Mutiny on the Bounty

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Lewis Milestone directs. Robert Surtees behind the camera. Bronislau Kaper scores. John McSweeney Jr. cuts. A long sit — settle in. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English, German, Samoan, French, Dutch.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 1At 185 minutes, this is a three-hour-plus commitment — longer than 95% of films ever made.
• 2Earned back only 72% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 364 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 4Dialogue crosses 5 languages: English, German, Samoan, French, Dutch.
• 5Directed by Lewis Milestone, shot by Robert Surtees. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Bronislau Kaper. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor John McSweeney Jr. shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Marlon Brando and Trevor Howard and Richard Harris carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "The mightiest excitement that ever swept across the sea or the screen!".
• 10IMDB entry: tt0056264 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 11Classified under 8 themes, including "exotic island", "mutiny", "heart-throb", "tahiti".

The technical file

Cinematography

Robert Surtees

Original score

Bronislau Kaper

Editing

John McSweeney Jr.

Costume design

Moss Mabry

Makeup / hair

Mary Keats

Stunt coordinator

Paul Baxley

Runtime

185 min · 3h 5m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$19,000,000

Box office

$13,680,000

Return

72% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

NR

IMDB

Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) ↗

Rotten Tomatoes

70% 🍅 Fresh

Metacritic

48/100

IMDB rating

7.2/10 · 18,469 votes

MPAA

Approved

Also by

Lewis Milestone

• 
  Fit to Win

  1919 · ★ 10.0
• 
  The Widow

  1955 · ★ 9.0
• 
  Betrayal

  1929 · ★ 9.0
• 
  Arrest and Trial

  1963 · ★ 8.2
• 
  The Night of Nights

  1939 · ★ 8.0
• 
  The Cave Man

  1926 · ★ 8.0

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Larry Karaszewski on MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1962)

  Featurette
• 

  ▶
  Mario Van Peebles announces MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1962)

  Featurette · Official
• 

  ▶
  Original Theatrical Trailer

  Trailer · Official
• 

  ▶
  John Landis on MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY

  Featurette

Community reviews

What people are saying

• CinemaSerf2024-07-08
  ★ 7/10

  For me, this was never going to be better than the Laughton/Gable version from 1935, but despite the rather hammily over-cooked effort from Marlon Brando, it does make for a decent enough version of the story of HMS "Bounty". It's a small ship with a big task. Sail round the world to Tahiti and procure some breadfruit trees then take them to the Caribbean for use a fodder for the slaves. Right from the outset, we realise that Captain Bligh (Trevor Howard) is not a man to mess with. He is a brutal authoritarian who punishes the slightest of misdemeanours from his crew mercilessly. As the voyage proceeds, fresh water runs short and the food starts to move about the plate by itself, the men turn to Lt. Christian (Brando) for some sort of relief. The two officers are pretty much at odds from the start with the flamboyant subordinate quite a contrast to the ship's more hardened master. It's their arrival on the island that finally causes the men to reach breaking point and for Christian to execute the unthinkable in maritime law. The story is history, so we now what happens as Howard turns in a remarkably convincing effort - his deep and gravelly voice helps too - as the commander who would rather water the trees than his men. Richard Harris, Hugh Griffith and a face of recognisable Britons pad out the crew effectively and the aesthetics of the production, especially at sea, are powerfully illustrative of the dangers to the sailors of the sea and their taskmaster. It does fall away a little towards the Pitcairn aspects of the story, and I just didn't love Brando's accent/overly theatrical effort - but is still well worth a watch.

