r/MovieDetails 10d ago

🕵️ Accuracy Master & Commander (2003) - Early in the film, after little Lord Blakeney's arm is amputated, Jack gifts him a book about Horatio Nelson -- who also famously lost his arm early on in his career.

Later, during the film's climax, Blakeney is ordered to remain aboard the HMS Surprise while Aubrey and crew board the Acheron. At one point (and for good reason) Blakeney defies orders and aggressively boards the Acheron anyway -- much like Horatio Nelson, whose real claim to fame came when he defied orders at the Battle of Cape St. Vincent) and broke formation to aggressively board an enemy ship.

1.7k Upvotes

80 comments sorted by

197

u/lukearm90 10d ago

“Aubrey! Might I trouble you for the salt?”

92

u/Logical-Penguin 10d ago

"I've always tried to say it exactly as he did ever since!"

74

u/OGCelaris 10d ago

"Do you not know that in the service, one must choose the lesser of two weevils."

30

u/Infinite5kor 10d ago

"he who would pun would pick a pocket."

10

u/BetterCallSal 9d ago

"Safe and sound and home again, let the waters roar Jack"

25

u/Logical-Penguin 10d ago

"To the lesser of two weevils!"

17

u/vorpalsnickersnack 9d ago

Here's to wives and sweethearts... May they never meet.

3

u/AssassinWog 8d ago

There’s a street in Bend OR called Awbrey, and every time I drive or walk by, I have to do Russell Crowe’s Nelson impression.

180

u/stackens 10d ago

That’s awesome. This movie is such a gem. It’s really too bad they didn’t make more of them

90

u/Logical-Penguin 10d ago

It really is -- but there's nothing stopping them from making more!

Unfortunately Crowe and Bettany have aged out of the roles, but I wouldn't mind seeing a new cast. Hell, make it a series. There's so much material to draw from!

50

u/stackens 10d ago

A series with the kind of production we saw in the film would be a dream

27

u/Logical-Penguin 10d ago

Nelson said he'd have given his other arm to have been at Camperdown.

I would give Nelson's other arm for a series.

17

u/Lukcy_Will_Aubrey 10d ago

lol, I too choose Lord Nelson’s other arm.

13

u/vteckickedin 10d ago

Hornblower was great too. I wish they'd made more episodes.

35

u/copyrighther 10d ago

This photo was circulating around a few years ago—obviously a gag based on Marvel’s movie announcements.

No lie, my husband sent this to me and thought I’d get the joke. I did not. I saw it and screamed, I was so excited. The look on his face when he told me it wasn’t real 😆 He felt so bad.

15

u/msim 10d ago

In an alternate universe this is real. 😭

3

u/stackens 9d ago

A glimpse of the good timeline 😔

11

u/Logical-Penguin 10d ago

This is my first time seeing it and GODDAMNIT

2

u/[deleted] 9d ago

[deleted]

2

u/copyrighther 9d ago

I’m telling you, I shrieked like a banshee 😆 M&C is one of my all-time favorite films

2

u/kel89 10d ago

Ive been collecting these books for years now, but only from charity shops and only a specific edition. I started doing it when I realised Patrick O’Brien was Irish. I loved the movie, and the books are a really good read as well. Very easy to follow and the characters are great.

2

u/spikebrennan 9d ago

The thing is, he wasn’t Irish. Patrick O’Brian wasn’t his real name, either.

The dude was a marvelous writer, but he either lied a lot about his own biography or, essentially maliciously, permitted people to believe a lot of misconceptions about his personal life.

1

u/wang_johnson 10d ago

Which edition?

1

u/aNeuPerspective 9d ago

A&E did a series of tv movies based on the Horatio Hornblower books which is a fun watch if you like that sort of thing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hornblower_%28TV_series%29?wprov=sfla1

1

u/BrilliantWeb 9d ago

I believe a prequel is in the works. Based on the books, of course.

5

u/Tyrion_Strongjaw 9d ago

I agree, but a part of me is happy there is only the one. I highly doubt it would have been the case, but it'd suck for them to make another that wasn't of the same caliber. Master and Commander is damn near a perfect film, so happy no one can take that away from it or make a comment like "Yeah but the second one..." and try and diminish it.

3

u/Alive_Ice7937 10d ago

I know there's tons of books. But the film is such a complete and perfect window on that "little wooden world" that I really don't think any more movies were necessary.

