The Bounty

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The Bounty
Image:The bounty 1984.jpg
Directed by	Roger Donaldson
Produced by	Bernard Williams
Written by	Richard Hough Robert Bolt
Starring	Anthony Hopkins Mel Gibson Edward Fox Laurence Olivier
Music by	Vangelis
Distributed by	Orion Pictures
Release date(s)	1984
Running time	132 min
Language	English
IMDb profile

See Bounty for other uses of "Bounty".

The Bounty is a 1984 drama film with Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins based on the 1973 book Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian by Richard Alexander Hough, which itself was based on a historical event. The film is notable for showing The Bounty's Captain William Bligh in a more favourable light than is usual and also the higher degree of historical accuracy. Daniel Day-Lewis, Edward Fox, Bernard Hill, Laurence Olivier, Neil Morrissey and Liam Neeson also feature in the film. In this movie, the events of the voyage up to and after the mutiny are shown as a series of flashbacks.

Bligh is shown in a somewhat more favorable light than what he had been in previous films. Bligh isn't shown as a cruel tyrant, but instead is shown as a traditional British naval captain and a man of his times. While the discipline was sometimes harsh Bligh seems to be no worse than the crew and is portrayed as somewhat of a hero when he guides the overcrowed boat of non-mutineers to safety without any navigational equipment.

The crew is portrayed in a different light than the previous films. The crew is shown as a group of typical 18th century sailors - a much more "rough and tumble" group. Their motivations in this film were not as noble as in the other two films. Previous films portrayed the crew's desire for freedom from Bligh's oppressive behavior, in this version of the film a desire to return to a life of ease and sexual excess is shown to be the primary motivation behind the mutiny. In this film, the crew is shown as having more responsibility than they did in other films. The film does give Bligh's decision to attempt circumnavigation as another reason for the mutiny.

Fletcher Christian is a much more complex character than in prior fims. At first Christian and Bligh are friends, in fact Bligh asks Christian to sail for a second time with him. But both men turn against each other over the course of the film. Matters become worse when the ship leaves Tahiti as Fletcher had been forced to leave his wife behind. Christian's Tahitian wife is given as more of a reason that Fletcher led the mutiny than before. Fletcher shows regret over what had happened, and tells another mutineer than he wished to God that he had supplied Bligh with muskets.

Like the 1935 film, this version shows the trials of Bligh and the loyal crew members who went into the launch with him. The film showed that one man did die because of an attack by natives on an island where Bligh and the launch stopped, and was the only version of the film to do so. Bligh and his crew are shown finally reaching a Dutch colony, he tells the Governor that he is a lieutenant in the Royal Navy, and that he had to report an act of piracy.

By this point, those that remained onboard the Bounty are so frustrated that they are ready to rebel against Christian in order to turn the ship back towards Tahiti. After Christian forces the crew to continue on, they soon find Pitcairn Island. As the crew of the Bounty burn the ship to keep it from being found, the judgement of Bligh's court martial is read - Bligh is found to have not been responsible for the loss of the Bounty, and is commended for the voyage of the open launch.

This 1984 version of the film is generally agreed to be the most historically accurate of all the films dealing with the mutiny on HMAV Bounty. Both Bligh and his crew are shown to be typical 18th century Royal Navy officers and crew. The film suggests that the crew's motivations were not as pure as shown in other films. It also showed female Tahitians topless - which is how they would've actually appeared - but which other films could not show due to decency concerns.

David Lean, along with screenwriter Robert Bolt, had been trying (unsuccessfully) to produce this film for over a decade by the time it was finally made. The replica of the Bounty used in the film had been built for years in advance. Lean ultimately gave up on the project, but Bolt's screenplay was adapted and edited for the film, which was directed by Roger Donaldson.

[edit] Critical Response

The film received mixed reviews, many liking the film for realism and historical accuracy as well as being an entertaining film. However, many were disappointed with the film, especially given its distinguished cast.

Roger Ebert gave the film a very impressive review, stating, "this BOUNTY is not only a wonderful movie, high-spirited and intelligent, but something of a production triumph as well."[1]

In the Solar Navigator, Nelson Kruschandl wrote:

Despite the distinguished cast—including Daniel Day-Lewis and Liam Neeson in supporting roles and Laurence Olivier in a cameo appearance as Admiral Hood—the film had a tepid critical reception (the capsule review in Newsday read in its entirety as follows: "Man the bilge pumps") and was not a great commercial success. [2]