You can watch one of the best adventure films of the last decade on Disney+. Russell Crowe plunges into sea battles and violin concerts as a captain
It has to be said every few days: It’s a shame that Master & Commander – To the Ends of the Earth was never continued. The mixture of adventure and war film was released 20 years ago. The chemistry between stars Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany was unmistakable, the sea battles more exciting than anything comparable in cinema at the time. Other novels were also available. Nevertheless, the 20th anniversary of Master & Commander this year must be celebrated with a tear in the eye.
Master & Commander – To the End of the World takes you back to the Napoleonic Wars
The title card alone is legendary:
April – 1805 Napoleon dominates Europe
Only the British fleet stands against him
The seas are now battlefields
In this historic year, British Captain Jack Aubrey (Russell Crowe) is commissioned to sink a French privateer off the coast of Brazil. Aubrey and the crew of the warship HMS Surprise are a well-rehearsed team, as is the ship’s doctor and close friend Dr. Stephen Maturin (Paul Bettany). But the French Acheron and her captain have a few aces up their sleeves
(Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany)
Master & Commander is based on the Aubrey-Maturin series of novels by Patrick O’Brian, which are standard reading among seafaring adventures thanks to their lovable characters and attention to detail. There are 21 novels in total and Peter Weir’s film incorporates elements from several of them.
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The screenplay by Weir and John Collee, for example, skips getting to know the passionate captain and inquisitive doctor, instead landing us in medias res on the deck of the Surprise. Rarely has naval warfare been portrayed as realistically and brutally as in Master & Commander. At the same time, the movie thrives on the adventurous spirit of its unequal duo. Russell Crowe’s Aubrey loves little more than when the scent of an approaching battle caresses his nose, while Bettany’s Maturin eagerly studies the fauna of the South Seas.
Stream Master and Commander on Disney+
Master and Commander 2 is as good as out of the question
It’s all the sadder that we haven’t been able to delve deeper into the world of Aubrey and Maturin since its launch in 2003. Due to its elaborate shoot, the film had a budget of 150 million dollars, but only grossed just over 200 million. So there are rationally understandable reasons why Crowe and Bettany’s costumes are collecting dust somewhere. But reason is for landlubbers.
Further film adaptations of Master & Commander are not out of the question, but then probably with a new cast. In 2021, it was reported that Seven Minutes Past Midnight author Patrick Ness was working on a screenplay for the prequel to Aubrey and Maturin. After that, the project went quiet.
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