1805- Oceans are now Battlefields
Dec. 15th, 2003 12:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
meapetSo I think I've finally figured out what it is about Master and Commander that makes it so amazingly appealing to me, so much to the fact that I have had the desire to see it more than a few times in the theater. So without further ado, here we go.
I'll start with the most obvious first: The reality of the tall ship age in front of me. To see the frigates sailing on the high seas, all their sheets out to the wind, harnessing it to drive them on towards whatever destination they have chosen at the time, is incredibly breathtaking. Watching the men work together, be it pulling on the lines, tying up the sails, or unfurling them, seeing them work the cannons, it really does make me long for sails on my beloved Constellation. Imagining that this is what it must have been like (only on a slightly grander scale- Connie took 350 men, the Suprise only took 197), on her, as she sailed to Africa and the Mediterranean, it makes my heart swell with adoration for that big bulk of wood sitting in the inner harbor even more than when I first started coming back to her earlier this year. Makes me long to hear her keel split the water again. How I long for the turnaround cruise again.
The storyline itself is another reason for me to continue to love this film. While it is a simple plot ("Yay get the French Privateer"), the action abounds to keep you on the edge of your seat. There are several subplots in the film which not only give you insight into the main characters, but into life on the ship, some of the mindsets of the minor characters, and different types of storylines to keep many different types of people engrossed in the film, even if you weren't into the battle scenes. The story pulls to every emotion you could imagine, from pride, to sadness, to anger, to laughter, sometimes in a span of mere minutes. You continually are pulling for something or someone in the film.
Driving the storyline and subplots is an incredible soundtrack. It is entirely recorded with only strings, and there are several scenes where the main characters, Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Marturin are doing Cello/Violin duets. These are beautiful, if not somewhat haunting at times, and were chosen well for the emotional draw the director was trying to attain. I'm not sure who did the duets, but I know for one it was Yo Yo Ma on Cello, which was great. The music just stirs emotion into you, as a good soundtrack or composed piece should, and that also makes me return again and again.
Master and Commander technically is also a reason to keep me coming back. She's historically accurate, from Costuming, to speech, to song, to everything, even no women! The computer animation they use (while it is very little mind you), you can barely tell. I think the only scene I can really tell is when the doctor is watching the iguana's swim. They kept the integrity of the books intact, which is odd for films these days, and I believe gave something that if Patrick O'Brian were alive today, he'd be proud of.
This movie reaches inside of me and takes hold of emotions and desires I either didn't know were there, or hadn't felt in a long time. I get lost in the movie, only to find myself desiring the sound of the sea, the ripple of the canvas, and my beloved Constellation again. I think this is why Master and Commander is so incredibly amazing to me. And why I'll continue to see it.
I'll start with the most obvious first: The reality of the tall ship age in front of me. To see the frigates sailing on the high seas, all their sheets out to the wind, harnessing it to drive them on towards whatever destination they have chosen at the time, is incredibly breathtaking. Watching the men work together, be it pulling on the lines, tying up the sails, or unfurling them, seeing them work the cannons, it really does make me long for sails on my beloved Constellation. Imagining that this is what it must have been like (only on a slightly grander scale- Connie took 350 men, the Suprise only took 197), on her, as she sailed to Africa and the Mediterranean, it makes my heart swell with adoration for that big bulk of wood sitting in the inner harbor even more than when I first started coming back to her earlier this year. Makes me long to hear her keel split the water again. How I long for the turnaround cruise again.
The storyline itself is another reason for me to continue to love this film. While it is a simple plot ("Yay get the French Privateer"), the action abounds to keep you on the edge of your seat. There are several subplots in the film which not only give you insight into the main characters, but into life on the ship, some of the mindsets of the minor characters, and different types of storylines to keep many different types of people engrossed in the film, even if you weren't into the battle scenes. The story pulls to every emotion you could imagine, from pride, to sadness, to anger, to laughter, sometimes in a span of mere minutes. You continually are pulling for something or someone in the film.
Driving the storyline and subplots is an incredible soundtrack. It is entirely recorded with only strings, and there are several scenes where the main characters, Jack Aubrey and Dr. Stephen Marturin are doing Cello/Violin duets. These are beautiful, if not somewhat haunting at times, and were chosen well for the emotional draw the director was trying to attain. I'm not sure who did the duets, but I know for one it was Yo Yo Ma on Cello, which was great. The music just stirs emotion into you, as a good soundtrack or composed piece should, and that also makes me return again and again.
Master and Commander technically is also a reason to keep me coming back. She's historically accurate, from Costuming, to speech, to song, to everything, even no women! The computer animation they use (while it is very little mind you), you can barely tell. I think the only scene I can really tell is when the doctor is watching the iguana's swim. They kept the integrity of the books intact, which is odd for films these days, and I believe gave something that if Patrick O'Brian were alive today, he'd be proud of.
This movie reaches inside of me and takes hold of emotions and desires I either didn't know were there, or hadn't felt in a long time. I get lost in the movie, only to find myself desiring the sound of the sea, the ripple of the canvas, and my beloved Constellation again. I think this is why Master and Commander is so incredibly amazing to me. And why I'll continue to see it.