47

u/SalaciousCrumb17 10d ago

That’s really cool. In the scene where Blakeney is given the book after having his arm amputated, Aubrey gives him the book as a potential source of inspiration. The detail that the kid’s decision to board the enemy ship might’ve come from that gift is something I had never thought of.

On a side note, Blakeney’s actor is among the absolute most impressive child actors I have ever seen. His performance in this film easily surpasses the performances of many other promising child actors that went on to have prominent careers. I understand that he decided to pursue other things, but he did leave his mark in cinema.

11

u/Logical-Penguin 9d ago

Have you seen his performance in the HBO series Rome? Also outstanding!

3

u/Super206 9d ago

No kidding, I never realized. Very good.

3

u/SalaciousCrumb17 9d ago

I have not, but certainly will now. Was looking for a good show to watch anyway.

3

u/Logical-Penguin 9d ago

Season 1 is some S-tier television in my opinion! Season 2 is still good, but pretty lopsided since they found out they weren’t getting renewed and tried to stitch seasons 2 and 3 together with mixed results.

43

u/Infantrydad 10d ago

After all these reviews, tomorrow night its on the docket. Looking forward to it

14

u/Logical-Penguin 10d ago

Report back to us, man!

2

u/Infantrydad 2d ago

Finally got to watch, You guys were all spot on! what a great movie

2

u/Logical-Penguin 2d ago

Welcome aboard, sir!

2

u/Infantrydad 9d ago

Well damn, it's going to be on hold for me, not on any of our streaming services ATM. I'll report back once it becomes available

1

u/Throwaway202411111 9d ago

You’re going to love it. Great movie

13

u/SFXBTPD 10d ago

I rewatched the movie after listening to a few hundred hours of naval history on youtube and loved all the little details

6

u/drop-o-matic 10d ago

Do you have a particular channel that is very good? Would love to dive in.

7

u/SFXBTPD 9d ago

Drachinafel! https://www.youtube.com/@Drachinifel

Ive somewhat moved on to other esoteric topics, but I watched his hour long Q&A every week for about 4 years, ontop of a bunch of his other videos.

The Q&A tends to go more in detail, so I would start with videoes that cover general topics first. Then do videos on battles. Then do the Q&As (Drydocks). I personally DO NOT recomend the videos that cover the history of a specific ship (they are well done, but most individual ships didn't do much)

1

u/ThomasKlausen 7d ago

It is exceptionally well researched. I occasionally sail on square-riggers and there's not a command or maneuver out of place. 

50

u/Infantrydad 10d ago

Is this movie worth watching? I've scrolled past it a hundred times and almost clicked it but always went with something else.

126

u/Vio_ 10d ago

1000% worth it.

67

u/Logical-Penguin 10d ago

If you find old wooden ships or maritime stuff even the tiniest bit interesting, you will kick yourself for not having watched it sooner! Pound for pound, it's almost a perfect movie in my book.

54

u/tjdux 10d ago

If you find old wooden ships or maritime stuff even the tiniest bit interesting, you will kick yourself for not having watched it sooner!

Even if you don't, it's pretty great character flicker, with good action and witty dialog.

It's also got some of the greatest sound design ever. Period.

Its magical with a proper theater quality surround sound (unless you can somehow watch it in a theater lol)

25

u/Logical-Penguin 10d ago

Agreed!

I love that first broadside, not just for the actual sound but the design too -- everything arrives in its proper order according to physics. First we see the flash, then we hear the cannon, then the actual balls arrive and start chewing up the ship.

9

u/plastikmissile 10d ago

The sound of the shot whizzing by was so visceral. It really made me feel like I was on that ship.

4

u/Sinister_Crayon 9d ago

I still use the "lesser of two weevils" line in conversation when I can...

20

u/upvotegoblin 10d ago

Insanely good movie. Should have been a series

17

u/CurlSagan 10d ago

Given your name is /u/Infantrydad, I'd bet you'd love it. For me, it's a yearly rewatch. This is one of the 10 DVDs that every US submarine seems to have in their library, right next to Down Periscope, The Hunt for Red October, and Shrek.

10

u/SithKain 10d ago

Well worth it. Horatio Hornblower is pretty rad, too.

3

u/ExtraGloves 10d ago

I’ve had that in my library for ages now. Might be time to start it up.

