MovieChat Forums > Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) Discussion > The best sea war movie of all time!

The best sea war movie of all time!

posted 9 years ago by WEKurtz
39 replies | jump to latest

Master and Commander is not for watching, it is for *experiencing*. To play it with a good screen and a good audio system is a true DELIGHT. Beyond the marvelous photography, acting, story, settings, music, etc., the movie takes you to the past, into the ships... you feel as a part of the crew. You can easily feel the sea, the wood, the salt, the sweat, the dirt. No other movie gets this on you. Master and Commander is fictional but serious, unpretentious but powerful, wild but beautiful.
Just wanted to say this.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] hugh1971 9 years ago

I agree, in terms of immersive experience, M&C is probably the best naval film of all time.

However, there are lots of other good ones. 'In Which We Serve' is a particular favourite. I love the way Noel Coward reads the daily collect from the Book of Common Prayer (from which the lines 'in which we serve' are taken).

'Monsters? We're British!'

[–] k-sd1 9 years ago

Does the African queen qualify? Not at sea I know but still on water during war time.

[–] syntinen 9 years ago

I don't really think so. It's the greatest in a class of its own!

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] Ray_Tango 8 years ago

This film joins the great classics when it comes to epics that show detail to atmosphere and character. The only naval epic/thriller that comes close is Crimson Tide (despite its bombast). The behavior of the officers and enlisted men is seldom matched in any other film. This is truly one of the best modern epics of our generation. It's a shame it's only 7.4. One of the manliest films of the new millennium.

Action Hero's Anthem
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9Cpb61R-4U

[–] 8 years ago

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[–] syntinen 8 years ago

What was your problem with the French haircuts? I thought they were pretty fair for the period. Perhaps a bit more 1790s sans-culotte than 1805, but that's land fashion; I don't suppose your average French matelot was rocking the trendiest hairstyle.

[–] clong_clong 8 years ago

I posted with using my memories - old of several years-, which was foolish I guess:
in order to answer your post I went on youtube to rewatch the scene (just to be sure my memory didn't betrayed me) and my old (10+ yrs) memories didn't seem so accurate after all...

So I just deleted my irrelevant former post.

[–] kicke_blueblack 8 years ago

I agree.
But the world is better built in the first pirates of caribbean in my opinion.
Of course, that movie takes much more liberties while this pretty much stays at the same spot.
Again, I agree what you're saying but making a story of that era, you are losing a whole lot of creative potential if you restrict yourself to the ship. (Even though it served a purpose in master and commander).