/10- The entire cast gave top notch performances without a noticeable weak performance but Russell Crowe gave the best performance of the cast.
Special effects: 8.6/10- The ships that were used are massive and it actually looked like it was filmed on the ocean, which it very well could have been.
Soundtrack: 8.2/10- The soundtrack fit the period and the film and some good classical music was used.
Comedy: 7.0/10- There is some good humor in the movie. "The Lesser of Two Weevils."
Would I Watch This Again: Master and Commander is worth a re-watching at some point.
Overall: 8.6/10- Overall Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a great realistic high seas war epic with good characters and solid performances.
Closing comments: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World definitely deserves a sequel, which might never happen.
Recommended for: Epic fans, Adventure fans, War movie fans,
