# Master and Commander



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

(Moved from another area; a response to another's post about the film elsewhere....)

If you loved Master and Commander, I urge you and anyone else (if you have not done so) to read the Aubrey/Maturin books--maybe not the entire series; you could stop at #16. You will then see what a thin, pale, malnourished thing the film was. Russell Crowe sadly miscast himself as Captain Jack Aubrey, that Lion afloat and A$$ ashore--had I a time machine, the young Albert Finney--by turns fierce and then laughing uproariously--would play Aubrey. Anthony Hopkins would do well as Stephen Maturin. No, Crowe obviously liked the books, but did not understand the essential qualities of the characters, and so his film was but an unconvincing pastiche of the real Patrick O'Brien masterpiece(s). In comparison, Jackson did a far better job with The Lord of the Rings than Crowe with Aubrey/Maturin, even strictly but most importantly confining ourselves to the depiction of the characters. I repeat: Read the Books! They are one of the most marvelous literary creations of our era


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## Jacck (Dec 24, 2017)

yes, I have heard very positive things about the books and they are on my "to read" list.


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## Joe B (Aug 10, 2017)

Strange Magic said:


> (Moved from another area; a response to another's post about the film elsewhere....)
> 
> If you loved Master and Commander, I urge you and anyone else (if you have not done so) to read the Aubrey/Maturin books--maybe not the entire series; you could stop at #16. You will then see what a thin, pale, malnourished thing the film was. Russell Crowe sadly miscast himself as Captain Jack Aubrey, that Lion afloat and A$$ ashore--had I a time machine, the young Albert Finney--by turns fierce and then laughing uproariously--would play Aubrey. Anthony Hopkins would do well as Stephen Maturin. No, Crowe obviously liked the books, but did not understand the essential qualities of the characters, and so his film was but an unconvincing pastiche of the real Patrick O'Brien masterpiece(s). In comparison, Jackson did a far better job with The Lord of the Rings than Crowe with Aubrey/Maturin, even strictly but most importantly confining ourselves to the depiction of the characters. I repeat: Read the Books! They are one of the most marvelous literary creations of our era


I understand the point you're making, but remember Peter Weir wrote the screenplay and he directed Russell Crowe after Fiona Weir cast Crowe in the part. Movies almost never hold up to the books they're based on, but judged simply as a movie, I think "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" does hold up as a good film.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Joe B said:


> I understand the point you're making, but remember Peter Weir wrote the screenplay and he directed Russell Crowe after Fiona Weir cast Crowe in the part. Movies almost never hold up to the books they're based on, but judged simply as a movie, I think "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" does hold up as a good film.


I agree with you; it is a good film. My situation is that I am intimately familiar with the books and the distance that the film falls behind the books is very clear to me, whereas it would not be evident to someone not reading the books. It is possible to sometimes approach a book with a film--my favorite example is the film made of Joseph Conrad's _An Outcast of the Islands_ with an all-star British cast--a marvelous effort.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I've read the entire Aubrey/Maturin series -- twice! -- and totally agree that they are superb. More than superb. The various bits of the movie are almost all taken directly from the books, but overall I found the film kind of slack and listless. This could have been by comparison with the books, or maybe it's simply the usual luck of the draw.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

KenOC, you have debauched my sloth! You are the lesser of two weevils. In spite of this, we are as one in our appreciation of Patrick O'Brien's astonishing literary feat, in his creation of the team of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin and in creating the often unforgettable circumstances in which we find them. Also the other characters who live forever with us and them. I modestly claim three readings of the series, on the grounds of weakness of personal character--I found that merely by picking up the first volume again, with the initial meeting of Aubrey and Maturin at the concert, I was compelled every time to continue on......


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

The joke, of course, is that Locatelli wrote no string quartets...


