The
Bounty
(1984/Orion/MGM/Twilight Time Limited Edition Blu-ray)/Ships
(2013/Indiepix DVD)
Picture:
B/C Sound: B-/C+ Extras: B/C Films: B/C+
PLEASE
NOTE:
The
Bounty
Blu-ray is now only available from our friends at Twilight Time, can
be ordered from the link below and is limited to only 3,000 copies.
Here
are two dramas centered in part on boats and ships...
Roger
Donaldson's The
Bounty
(1984) is
yet another solid, underseen cinematic telling of the infamous mutiny
on the great HMS Bounty ship that pitted Captain Bligh against
Fletcher Christian, the stuff that legends are made of. The original
1935 film with Charles Laughton as Bligh and Clark Gable as Christian
is a highly influential (as well as referenced and imitated) classic,
but it has not been seen as much in recent years as it ought to be.
MGM then remade it as a huge, expensive, Technicolor epic in the
extreme widescreen Ultra Panavision 70 format with Trevor Howard as
Bligh and Marlon Brando as Christian that tried to further open up
the tale, but was not a commercial success sadly. It even hurt
Brando's career for a while.
So
a few decades later, Orion
Pictures (who had nothing to do with MGM then, but whose catalog is
owned by the current MGM; the remains of Orion after going sadly
bankrupt in the early 1990s) decided to become involved in a new
production that not only tried to be more naturalistic and realistic
than the previous films, but took a new tact at looking at the story.
Screenplay writer Robert Bolt (Lawrence
Of Arabia,
A Man
For All Seasons,
Doctor
Zhivago,
Ryan's
Daughter)
decided to dig deeper into the case and turn the story into more of a
character study, resulting in another special film version of the
story.
Told
in flashback, Bligh (a clever turn by Anthony Hopkins worth of his
predecessors), is on royal trial as an investigation is underway to
see what happened and if he himself is guilty in any way for the
fiasco that could embarrass the crown and worse. Headed by Admiral
Hood (Lawrence Olivier in top form) with fellow brass (including
Edward Fox as Captain Greetham and highly underrated Jack May (Adam
Adamant Lives!)
as the Prosecuting Captain) in tow, they intend to go through the
events with a fine tooth comb. Bligh is ready to explain.
Mel
Gibson (showing again his acting chops at the time before becoming a
worldwide blockbuster movie star, not wanting to get bogged down at
the time by the commercial success of the first Mad
Max)
proves to be Hopkins equal as Christian, a good, sympathetic man who
seems to be getting along with Bligh at first, but Bligh still
intends to stick by his standards. They are off getting breadfruit
for the crown, but the crew discovery of the very liberated islanders
will more than challenge the crew's discipline and Bligh's authority.
For
here, the film spends the rest of its 131 minutes total trying to
show what really might have happened and what we now know we may not
have known before the last films about the actual historical event.
The film does this so well, there has not been another remake, though
some TV versions have surfaced. Then you have an amazing supporting
cast including Daniel Day Lewis in his first major film role, Liam
Neeson more than holding his own in only his fifth feature film, Neil
Morrissey's first big screen work (a longtime character actor now
also the voice of Bob
The Builder),
Dexter Fletcher (Bugsy
Malone,
The
Elephant Man,
Caravaggio,
Kick-Ass),
Stephen Fletcher, Philip Davis (Quadrophenia,
Pink
Floyd The Wall,
Alien
3,
Vera
Drake)
and Simon Chandler (The
King's Speech,
A
Bridge Too Far)
make up what is really an incredible cast by any standard.
But
Donaldson is at the helm and has never handles so much in one film in
his long career as he does here. After this and the earlier Smash
Palace,
he moved on to hit thrillers (No
Way Out),
underrated thrillers (The
Bank Job,
White
Sands),
blatant commercial projects (Cocktail,
Species)
and has more coming up. This remains among his most accomplished
work, as is the case for many here and it is long overdue to finally
be discovered for the smart epic gem it is. Guess too many wanted
Bligh to be a boo hiss villain, but he was more. This Twilight Time
Blu-ray only has 3,000 copies pressed, so get it now if you want it!
