Touches You

everything you have heard about this movie is true.

It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.

A magnificent cast is on hand to tell the story of "The Bounty" in this 1984 film directed by Roger Donaldson. Movie lovers know Captain Bligh as evil incarnate, so cruel and horrible that his crew, led by Fletcher Christian, mutinied - but the story is more complex than that.The film begins in London, 1790 with Lieutenant William Bligh (Anthony Hopkins) in court, before Admiral Hood (Laurence Olivier) and Captain Greetham (Edward Fox) to explain why his ship, the HMS Bounty, was taken from him by mutiny. The story unfolds, with Bligh recounting how he brought his good friend, Fletcher Christian (Mel Gibson) along as Master Mate on the voyage to secure breadfruit from Tahiti. Along as well is a Master of the Ship, John Fryer (Daniel Day-Lewis), and seamen, including rabble-rouser Charles Churchill (Liam Neeson). Bligh is determined that the ship round the Cape Horn; the horrendous weather nearly downs the ship.The ship arrives in Tahiti and the crew stays for some months waiting for the breadfruit to grow. Christian becomes involved with a local woman, Mauatua (Tevaite Vernette) the daughter of King Tynah, eventually impregnating her. He seems to have lost all interest in the activities of the Bounty, and he's not alone. The men become lazy. When they set sail again, Bligh is determined to restore discipline to the men with harsh penalties; he then announces they again will be going via Cape Horn. This news causes the crew, led by Christian, to mutiny, sending Bligh and non-mutineers off in a boat to fend for themselves.This film version presents Bligh as a strict man, perhaps not as strict as other captains, and the only officer on board, overseeing a small crew with no Marines to provide protection from hostile natives during stops or to enforce security on board ship. After the Bounty, Captain Bligh went on to a distinguished career.Anthony Hopkins is superb as the Captain, showing a decent man, who wanted a good diet with good quality food and a clean ship for his crew's welfare. The Bounty may have been taken over because some of the crew believed that Christian would return them to Tahiti.Mel Gibson in 1984 was a drop-dead gorgeous newcomer - in fact, now- famous names in the cast - Gibson, Day-Lewis, Neeson - were just starting out. Gibson doesn't have a ton of dialogue as Christian, but he's effective, particularly in his confrontation with Hopkins during the mutiny. Neeson and Day-Lewis are excellent.Magnificently photographed, The Bounty is fabulous to watch.Of interest, the mutineers settled on Pitcairn Island. Today almost everybody with the surname Christian on Pitcairn and Norfolk Islands is a descendant of Christian, as well as many descendants who moved to Australia, New Zealand and the United States.

This version of "The Bounty" story was one of David Lean's unrealized projects. The screenplay was by Lean's longtime collaborator Robert Bolt and it finally reached the screen under the direction of Roger Donaldson who actually does a very good job. This takes a different slant on the usual take on the mutiny making Bligh, (an excellent Anthony Hopkins), if not exactly the hero, considerably less of a villain than he is usually painted while Christian, (Mel Gibson), is weak and dissolute with his own, selfish motives for rebelling. There is also a much greater emphasis on the events after the mutiny than in previous pictures.It may lack the physical excitement of the Frank Lloyd version but it's definitely an improvement on the elephantine Brando/Howard remake. The large cast includes early performances from Daniel Day-Lewis and Liam Neeson as well as Edward Fox and Laurence Olivier as officers presiding at Bligh's court-martial and there's a terrific performance from the New Zealand actor Wi Kuki Kaa as King Tynah. Like all good yarns this has stood the test of time remarkably well.

Underrated, understated gem of a movie.Great telling of the Mutiny on the Bounty. Shows well the events leading up to the mutiny, and what happened afterwards. My most accounts, a quite accurate depiction of the historical event - Lt Bligh's own log was used in writing the screenplay - and the most accurate film made on the subject.Despite it essentially being a docu-drama, not dry or dull at all. The director keeps the pace moving well. Thanks to good setup prior to the mutiny, everything makes sense when it does occur. Furthermore, the depictions of Bligh and Fletcher Christian seem quite balanced.Great performances in the lead roles by Mel Gibson and Anthony Hopkins. Good support from a cast which includes Daniel Day-Lewis and Liam Neeson in their early careers. Also good to see the great Laurence Olivier as Admiral Hood.

