Business Stationary Mart - Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World (Widescreen Edition)

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Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Starring: Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany, James D'Arcy, Edward Woodall, Chris Larkin
Directed By: Peter Weir

Average Customer Rating:

Aspect Ratio: 2.40:1
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Binding: DVD
Brand: TWENTIETH CENTURY FOX HOME ENT
EAN: 0024543114215
Format: Anamorphic
Label: 20th Century Fox
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
Number Of Items: 1
Publisher: 20th Century Fox
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2004-04-20
Running Time: 138
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Theatrical Release Date: 2003-11-14

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Spotlight customer reviews:

Customer Rating:

Summary: Movie: 4/5 Picture Quality: 3.75/5 Sound Quality: 5/5 Extras: 2/5
Comment: Version: U.S.A / Region-A
MPEG-4 AVC BD-50
Running time: 2:18:20
Movie size: 37,07 GB
Disc size: 44,16 GB
Average video bit rate: 27.86 Mbps

DTS-HD Master Audio English 4349 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit (DTS Core: 5.1 / 48kHz / 24-bit / 1536kbps)
Dolby Digital Audio French 448 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz
Dolby Digital Audio Spanish 448 kbps 5.1 / 48kHz

Subtitles: English SDH / Chinese / Spanish / Korean

#Deleted Scenes (SD, 24 min.)
#Theatrical Trailer (HD, 3 min.)
#Historical and Geographical Trivia Track
#Pop-Up Map
#Search Content
#Personal Scene Selections
#D-Box Motion Code

Customer Rating:

Summary: master and commander
Comment: Let me just start by saying that I love this movie already, and this bluray does not disappoint, epic sea battles in glorious hidef, whats not to love,if you like this movie buy this bluray, it is beautiful to watch.

Customer Rating:

Summary: Commanding Performance
Comment: Peter Weir is amazing. Utterly and absolutely amazing.

In the first 2 or 3 minutes of the movie, the only sound is the ocean. No music. No dialogue. Nothing loud. Simply the gentle susurration of the water. And yet, such an amazing amount of information is conveyed in that short period of time.

The opening volley - in the quite literal sense - was shocking. Completely shocking in its violence, its comprehensiveness. Even watching it tonight, for the n-th time, I am jolted from the mild, placid tension to a breathtaking, gut-clenching cringe from the screen. Yes, a feat of CGI; but the actual choice of imagery is the wonder.

People can drone on about the `accuracy' or `authenticity' of the visual presentation (sure, I can be one of them). But the more amazing feat is the astonishing amount of the story which is told without words. Either in a simple visual manner, such as the initial minutes of the film, or as a miscellaneous background, a subliminal presentation, such as the dinner with the captain in the middle of the film where he announces the Galapagos Is. as their destination. It isn't the dialogue here, but the simple manner in which the dinner occurs, with singing and drinking and drinking with everyone having a crewman behind his chair, with the absolute absence of any women (there are 2 on screen for about 30 seconds while they're picking up stuff in Brazil).

It is the manner in which Weir frames the dialogue, with images and motion, and music which make the film so powerful.

I've read all of O'Brien's Aubrey/Maturin novels, and several of his others. (Did you know he wrote Bedknobs and Broomsticks??) When I realized "Far Side of the World" was being made into a movie, I swore in delight. I then swore in frustration. If I decide to see an adapted screenplay, I avoid reading the book, if possible. It lets me take the film on its own merits. I was only on no. 8; Far Side of the World is no. 10. I had to put off reading the rest of the novels for a year and a half. Argh!

Quite a bit is missing; several bits are from other novels in the series. E.g., Ensign Hollum jumps ship with the gunner's wife, whom he's gotten pregnant (she's not in the book). Dr. Maturin does name some huge tortoise after Capt. Aubrey, but it's a few novels earlier when they're somewhere in the Indian Ocean. Bits & pieces from other parts are in the movie, obviously taking the entire opus as the field from which to pick the best phrases or images.