  Read full review ↓
• Wuchak2025-09-17
  ★ 9/10

  The most captivating and compelling version of The Bounty story The three versions of The Bounty story are 1. The 1935 black & white version with Clark Gable; 2. This 1962 Marlon Brando version; and 3. The 1984 one with Mel Gibson, simply titled "The Bounty." The mutiny story is TRUE (SPOILER): William Bligh was sent on a mission in 1787 to pick up breadfruit plants from Tahiti and bring them back to England. He intended to circumnavigate the globe, but unfortunately failed to make it around Cape Horn, South America, and had to take the long way around Africa. It thus took them 10 months to reach Tahiti, where they were forced to stay another five months due to the breadfruit's "dormant" period. The natives were friendly and the women beautiful. With the exception of Bligh, the crew fell under the spell of the Polynesian paradise. But after five months they needed to complete their mission and return to England. Three and a half weeks later Fletcher took over the ship with 18 other mutineers. Christian set Bligh and 18 loyalists adrift in the ship's launch. He then returned to Tahiti where he dropped off 16 men, but picked up 6 Tahitian men and 11 women. Christian then set forth with 8 other mutineers and the Tahitians to elude the Royal Navy, ultimately settling on Pitcairn Island, which was well off the beaten path and misplaced on Royal charts, a fine hiding place (END SPOILER). Mel Gibson's version is the most accurate, but Brando's is the most epic, as well as the most compelling despite its 3-hour length. The 1935 black & white version is disappointing. It's a fine film for its day, but it'll likely seem dated and fabricated to modern viewers. Nitpickers grumble about historical inaccuracies, but the entire gist of the story is accurate: Fletcher was born to an aristocratic family who were losing their wealth (why do you think he takes the mission?); two cheeses did come up missing and Bligh was the culprit who unjustly blamed others; they did fail to sail around Cape Horn after only going 85 miles in a month; they did spend five months on Tahiti and Fletcher did fall for Maimiti; after the mutiny Fletcher and his crew did end up stranded on Pitcairn where they set The Bounty ablaze; and Christian did die on the island, although in real life he lived for another three and a half years before being killed by one of the Tahitian men in a conflict that broke out. However, Christian was only 23 years old when the mission started, whereas Brando was about 37; Bligh knew Fletcher and actually sailed with him twice before, whereas the film shows Bligh meeting Christian for the first time; the mutiny itself took place at night not in the daytime over a ladle of water; and, lastly, Fletcher didn't die due to wounds received from his burning ship. WHAT WORKS: Brando as Christian is captivating and Trevor Howard works well as Bligh. The viewer observes their relationship get worse over the course of the story culminating in the mutiny. Although Bligh is depicted as an authoritarian, one gets the picture that he did what he did mostly to fulfill his mission. Fletcher points out that the Admiralty would likely consider Bligh's actions justifiable. Bligh obviously had some character flaws and became known in the fleet as "that Bounty bast@#d." In fact, he later suffered ANOTHER mutiny in New South Wales, Australia! Although a brilliant seaman, he was by all accounts an unlikable bastage. His arrogant, abusive nature destroyed loyalty and drove people from him. Still, I respect the fact that the film doesn't depict him as a villain dripping with evil, like the 1935 version. Not long after the mutiny, Bligh and his loyalists sit in the launch trying to figure out what to do. Bligh decides to sail to Timor, which was 3600 miles away, rather than strand themselves on some uncivilized island. Bligh's mad decision is driven by his desire for revenge. When some of the loyalists object he picks up a sword and states, "It would be a mistake to assume that I am no longer in command here." Bligh succeeded in taking the launch to Timor despite having no charts or a compass! It took them 47 days to sail 3618 miles with few provisions on an overcrowded craft. Although they all survived, five died in the ensuing weeks. The film unfortunately doesn't depict this incredible journey. Gibson's version does, however. This 1962 version also depicts Christian's depression after the mutiny. He locks himself up in his cabin while the rest of the crew celebrates on the mainland. He knows he can never go home again. This is a great scene. Maimiti visits him in his cabin but can't shake him out of his depression; she says: "You either eat life or life eats you!" Another positive aspect is that the picture reveals what life promised the mutineers on Pitcairn; neither the '35 or '84 versions do this. WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Parts of the initial 10-minute dock sequence are stagy and dated. The other problem, as already noted, is that Bligh's brilliant trip to Timor in the launch is not depicted. FINAL ANALYSIS: Despite the few inaccuracies, Brando's version is the most engaging version of the famous mutiny IMHO. This is a sign of a great film. Gibson's 1984 "The Bounty" is a worthy rendition as well; it's historically accurate but not as compelling. I recommend watching both films back to back. It runs 3 hours, 16 minutes. GRADE: A

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• AR

  Arcola Pictures

  US

• 

  Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

  US

Key crew

• ProducerAaron Rosenberg
• EditorJohn McSweeney Jr.
• Costume DesignMoss Mabry
• Set DecorationHenry Grace
• Set DecorationHugh Hunt
• NovelCharles Nordhoff
• StuntsMorton C. Thompson
• StuntsLarry Duran
• Stunt CoordinatorPaul Baxley
• NovelJames Norman Hall
• CastingIrene Howard
• Art DirectionGeorge W. Davis
• Art DirectionJ. McMillan Johnson
• HairstylistMary Keats
• ConductorRobert Armbruster
• Additional PhotographyHarold E. Wellman
• Visual EffectsA. Arnold Gillespie
• Visual EffectsLee LeBlanc
• Visual EffectsRobert R. Hoag
• Second Unit DirectorJames Curtis Havens
• Assistant DirectorRidgeway Callow
• Makeup DesignerWilliam Tuttle
• Sound SupervisorFranklin Milton
• ChoreographerHamil Petroff

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• exotic island
• mutiny
• heart-throb
• tahiti
• import
• 18th century
• high seas
• mutiny on the bounty

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1962-11-08NR

Also known as

International titles

• Gli ammutinati del BountyIT
• Les Révoltés du BountyFR
• Vzpoura na BountyCZ
• Vzpoura na lodi BountyCZ
• Мятеж на БаунтиSU