Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

"The courage to do the impossible lies in the hearts of men."

2003 2h 18m EN

👍

7.2

SOLID

★7.2TMDB · 3,700

AdventureDramaWar

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

After an abrupt and violent encounter with a French warship inflicts severe damage upon his ship, a captain of the British Royal Navy begins a chase over two oceans to capture or destroy the enemy, though he must weigh his commitment to duty and ferocious pursuit of glory against the safety of his devoted crew, including the ship's thoughtful surgeon, his best friend.

“The courage to do the impossible lies in the hearts of men.”

WhatsApp X Facebook Telegram

Where to watch · US

Apple TVSubscription

Apple TV Amazon ChannelSubscription

Apple TV StoreRent

Google Play MoviesRent

YouTubeRent

Fandango At HomeRent

Apple TV StoreBuy

Google Play MoviesBuy

YouTubeBuy

Fandango At HomeBuy

Cast

Russell Crowe
Captain Jack Aubrey
Paul Bettany
Dr. Stephen Maturin
James D'Arcy
1st Lt. Thomas Pullings
Robert Pugh
Mr. Allen, Master
David Threlfall
Preserved Killick, Captain's Steward
Lee Ingleby
Midshipman Hollom
Max Pirkis
Midshipman Blakeney
Max Benitz
Midshipman Calamy

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Peter Weir
Writers: John Collee, Peter Weir, David Russell
Languages: French, Portuguese, English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

$150M budget — tentpole studio territory.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 23 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, Portuguese, English.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CAST

Did you know

264+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Peter Weir, shot by Russell Boyd. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Richard Tognetti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Lee Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany and James D'Arcy carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Peter Weir directs. Russell Boyd behind the camera. Richard Tognetti scores. Lee Smith cuts. Profitable at the box office. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in French, Portuguese, English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1$150M budget — tentpole studio territory.
2Released 23 years ago.
3Dialogue crosses 3 languages: French, Portuguese, English.
4264+ people credited in cast and crew — a small city's worth of labour.
5Directed by Peter Weir, shot by Russell Boyd. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Richard Tognetti. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Lee Smith shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany and James D'Arcy carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "The courage to do the impossible lies in the hearts of men.".
10IMDB entry: tt0311113 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
11Classified under 23 themes, including "ship", "navy", "based on novel or book", "surgeon".
12Released under 20 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Russell Boyd
Original score: Richard Tognetti
Editing: Lee Smith
Production design: William Sandell
Costume design: Wendy Stites
Makeup / hair: Edouard F. Henriques III
VFX supervisor: Stefen Fangmeier
Sound: Richard King
Stunt coordinator: Daniel W. Barringer
Runtime: 138 min · 2h 18m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $150,000,000
Box office: $211,623,421
Return: 141% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

Awards

National Board of Review: Top Ten Films
Satellite Award for Best Visual Effects
London Film Critics Circle Award for Film of the Year
BAFTA Award for Best Direction
BAFTA Award for Best Sound
Academy Award for Best Cinematography
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Cinematography
Satellite Award for Best Sound

Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.