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## jenspen (Apr 25, 2015)

Strange Magic said:


> I modestly claim three readings of the series, on the grounds of weakness of personal character--I found that merely by picking up the first volume again, with the initial meeting of Aubrey and Maturin at the concert, I was compelled every time to continue on......


Three? A mere three readings? Though, in all fairness, those of us in other countries of the Anglophone publishing world got a head-start*. Then again, it was US readers who propelled PO'B to wealth and fame.

I thought Peter Weir did as good a job as was possible considering the limitations of the genre. I remember people exiting the cinema with beaming faces and telling one another how great it was. My favorite moment was when the anchor was raised and the sails filled to the strains of Mozart.

In my mind's eye, Jack was always the blonde, bluff Robert Hardy of Prince Hal and Henry IV fame.

*so far ahead that PO'B was being ignored by the reviewers and didn't disdain thanking me for my encouraging fan letter.


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

I HIGHLY recommend this series to just about anyone needing a good soul-satisfying read. Of interest here are the parts played by Locatelli, early Mozart, the London Bach, and even old Sebastian in a memorable and disturbing scene. There's nothing to compare that I've ever seen or heard about.

O'Brian writes of Aubrey and Maturin, the two main characters throughout, "Although (they) were almost as unlike as men could be, unlike in nationality, religion, education, size, shape, profession, habit of mind, they were united in a deep love for music, and many and many an evening had they played together, violin answering cello or both singing together far into the night."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aubrey-Maturin_series#Novels_in_order_of_first_publication


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

The Wikipedia link above will provide anyone not (yet) conversant with the profound art of Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels with much insight into what makes these books so precious to their devoted fanatics. Great link, Ken!


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## Antiquarian (Apr 29, 2014)

Years ago I mentioned to a friend that I had read all the _Hornblower_ novels by C.S. Forester, and he urged me to read these. The nautical descriptions and the meticulous detail are very fine. I have on more than one occasion had to dip into my copy of _Chapman Sailor's Lexicon_ to clarify terminology, but the rewards are great in this series.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

This has whetted my appetite, been looking for something new (contemplating the Flashman books) but do tell, why stop at #16?


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

^^^^This is just my personal assessment of O'Brian's ability to keep the freshness and vitality of the characters and their adventures over so many volumes. O'Brian himself asked his readers' indulgence in allowing him to compress so many action-filled voyages into the actual historical time remaining to the characters before the end of the Napoleonic wars, but there are certain limits inherent in extending any series that begins and continues so brilliantly as the Aubrey/Maturin books. Having read the series now three times, my own judgement says 16 books preserves the best material and eliminates the inevitable trailing off that follows.....


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

Strange Magic said:


> ^^^^This is just my personal assessment of O'Brian's ability to keep the freshness and vitality of the characters and their adventures over so many volumes. O'Brian himself asked his readers' indulgence in allowing him to compress so many action-filled voyages into the actual historical time remaining to the characters before the end of the Napoleonic wars, but there are certain limits inherent in extending any series that begins and continues so brilliantly as the Aubrey/Maturin books. Having read the series now three times, my own judgement says 16 books preserves the best material and eliminates the inevitable trailing off that follows.....


Great stuff - thanks for that! I'll look them up...


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

FWIW I had no problem -- none at all -- reading the series through to the end, and still wanted more. I would rate this series well above the Flashman books, and a whole different sort of thing as well. These are not cynical novels, though there's plenty of humor.


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## Kieran (Aug 24, 2010)

KenOC said:


> FWIW I had no problem -- none at all -- reading the series through to the end, and still wanted more. I would rate this series well above the Flashman books, and a whole different sort of thing as well. These are not cynical novels, though there's plenty of humor.


That's good to hear, because I was leaning towards the Flashman books until I read this thread. I just finished a second reading of Raymond Chandler's Marlowe novels, am currently reading Chester Himes Harlem mysteries, and I like reading cycles like this from one author. Plus, tales of adventure and battle on the high seas is the stuff that makes children again, of adults - in a good way!


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