The 1935 black & White version of "Mutiny on the bounty" may have won an Oscar for Best Picture at the time, but will likely strike modern viewers as dated and unrealistic. Marlon Brando's 1962 remake is the most epic, captivating and compelling version even though it failed at the box office when released; indeed the '62 version is a masterpiece (see my review). But Mel Gibson's 1984 version, simply called "The Bounty," is the most historically accurate and realistic film version of the infamous mutiny.THE PLOT (***SPOILER***): The Bounty mutiny story is so fascinating because it's TRUE. William Bligh, as acting captain, was sent on a mission in December 1787 to bring breadfruit plants from Tahiti back to England. Bligh intended on circumnavigating the globe in fulfilling the mission. Unfortunately he and his crew failed to get around Cape Horn, South America, and had to go the long way around Africa. It thus took them 10 months to reach Tahiti, wherein they were forced to stay another 5 months due to the breadfruit's "dormant" period. The natives were friendly and the women beautiful. It comes as no surprise that the crew naturally fell under the spell of the Polynesian paradise; Fletcher Christian even married the King's daughter, Maimiti. But after 5 months they had to get on with their mission and return to Naval discipline and England. Three and a half weeks later on April 28, 1789, Fletcher took over the ship with 18 other mutineers. 22 remained loyal to Bligh and 2 others were neutral. Christian set Bligh and 18 loyalists adrift in the ship's launch boat and then sailed back to Tahiti where he dropped off 16 men but picked up 6 Tahitian men and 11 native women, including Maimiti. Fletcher then set forth with 8 other mutineers and the Tahitians to elude the Royal Navy, ultimately settling on Pitcairn Island, which was well off the beaten path and misplaced on Royal charts, seemingly a perfect hiding place to live out the rest of their days (***END SPOILER***.WHAT WORKS: As already stated "The Bounty" is the most historically accurate version. It also has the most realistic vibe, which isn't to say that the '62 version isn't believable, it's just that this '84 version strikes the viewer as completely REAL. It's almost as if the film takes you back in time to view the actual events.This version also gives the most balanced and positive portrayal of the infamous Captain Bligh, played by Anthony Hopkins to great effect. Indeed the film stresses that he was exonerated in the matter. But it also hints of his character flaws that ultimately provoked the mutiny. In real life Bligh had a bad temper and was abusive & insulting to his subordinates. The other two versions show an event that really happened on the Bounty: two big cheeses came up missing on the ship and Bligh unjustly blamed and punished members of his crew even though it was he himself that stoled them!Perhaps Bligh's biggest flaw was that he lacked the ability to inspire loyalty in others; by all accounts he was a real bastage to be around when he was in authority. Lending credence to this is the fact that, even though he was exonerated in the Bounty case, he provoked ANOTHER mutiny years later in New South Wales, Australia!Despite all this Bligh was certainly a brilliant seaman and navigator. The film shows this with Bligh and the 18 loyalists on the adrift launch. After failing to settle on near islands due to unfriendly natives, Bligh navigates the small craft over 3600 miles to Timor in 47 days on very few provisions. He didn't have any charts or compass. All he had was a sextant and a pocket watch. Although all of the loyalists survived this incredible journey 5 later died due to ailments sustained in the voyage. The '62 version barely addresses this miraculous event but "The Bounty" devotes quite a few scenes to it.The score by Vangelis is very fitting. The best part of this composition is heard during the end credits. The film shows Fletcher, the mutineers and the Tahitians stranded on Pitcairn as they sadly observe The Bounty go down in flames. They know they can never go home again. Vangelis' unique piece then plays out over the credits. It perfectly captures the mood and setting. It's so magnificent sometimes I just play the end credits sequence. It's definitely one of the most emotionally potent endings in motion picture history.WHAT DOESN'T WORK: Although Gibson is more realistic as Fletcher Christian than Marlon Brando, especially since Gibson was closer to Christian's real age of 23-25 (Brando was 36-37 during filming), Mel simply lacks Brando's captivating charisma.The Tahitian scenes seem to lack pizazz; the film almost crawls to a halt (which is the the exact opposite of Brando's version). It doesn't personally bother me because the film is attempting to show us what leads to the mutineers' decision to take the ship, but some viewers may have a problem with it, in particular those with ADD."The Bounty" also fails to give any glimpse of what life would offer the mutineers & Tahitians on Pitcairn Island. The '62 version, on the other hand, devotes a number of scenes to this part of the story. This is not a negative to me, however, since showing subsequent scenes on Pitcairn would ruin the powerful end sequence noted above.FINAL ANALYSIS: "The Bounty" is the most historically accurate and realistic version of the infamous mutiny even though Brando's version is the most epic, engaging and compelling. I recommend seeing both versions back to back, which is what I usually do. Both versions are amongst my favorite films of all time. In fact, I consider them masterpieces.The film runs 2 hours and 12 minutes; Brando's version is 3 hours.GRADE: A