With the whole concept of framing the story, the entire story is on ship, with a brief respite on the Galapagos Is. There is no world outside of the crew. And yet, with such a small, enclosed space, it is presented as just that, a world within itself. This will assuredly remain one of my favorite movies of all time. The judgment of which is whether or not I'll buy the next-generation of video medium (blue-ray HD DVD whatever).

The extra disc of "extras" is amusing and informative. It's quite long, giving you an opportunity to spend another couple of hours watching it. It's a pleasant addition to understanding how the movie was made, especially with Wier's discussion.

Elizabeth's rating:
Definitely go see it on the big screen at full price (if you ever get a chance)

Customer Rating:

Summary: VERY GOOD!
Comment: BASED ON A NOVEL (EXCELLENT) THIS IS A GREAT ACTION/ADVENTURE MOVIE.

EVEN BETTER IF YOU LIKE SAILING OR HISTORY.

Customer Rating:

Summary: A strong Blu Ray transfer for "Master and Commander" a highlight of the set which is a bit light on extras
Comment: Peter Weir's "Master and Commander" manages to compress two marvelous novels into one marvelous film. Captain "Jack" Aubrey (Russell Crowe in a marvelous performance) and the crew of the Surprise pursue a French warship in Atlantic waters. Out gunned and out classed by a heavier, faster ship, Aubrey is determined to take down the French raider before it takes down another of Her Majesty's Ships. This pursuit will cost his crew, his ship but must be done to keep the waters safe for other vessels.

The most important question is whether or not you want to upgrade to the Blu-ray because of improved picture quality. While "Master and Commander" does look better than the standard DVD and many scenes look truly exceptional, the film looks a bit uneven overall. Could the transfer have been better? Absolutely but owning this on Blu-ray comes down to how much you love/like this film. I suspect that the same original HD master was used for this a couple of years back. It looks extremely good but not as brilliant as I had hoped.

Sharp direction by Weir, a masterfully adapted script by Weir and John Colee makes this harrowing sea adventure a worthwhile trip. Weir adds a powerful cinematic flair with the sharp camera work of Russell Boyd. Unlike a lot of previous adventures at sea, the fluid camera work adds to the sense of menace and danger that Aubry and his crew feel.

The extras are similar to the original single disc DVD which is a bit disappointing especially considering how much Fox is charging for their Blu Ray discs (particularly compared to Warner). All the extras are in high definition which is good news. We get deleted scenes, a historical and geographical trivia track, a pop up map showing you where the H.M.S. Surprise is at any given moment, the theatrical trailer and the ability to search and save your favorite scenes.

There's no commentary track nor are there any featurettes on the making of the film. Considering this IS a Blu-Ray disc, I'd expect the featurettes from the deluxe DVD edition of the film if nothing else but, sadly, we don't get it. I suspect we'll see a Blu-Ray double dip shortly.

I can recommend the movie on Blu-ray simply because it has a superb looking transfer with nice detail and without the over use of digital clean up (a problem for "Patton" which is one of the worst looking Blu-Ray's I've seen--not because of the image itself but because of the overuse of digital tools to clean up the film creating waxy looking skin textures, loss of general detail and adding an unnecessary digital "look" to the film to eliminate film grain).

Editorial Reviews:

When a sudden attack by a French warship inflicts casualities and severe damage upon his vessel Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey (Crowe) of the British Royal Navy is torn between duty and friendship as he embarks on a thrilling high-stakes chase across two oceans to intercept and capture the enemy at any cost. Nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture!Bonus: Full Length Feature - Pan & ScanMan on Fire - TrailerDay After Tomorrow - TrailerI Robot - Sizzle PieceDTS 5.1 Dolby Digital 5.1 Spanish Dolby Surround French Dolby Digital 5.1Dubbed: Spanish FrenchSubtitled: English SpanishSystem Requirements: Running Time 137 MinFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: ACTION/ADVENTURE Rating: PG-13 UPC: 024543114215 Manufacturer No: 2221421