Customer Reviews
The best of friends, the worst of enemies - By: Trevor Willsmer, 08 Nov 2007 
How could a film with Mel Gibson, Anthony Hopkins, Daniel Day Lewis & Liam Neeson sink without trace? That was the fate of Roger Donaldson's 'The Bounty' backin 1984 when none of them were exactly box-office certainties. Indeed, the third dramatization of the British Navy's most infamous act of piracy (excluding the semi-documentary 'In the Wake of the Bounty') & is perhaps best remembered today as the flop that David Lean nearly directed before falling out with Dino De Laurentiis (UA studio boss Steven Bach infamously greenlit 'Heaven's Gate' instead of a Lean version!). It certainly deserves to be better remembered, boasting a superb screenplay by Robert Bolt (originally intended as two films: the second, dealing with the aftermath was quietly dropped after this tanked) that owes a lot more to history than previous versions despite its occasional inaccuracies.
A young Mel Gibson impresses as the weak-willed Fletcher Christian, drawn into rebelling more by place & circumstances as well as by a crew of thugs with dirty mugs than a clichéd catalogue of tyranny, but it's Anthony Hopkins' film all the way. Before his irretrievable descent into ham he was a much more restrained screen actor, & his Captain Bligh is a much more interesting creation than you suspect he'd manage today. Fighting his own demonsin a permissive place that rips away the moral repressions of his crew & creates a culture of defiance & inertia that he is unable to combat by either understanding or discipline (if anything, Bligh's fault here is that he is too slack on the men for too long before disastrously overcompensating on the return voyage), the film is punctuated by images of his desperately haunted face as he is faced with the realization of his escalating failure & impotence. Yet it is ultimately Bligh who triumphs & is vindicatedin this version, with Christian & his mutineers left at each other's throats as they are cast out of paradise & stranded on a barren shore.
It's impressive, powerful stuff, even more so today for its reality. No cgi, few model shots, they built a real ship & took it to sea for real (even 'Master & Commander' was almost entirely shotin a studio tankin Mexico), & the hardships & efforts pay dividends on screen. Donaldson's direction is better than anything he's done since, Arthur Ibbetson's cinematography impressive & even Vangelis' much maligned score has some of the psychological savagery you can findin Alex North's work on 'Spartacus'. Only a hammy Edward Fox (sparingly used, thankfully) & a superannuated Laurence Olivier strike the odd bum notein the court of inquiry scenes that provide the film's solid framework. I for one would love to see the second Bolt script, 'The Long Arm,' finally make it to the screen some day - hard to believe, but it's a much better tale by far.
Sadly, Prism's extras-free DVD is a less than impressive transfer: if you have a multi-region player you'd probably be better off seeking out the US or French DVDs instead.
Fantastic Film - By: Flashman, 08 Oct 2007 
This version of the infamous mutiny on HMS Bounty is an absolutely magnificent film. It is first classin every respect.
The camera work is wonderful - fittingly, the shots of the Tahitian shoreline & Vangelis' typically atmospheric music conjure up both an image of paradise as well as a premonition of doom.
The cast is first rate. Hopkins is on great form as Lt Bligh. Mel Gibson, not one of my favourite actors, is also great as Fletcher Christian. It would be easy to praise every single cast member - there are so many familiar faces from TV it's nice to see themin such a great film. Two worthy examples are Liam Neeson as the Irish ruffian Churchill, & Daniel Day-Lewis as a rather unpleasant John Fryer.
The action alternates between the voyage & the Admiralty hearing where Bligh has to account for his actions & persuade the Board that the loss of the Bounty was indeed a mutiny. This works vey well as the hearing is kept brief, concentrating mainly on the fateful voyage itself.
Of course, the main issue is whether Bligh led his men to mutiny by driving them too hard. In my opinion, this film treats this issue ambivalently. There are signs at the beginning that Fryer & Christian are not going to get on with Bligh - Fryer questions Bligh's route & gets sharply rebuked, while Christian refers to the voyage flippantly as a greengrocery trip, which Bligh decides to ignore. The real conflicts occurin Tahiti, where ship discipline evaporates into thin air when the men are confronted with the sensual pleasures of Tahitian life. Bligh does not know how to deal with this, until he falls out with Christian, decides to set sail & take a very hard line, a strategy that he thinks necessary but which appears completely foolish, as the men have been seduced by lifein Tahiti. Christian, who, like most of the crew, left his heart behindin Tahiti, is easily persuaded into taking the ship.
The rest of the film shows Christian just about retaining control of the mutineers, & Bligh nobly leading his loyalists to safetyin a sailing boat - no mean feat. The taking of the ship is confirmed as mutiny, & the mutineers end up on Pitcairn Island, where they burn the Bounty.
The film ends on a similarly atmospheric note with Fletcher Christian staring at the Bountyin flames.
A wonderful film.
terrible quality DVD - By: Michael Knight, 02 Oct 2007 
I'm giving one star to the DVD, not the movie, which I would probably give four or five stars to if it were on a decent quality DVD.
Not DVD quality - By: Beeni, 01 Oct 2007 I'm not attempting to review the film here, as I assume anyone purchasing a 23 year old film will be doing so to add this to their collection rather than see the film for the first time.
If you are thinking of purchasing this for your collection, as I have done, then avoid this & buy elsewhere or wait for someone to remaster it. Prism leisure have produced this copyThe quality is not DVD at all & more resembles a VHS video recording or a dodgy copy. Knowing the cinematography of this film this is obviously a massive disappointment. It also highlights the problem with buying over the internet - I now have to que at a post office & pay for the return postage if I am to chase a refund.
Better than the Brando version - By: Jay, 11 Jun 2007 This is a very well-done movie & brilliantly performed with classic actors including not just Hopkins & Gibson, but Neeson, Day-Lewis, etc.
It is also definitely a superb history lessonin not just the events surrounding the most famous mutiny of all-time, but also seafaring during that era & Tahitian culture.
Critics & audiences haven't given this movie half the respect it deserves. Having read "Mutiny on the Bounty", I was impressed by how accurate it was yet remained entertaining & compelling. The cinematography is a winner too!
For a more realistic alternative to clichéd movies about sailors (be it pirates or submariners) this picture is indeed the best choice.