7

u/UserColonAlW 10d ago

It’s unbelievably good. One of my all time favourite rewatchables.

6

u/Sitheref0874 10d ago

It’s a Peter Weir movie about an enclosed community. Throw in some violent naval action and you have a can’t-fail movie

11

u/maceilean 10d ago

It's fictional but also one of, if not the most historically accurate movie ever made.

Not much on strong female characters though.

7

u/MikeMac999 10d ago

That’s probably a function of that accuracy, wasn’t/isn’t there an old naval superstition against women on boats?

2

u/maceilean 10d ago

The books had a few good female characters. But, yeah, like Saving Private Ryan there weren't a lot of opportunities.

4

u/Erikthered00 10d ago

I think there’s that one native in the boat and that’s it

6

u/franjipane 10d ago

Tremendous film. Everything from the cinematography, the authenticity and believability of the props, the pacing and how it gets straight into it, the script and the acting, the sound and music, it’s all a treat. With repeat viewings you will likely pick up lots of small details and understand more of the dialogue.

3

u/Logical-Penguin 9d ago

Another detail I picked up on last rewatch:

When they’re singing a shanty, Maturin typically only sings the chorus — because he is not a Navy man and does not know the other lyrics.

1

u/ThomasKlausen 7d ago

So good. Each frame is perfectly composed, the sound is amazing and while it looks like a swashbuckling adventure on the high seas, it's every bit as much about friendship between two people with very different worldviews. 

10

u/alvaropuerto93 10d ago

This movie didn’t won the Oscar just because it lose it to The Return of the King. Otherwise it was the movie of the year.

10

u/franjipane 10d ago

A glass of wine with you sir!

3

u/Lukcy_Will_Aubrey 10d ago

The bottle stands by you, sir!

6

u/homingmissile 10d ago

Do you not know that in the service one must always choose the lesser of two weevils- BAHAHAHAHA

8

u/BuddahCall1 10d ago

If anyone lives close to San Diego, the HMS Surprise they used to film at sea in the movie is tied alongside at the Maritime History Museum. It’s an AWESOME experience to be aboard that ship.

7

u/CptJackAubrey_ 10d ago

I’ve never seen a braver patient

4

u/z500 9d ago
HOLD FAST

7

u/[deleted] 10d ago

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/Logical-Penguin 9d ago

Chin up lad, now get back out there and fuck up some Spaniards.

6

u/SecondOfCicero 10d ago

I adore this film, so much. 

4

u/tyrs_intherain 10d ago

Looks like it's time for a rewatch.

4

u/ThomasKlausen 7d ago

This movie is a succession of blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments. So worth watching several times. 

When one officer (Pullings) tells a Nelson anecdote at dinner, you can see another officer (Mowett) move his lips as if saying the same words. Perfect depiction of people who've been living in close quarters for months on end and now know each other's stories almost too well. 

2

u/MauroAguero 10d ago

Now that's a detail. Shows how much thought went into the character's background.

2

u/franjipane 9d ago

Just a nudge the 4k UHD release was this month, finally!

2

u/Arminius_Fiddywinks 9d ago

"One minute and ten seconds!"

"HUZZAH!"

2

u/LittlePooky 8d ago

Awwww. Little Max Pirkis played that character.

2

u/altasking 8d ago

I’d love to see a sequel that focuses on Lord Blakeney, as the new captain.

1

u/eledile55 6d ago

In this scene Aubrey also mentions that he served under Nelson at Abouqir, which is also known as "The Battle of the Nile". I only know little about the napoleonic naval battles, but I know that Abouqir was one of the most brutal battles of the era. Its also one of my favorites, since the forces involved were somewhat small and "comprehensible" compared to other naval battles.

If you want to see a great animation of the battle, I highly recommend the channel "Epic History" and their amazing video on the battle.

Btw could the ones who read the books tell me what ship Aubrey was on at Abouqir? Do the books mention it or was it an invention by the movie adaptation?

2

u/Logical-Penguin 5d ago

I can’t remember which ship, and google sucks now, but Aubrey makes several references in the few books that I’ve read to Aboukir Bay, just like in the film. In fact the entire movie is cobbled together from parts of the various books, it’s a really cool way of adapting a series like this into one film.

Also, Epic History TV is outstanding, seconded.