Extras
include another nicely illustrated booklet on the film including
informative text and an essay by Julie Kirgo, while the Blu-ray adds
two feature length audio commentary tracks (one with Director
Donaldson, Producer Bernard Williams (A
Clockwork Orange,
Barry
Lyndon,
Manhunter
(1986)) & Production Designer John Graysmark (Ragtime,
Lords
Of Discipline,
White
Sands),
the other with Historical Consultant Stephen Walters), the Original
Theatrical Trailer and Isolated Music Score track of Vangelis' fine
work here.
Elif
Refig's Ships
(2013) is
a sometimes raw, sometimes beautiful film about a young man named Ali
(Ugur Uzunel) who works for a father he does not get along with and
wish he was not trapped in the world he was in, stuck in a job he
does not care to take seriously. His brother tries to bridge the
gap, but Ali sees all the title vehicles coming into the docks where
they work and it suggest a sense of possible escape. It becomes
metaphor throughout and there are some nice moments throughout its 92
minutes, as it always takes itself (and its audience) seriously.
However,
it also has some predictability, offers a situation where only a few
things can result and if it was not taking us somewhere
geographically (Turkey) we don't see much or has such a good cast,
this would be even more seemingly formulaic. Refig's directing is a
plus and that makes it worth a look from a filmmaker who deserves to
make another film.
Refig's
short film Man
To Be
and an Original Theatrical Trailer are the extras.
The
1080p 2.35 X 1 digital High Definition image transfer on Bounty
can show the age of the materials used in some scene, but this is
easily the best transfer of the film to date with some nice demo
shots at its best. Shot by Director of Photography Arthur Ibbetson
(Where
Eagles Dare,
Anne
Of A Thousand Days,
Die!
Die! My Darling!)
in the underrated J-D-C
Scope format that includes other great films of the time (Return
Of The Jedi,
Year
Of The Dragon,
Poltergeist,
Blue
Velvet)
and recent ones (The
Notebook,
the original Step
Up,
Afterschool
(2008), The
Last Passenger
(2013), this film distinguishes itself from the classic 1935 version
(reviewed elsewhere on this site) and the underrated Marlon Brando
1962 Ultra Panavision 70mm remake (now on Blu-ray in its best version
yet). If anything, the work has only appreciated in value. Fans of
the film and film in general will be
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.85 X 1 image on Ships
was shot on Kodak film in the also underrated Super 16mm film format,
with a nice look by Director
of Photography Turksoy Golebeyi (The
Voice
(2010), The
Guest
(2011), Inside
(2012)) in a transfer that gives us an idea of how this should look,
but one that is a little more muddy and detail-challenged than it
ought to be. This needs and deserves an HD remaster, but this is
still watchable and better than many similar HD shoots I have seen of
late.
In
the sound department, Bounty
offers a DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix that is not bad,
but can show its age in the way dialogue is recorded, though the
Vangelis score (also here in a lossless isolated music track!) stands
out. The film was a Dolby A-type analog release in its 35mm print
release, but there is controversy about if it was a 70mm blow-up
release, and if so, was it in Dolby 70mm or just regular 6-track
magnetic sound presentation. The sound is good enough here to make
one consider that a 70mm soundmaster was somehow used, even if it was
planned for a blow-up print that never happened.
The
lossy Turkish Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo mix on Ships
is better than its image, including burned-in subtitles, but has weak
surrounds if any and though some sources say this is a Dolby and.or
DTS theatrical release of some kind, that is nowhere to be found on
the end credits.
To
order The
Bounty
limited edition Blu-rays, buy I and other great exclusives while
supplies last at this link:
www.screenarchives.com
-
Nicholas Sheffo