Also by

Peter Weir

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

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

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2019-01-20
★ 9/10
For England, for home, and for the prize! Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is directed by Peter Weir, it stars Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey and Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin. It is spliced from various novels in the Aubrey–Maturin series written by Patrick O'Brian. The film takes place during 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars and finds Captain Jack Aubrey and the crew of British frigate HMS Surprise ordered to intercept, destroy or take as a prize the French privateer Acheron. But the Acheron (The Phantom as the crew of the Surprise call her) is no ordinary ship, and her Captain is smart. So Lucky Jack has his work cut out; not only in the pursuit of the Acheron, but in harmonising the crew under his command. Especially his loyal and trusting friend Stephen. It's pretty evident within the first few minutes of Master & Commander that this is no standard blockbusting naval based war movie. If you are after, or was expecting, a wave to wave Bruckheimer carnage a-like piece, well you best, or should have, stay(ed) away. For this is a Peter Weir movie, in fact this is a Peter Weir "period" movie, where attention to details and character dynamics are the order of the day. There's battle action here for sure, beginning and end, and terrific they are too, as first cannonballs crack and splinter their targets (note the sound work here), and later as blade meets blade - it's exhilarating stuff alright. However, this is more interested in palpable tension, both on deck and on the waves. Threat is never far away, again, this is is covered by the impending duel with the Acheron and Aubrey's tactical pursuit/escape of her. As the Aubrey machinations unfurl, the crew give us a series of character dramas to involve us in the make up of a man-o-war's personnel. How different classes and males (there's not one female in the film) of all ages have to work together as one efficient unit in order to survive and triumph. Except for an interlude spent on the lusciously filmed Galapagos Island (Russell Boyd Best Cinematography Academy Award Winner), the film is set 99% of the time out at sea, on a cramped ship, this tells you that Weir is interested in telling a character driven story, one that is cloaked in realism above all else. The teaming of Weir with the highly rated O'Brian material looked a good one, and to someone like me who has never read an O'Brian novel, it is. Unsurprisingly many of O'Brian's fans have been upset by either the stuff missing in the film, the stuff put in to fully form Weir's vision of the characters, or for Crowe not being Pugwashy enough. These complaints were inevitable since they come with practically every adaptation of novels these days. It should be noted, though, that Weir was very much a fan of O'Brian, and in fact always felt inspired by the tight intricate detail of his writings. What of the author himself? Well he passed away three years before the film was released, but he had always envisaged Charlton Heston for the role of Aubrey. So, who in the modern era comes closest to Heston's physical presence on screen, why Russell Crowe of course. Who not only brings that to the character, but also depth, because Aubrey comes with many traits. Strength, honour, stubbornness, leadership and loyalty are a given for a Captain on the high seas. Yet Aubrey is also vulnerable, self aware, playful, knows his limitations and is able to laugh at himself. Crowe peels off each layer and delivers a high quality performance - from our first encounter with Crowe as Aubrey, the realism so loved by Weir is given a shot in the arm - and it stays throughout the movie. So an excellent piece of casting then, as is that of Paul Bettany as ships surgeon, science and nature lover, and best pal of the Captain, Stephen Maturin. Bettany and Crowe had formed a friendship on 2001's A Beautiful Mind, where their on screen chemistry lifted an already fine film, to an even better one. So it be here also. Stephen & Jack's relationship is the core of the piece, two very different men yet as tight as two peas in a pod, with Stephen serving as the code breaker for the audience as sea talk and tactical intrigue weaves in and out of the story. It's there where Bettany excels, for he not only has us believing in this warm (platonic) friendship, he's also got us rooting for him since he is in essence the odd man out on this ship. Our sympathy is firmly with him, our friendly rebel if you please. Of the rest there's note worthy turns from Billy Boyd, James D'Arcy & Edward Woodall, while Lee Ingleby gives a really heartfelt and emotionally engaging turn as the haunted Hollom. The film is not without flaws, though. The pace of the piece does slip from time to time, while the talky middle section may stretch the patience of some, and the film isn't long enough to give the main characters some back story for the audience to work off. Yet it's still a terrific movie, ripe with intelligence and interesting characterisations, and boasting enough adrenalin, humour and upset to fill out a big budgeted 1950s historical epic. So get on board folks, for this is quality film making and it demands to be seen via the best format available. 9/10
Peter McGinn2020-04-04
★ 10/10
This is a rousing sea yarn with great camera work, but it also shows comraderie and relationships in a realistic way on board a British fighting ship. As happens sometimes but not always, I enjoyed this movie more than I liked the book it was based upon. O'Brian has written a lot of great sea tales, but this one confused me. I felt like checking to see if the pages were in the correct order. The story seems simplified in this adaptation. (Some may say that is not a good thing!) The first several minutes of the film move the viewer around the ship, and I felt like It was a realistic representation of what it was like to sail on it. The creaking and other ever-present noises, the tight spaces allotted to the crew, all helped me feel like I knew what it was like more than just reading about it. There are a lot of characters aboard ship, so out of necessity some of them never really developed, but even the glimpses we get of them here and there illustrate that they are people, not stereotypes. There were a few rather unlikely plot turns later on in the film, but by then I was drawn into the story and right there with the crew, so I forgave them. I have watched Master and Commander twice so far, and wouldn't be averse to seeing it again.
r96sk2022-08-12
★ 8/10
I enjoyed <em>'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'</em>. The early scenes are surprisingly (given the relatively close release dates) similar to fellow 2003 release <em>'Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl'</em>, with a hidden enemy ship spotted amid foggy conditions and then one person spots unexpected cannon fire and tells others to duck... there are even main characters named Jack (lead!) and Will! With those amusing (to me, given that POTC is my favourite film) connections noted, the film goes on, of course, to do it's own thing and I'd say it comes out very nicely. The constant (supremely shot) action is a major plus, as are the performances of Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. I coulda done with more characterization for those behind Crowe and Bettany as I didn't overly care for them, though the support cast are all solid to be fair.