Blu-ray Review: Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Adapted from the books of Patrick O’Brian this film by Peter Weir harkens back to the glory days of epic cinema.

Unfortunately, there be pirates on the high seas and some boarded this Blu-ray and made off with most the special features. Someone should be clapped in irons or keelhauled for such a heinous offense. In the midst of the Napoleonic wars (1805), the H.M.S. Surprise is in a fog bank when the French ship Acheron appears out of nowhere and opens fire on the Surprise (talk about being surprised) crippling her.

Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) lives up to his nickname of “Lucky” as the crew is able to tow the Surprise into the fog bank to escape the Acheron. Captain Aubrey makes it his goal in life to track down the Acheron and have the best of her. His friend, Dr. Maturin (Paul Bettany), wants to make a study of the Galapagos Islands. Aubrey promises him that he can, but the pursuit of the Acheron becomes his only goal and pursuit and he neglects his promise to Maturin. Later Maturin is wounded and has to perform the surgery to remove the bullet on himself and Aubrey rethinks his promise to his friend. However, the Acheron is still on Aubrey’s mind and always seems to turn up. Some clever thinking on Aubrey’s part allows the Surprise to get close enough to the Acheron to engage in one final battle. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (just Master and Commander from here on out) is based on several of Patrick O’Brian’s twenty Aubrey/Maturin seafaring novels (with one unfinished at his death). The film takes its title from the first, Master and Commander (1970), and the tenth, The Far Side of the World (1984). As O’Brian’s novels harken back to an earlier time, Weir’s film also seems to bring thoughts of epic films of the past. I feel some David Lean leanings when I watched this epic saga of men and the sea and perhaps even some of that old Kubrick attention to detail magic as well. It does feel like the type of historical epic film that Hollywood rarely makes anymore.

I found the special effects top notch and if any CGI was used it rarely was too noticeable. You do feel like you’re on the ocean waves in the 1800s with all its ups, downs, periods of boredom (lack of wind), and superstitious seamen. However, when excitement arrives it’s in the form of battle and hand-to-hand combat and is quite rousing but also brutal and violent. In Crowe and Bettany Weir has found two actors that play their parts excellently but also play off of each other well as Aubrey and Maturin complement watch each lacks from the other. Aubrey, the man of action and cunning, and Maturin, the scholarly naturalist, but yet they complement each other well when the need arises. The film is a grand one and I wished that more adventures of these two were forthcoming. Master and Commander is presented in 1080p anamorphic widescreen (2.40:1) and is enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Alas me hearties, Fox once again forces some special features to walk that plank that appeared on previous DVD releases. The two-disc collector’s set had a masterful and commanding 70-minute documentary on the making of the film that is criminally not to be found on the Blu-ray.

As much as the MSRP is on this disc you’d hope that they’d pack as much on as they could, alas no. Special features include 24 minutes of deleted scenes in high definition. There’s also a historical and geographic trivia track you can watch during the film. A “Search Content” screen acts as an index to take you to where the various subjects appear in the film and a pop-up map shows you where the Surprise is traveling. The 2-minute theatrical trailer is presented in high definition. There are also personal scene selections, a Fox on Blu-ray trailer, and enhancement for D-Box motion control systems (if you got ‘em). One more nitpick, but you can’t turn off the audio effects on the pop-up menus as you can on other studios titles. This can get annoying if you’re using them during the film playing. If you want just the film in high definition then you’ll be excited about this release. However, if you want a little gravy (special features) with your meal then you’ll tell the cook to shove off. Remember to eat your fruit so you won’t get scurvy. The film is excellent, but the Blu-ray is only middling. I’m would give the film the five stars, but the Blu-ray would get about half of that thanks to the high MSRP and missing special features.