Rhapsodies

This week’s selection was adventures on the high seas during the napolianic wars

The first of my selection was Captain Horatio Hornblower starring Gregory Peck. Based on the works of C. S. Forester.

I’ve never actually read any of the Hornblower Novels and my only real exposure to them were though the BBC series of miniseries. And indirectly the Honor Harrington series that is essentially Hornblower in space. As for Peck, while I’m certainly aware of his reputation, the only thing I saw him in was John Huston’s Moby Dick as Captain Ahab, which I always thought he was terribly miscast for. Because of that first impression I’m ashamed to admit I never want out of my way to see any other of his films.

The film is a collection of bits from three of the novels starting with a mission to support a deranged revolutionary against the Spanish who were allies of Napoleon only for the Spanish to turn against Napoleon so Hornblower fight the man he was allied  with just a day before. From there more missions occur against the french with Hornblower’s forbidden romance with Lady Barbara Wellesey the sister of Lord Wellington. (Their significant others die ,so they are brought together in the end.)

This was a perfectly solid film. Peck’s performance was very good (though the character’s habitual clearing of his throat got old very quickly) The nautical scenes were very well done (and I can’t help wondering it was model work and how much of it was actually filming the actual ships at sea.

On the otposite extreme was Peter Weir’s Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World staring Russel Crowe as Captain Jack Aubrey and Paul Bethany as his friend and ship’s surgeon Dr. Stephen Maturin.

Based on the Aubrey-Maturin series of historical novels by Patrick O’Brian. Master and Commander tell’s the story of the crew of the aging HMS Surprise in a deadly cat and mouse game against a superior and advaned French Ship.

It is interesting comparing this with the Hornblower film. While Hornblower portrays a much more romanticized version of the period. While Master and Comander acts like a realistic snapshot. While Hornblower certainly does not deny that naval battles will have casualties Master and Commander shows it as a meat grinder.

If I had any problem with it was that this was primarily Aubrey (Russel Crowe’s ) film with Mautren’s role only coming into his own halfway through the film.

Otherwise this film was amazing and had me gripping my seat in interest all the way through. (The Galapagos Islands make a great cameo, iguanas and all)