The Bounty (1984)
Starring:Anthony Hopkins, Mel Gibson, Laurence Olivier, Edward Fox, Daniel Day Lewis, Bernard Hill, Phil Davis, Liam Neeson
Running time:132 minutes
Director:Roger Donaldson
Producer: Bernard Williams, Dino De Laurentis
This is the fifth film version of the famous and true story of the mutiny aboard the HMS Bounty in the year 1787.This film stars Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian and Anthony Hopkins as Captain Bligh.This film is somewhat more accurate than the prior versions as it portrays Bligh in a more favorable light than in prior versions. Also, Christian is portrayed as a complex character, torn between friendship with Bligh and his horror of the treatment of the crew.
Christian, at the behest of the crew, mutiny against the domineering and sadistic Captain Bligh.The mutineers take control of the ship and remove Bligh from command.They put him and the loyal crewmembers on a small boat and set them adrift in the middle of the Indian Ocean.The crew takes the HMS Bounty and sails the ship to unchartered islands in the South Pacific.The crew disembarks on the island of Pitcairn and the descendants of the mutineers live on this island
even today.
This film is an adequate retelling of the famous story and has an excellent cast.However, with the cast, the story should have been better.The film was not nominated for any Academy Awards.
While the film is just adequate, it does earn two and one half stars.It is worth watching on the late night show, when you have nothing better to do.However, the story itself is one of the most famous sea adventure stories of all time.