I found this film excellent in that while being a truly moving story with great dramatics it also had a solid dose of comedy.
Some of Marlon Brando's lines are incredibly funny.
I had such a blast watching this film its crazy.
Terribly underrated IMHO. Deserves to be in the top 250 atleast.
I mean it IS a better film than the Dark Knight xD
It was almost certainly under-rated at the time of release because of the well publicised production problems-the changes in director, inflated budget, Brando's alleged antics on set etc
I agree with you, it's a classic with a great script and acting.
Yup. You know people believe too much of what they read about other people.
I'll share an example, I used to hear from everyone that "Ritchie Blackmore" is an *beep* or "Frank Zappa" is a weirdo etc.
When I saw interviews with either of these guys i found that they were the SMARTEST, MOST SENSIBLE and HUMANE people from amongst the other "rock stars".
I agree about some of the dialogue being very witty/funny. But still: Top 250? I don't think so.
The film's much too black and white in its portrayal of Bligh, Christian and the crew in general IMO. The only thing missing from the Bligh performance is some Dr. Evil-laughter thrown in every now and then. I know life at sea was no picnic back then, but this guy was just being cruel for the hell of it. And his actions don't really make sense within the context of the movie. I mean: He's hellbent on getting the job done as soon as possible and yet he keeps killing/incapacitating sailors for minor infractions - while at the same time he's alienating pretty much everyone else on board. I doubt that a sailor will be able to work the next day or even the next week after 24 (hard) lashes. And rationing food and water for no good reason also doesn't seem very smart. He needs those people in good health to run the ship and complete the mission.
I especially doubt that even back then, a guy so inept at leading people would've gotten a command at his age (the real Bligh was only 35 at the time of the mutiny).
Plus let's not forget that the mutineers were hardly into the whole "class-struggle"/"freedom"-thing. Basically they'd had a taste of what they thought was paradise and simply didn't want to go back to the hardship of working on a sailing vessel. And when you look at what happened to the RL mutineers (lots of killings on Pitcairn, colony descended into chaos after someone started making booze on the island), I think it's pretty clear that they weren't the sort of innocent people who were simply looking to build themselves a little utopia.
S.
I thought the portrayal of Bligh was not black and white (certainly in comparison to the 1935 version) After the first flogging he admitted that the punishment was overly harsh but said his aim was to make the men fear him. Not the best man management strategy by any means but also not the actions of a sadist. As the film progressed he became more irate and lost control but not-imo-at the beginning.
In reality Bligh was not a Captain-obviously he was referred to that title by his crew but he was actually still a lieutenant-his superiors didn't regard the mission as important enough to warrant a promotion.
He was also supposed to be a progressive officer who did not believe in harsh punishment and was reluctant to flog his crew feeling that it was better for morale to treat them with respect.
I think you are absolutely right about the cause of the mutiny-Marlon Brando only agreed to do the film precisely because he was interested in exploring why-after the mutiny-the men turned against each other with violent consequences. Unfortunately for him MGM were more concerned with making a traditional adventure picture and weren't concerned with what happened after the mutiny. The mistake the studio made was to give Brando script approval for that section of the picture and one reason for the numerous delays in production was because numerous writers tried and failed to come up with an ending satisfactory to Brando.
After the first flogging he admitted that the punishment was overly harsh but said his aim was to make the men fear him.
I liked the scene where the Tahitian girl calls Marlon Brando a "pig" and tells him to clean up lol. i love how Marlon Brando ended up marrying her and continued his reign as the greatest actor that ever lived, with amazing films like the Godfather, etc. etc. etc.
shareThanks for your historical context streetlegal of which I concur. I agree that the film is arguably underated and enjoyed the performances of Howard and Brando as the leads.
Ironically I reckon the weakest part of the movie is the denouement, where whoever (Brando, MGM, Milestone, scriptwriters...take your pick) decided to stray from the generally acknowledged facts and have Christian martyred on Pitcairn Island, giving rise to what must be one of the longest, dreariest, death scenes in cinema history. Now that's funny!
"Brown am I dying?"
"Yes, Mr Christian you are!"
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Howard saying"remove that slut from my ship" and refering to Brando as a professional"fop"
shareBligh was a great navigator & had been mentored by Captain Cook; like his role model, he took pride in keeping his crew healthy with good food & appropriate exercise. Bligh was consistently lenient when it came to punishing misdeeds - the notion that he was a sadistic swine looking for excuses to savagely flog sailors was created by the influential relatives of the better connected mutineers. However, Bligh was certainly not tactful or over-endowed with social skills & he failed to understand how a sharp tongue & petty criticisms could undermine his relationships with the officers & men under his command. When the Bounty reached Tahiti & the crew encountered a 'paradise' which offered balmy breezes & sexually-available women, Bligh struggled to exert his authority & keep them focused on their mission. As another poster correctly stated, things came to boiling point when the Bounty left that idyllic lifestyle & the crew had to resume the hard, inflexible routines of shipboard drills & tasks.
shareYou're right! This picture is HILARIOUS! When Moe hit Bligh with the pie in the face, I thought I would choke! But then, the topper was Curly teaching Fletcher the "Curly shuffle" just before the mutiny!
Let's not forget the famous Bligh and Ollie steal the cheese scene! How did Ollie NOT win an Oscar for that! Of course, casting Bert Lahr as one of the Mutineers so he could do his, "Put-em-up, Put-em-up" routine with Bligh was sheer genius! GENIUS!
I thought I was the only one who found this picture hilarious.