Philip Hart <philiph at SLAC.Stanford.EDU> writes: > On Sat, 15 Nov 2003, Steven Brust wrote: > > >> David S. wrote: > > > I just thought I'd mention that if you like this sort of thing, you > > > might very well enjoy "Master and Commander". Speaking as a 21st-C. > > > landlubber, I think this film went to great lengths to provide an > > > excellent & reasonably realistic reproduction of a 19th-C. naval > > > campaign. > > FWIW, Christopher Hitchens (who is often a nut but is at least a diehard > O'Brian fan - see > http://www.nybooks.com/articles/article-preview?article_id=188 ) sort of > pans M&C at http://slate.msn.com/id/2091249/ - in particular because of > the portrayal of Maturin. Yeah. He's very definitely not the character in the books. He's too self-assured, far too good-looking, too functional. He's downright graceful, not clumsy at everything he does except surgery. They also have Jack being indecisive over a life-and-death matter of seamanship, and Stephen arguing with him over it. They also have them using "grenades" (those little round "anarchist bombs" with fuses from the cartoons) as part of a boarding action (I never did figure out what people were lighting the fuses with). And it never sets the ship on fire, not even a little bit. On the other hand, it has really good imagery of sailing in heavy weather, and of a boarding action, and of receiving broadsides. And Jack is really pretty good. And they bothered to make up Pullings with his cutlass slash, even though it's never referred to anywhere in the movie. -- David Dyer-Bennet, <dd-b at dd-b.net>, <www.dd-b.net/dd-b/> RKBA: <noguns-nomoney.com> <www.dd-b.net/carry/> Photos: <dd-b.lighthunters.net> Snapshots: <www.dd-b.net/dd-b/SnapshotAlbum/> Dragaera/Steven Brust: <dragaera.info/>