Master & Commander - The Far Side of the World Comments on Historical Accuracy By Wi lliam H . W hite ith all the hoopla surrounding the first film made from the books of Patrick O'Brian, it is easy to lose sight of what the fi lm portrays in the historical context. The hype calls the film "historically accurate" and uses such language as "never before has the life of the early 19th century sailor been so well portrayed. " As with most things, there is no all or nothing h ere; some aspects of the movie get it right and others fall far short of anyth ing resembling accuracy. Let us look at what the movie does well . Life on a man-of-war in 1805-British, French, or American-is well and generally accurately shown. Crowded conditions, less than five-star food, and unspeakable danger come through with tremendous impact. As does the discovery (to most) that the junior officers and midshipmen were boys, and not in the context of "our boys" fighting in the war. The officers of the Royal Navy really were boys; going to sea as a midshipman at 12 yea rs of age was not uncommon . The horror of ship-to-ship combat is well-presented; shot splintering the wood from the hull into deadly projectiles, marksmen in the rigging shooting at anything that moves, and boarding with all th e incumbent sword-play and in-yourface cannon and small arms fire. The quite correct contrast of the "quiet time" where the captain and the surgeon played their musical instruments served to point up the chaos, confusion, and overwhelming noise of battle. The dangers of going alofr
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and risking a deadly fall were graphically "squared away." Slovenly and ill-dressed and accurately portrayed. H andling sails just didn't answer. Minor detai ls, but in a in gale-force winds, manning frozen lines, film touted as the "most accurate depicand, all the while, trying to maintain a tion of life at sea in the Royal Navy ever footing made most who saw the film reach produced," unacceptable. for their Dramamine! Worst yet was the computer-generDinner in the Great Cabin with Cap- ated USS Constitution as the French vessel tain Aubrey was nicely portrayed but, at chased around Cape Horn and into the the same time, became a source for error, Pacific by HMS Surprise. Not only was historically speaking. Whi le it was quite no French warship in the Pacific in 1805 common for a captain to invite his officers raiding the British whaling fleet, but there and the occasional midshipman to dine was no ship in the entire French fleet that with him, the historical advisors to the even remotely resembled "Old Ironsides. " director either did insufficient research or had their advice disregarded when it came to the protocol portrayed. No one at the captain's table would have been dressed in anything but their best. Another example of incomplete research was seen in the passing of the decanter of port; it would have been slid down the board, not lifted off it. The wine would not have come until the tablecloth had been removed. Paul Bettany and Russell Crowe as Maturin and Aubrey While these are admittedly trifles enjoying a calm moment aboard the HMS Surprise. to most in modern times, to the participant living in the nineteenth cen- The director might have gotten away with tury, they would have been as gross a gaffe the ruse but, instead, exacerbated it by in social behavior as using one's knife to including a scene where two sailors bring pick one's teeth! Aubrey a model of the ship they are chasAs long as we're looking at the less ing and refer to it as a "Yankee-built heavy than historically accurate elements of 44, built in Boston." Upon which point Master and Commander, The Far Side Aubrey (Russell Crowe) mutters, "That of the World, consider that, unlike Rus- explains why our shot bounced off her sell Crowe, no British officer, let alone a sides"-clearly, in this writer's op1111on, captain, would appear on deck dressed in taking poetic license too far. An O 'Brian fan would be quick to anything other than a complete uniform properly buttoned and "done up. " I am point out that the book The Far Side ofthe not here referring to the scene when the World was set in 1813 and co rrectly used crew of HMS Surprise rigged out their an American ship in the Pacific wreakship and themselves as whalers as a ruse ing havoc on the English whalers. Direcde guerre. Regardless of how long an of- tor Peter Weir mentioned in an interview ficer had been at sea, he wo uld have never that he didn't feel a film depicting a Royal appeared as less than properly dressed and Navy ship fighting and beating an American one would play well to American audiences. In history, however, things don't always happen as we would wish. In 181 3, David Porter sailed USS Essex into the Pacific, did lay waste to the British whaling fleet and was captured by the Royal Navy ships ultimately sent after him. That was history, Master and Commander, The Far Side of the World was not. ~
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