Mutiny on the Bounty

In view of when this was made, the black-and-white viewpoint is no surprise and so you have to accept right at the start that Bligh is written like the embodiment of a sea-salt Antichrist. So what if the reality is completely different? Luckily Laughton doesn’t demonize Bligh, no grimaces, no rolling eyes, no fits of rage... he sticks purely to voice, diction and a penetrating stare. It’s a shame that he doesn’t have a decent opponent in Gable, so it proved impossible to create the right atmosphere of tension between these characters, paralyzing the entire crew. If they had managed to achieve an atmosphere at least half as good as in Hornblower: Mutiny, there wouldn’t be anything to complain about, because everything would have been as it should. The fate of the Bounty and its crew is a powerful story in itself even in this form, which has very little to do with reality. Many of the scenes were shot on real floating beauties, so there is much to admire and some images would be great framed, a prime example being the Bounty lost in the fog. (04/01/2011)

The film has quite an interesting pace, and some scenes are almost unnecessary because they don't contribute significantly to the plot. But that doesn't bother me as much, just like the fact that the film is minimally action-packed doesn't bother me much either. Here, you can see how people can stand up to a jerk if they have the strength, and it's also strikingly clear how the system can suppress everything. Now it's up to you to decide what's better - to follow the rules at all costs and become a slave, or to stand up to the system and let it grind you down. The film expresses it exactly as it needs to be expressed. (06/08/2014)