[.ca] Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)

From Amazon.com:
The highlight of Mutiny on the Bounty is undoubtedly Charles Laughton's bracingly evil performance as Captain Bligh, a man so mean that he insists on having a dead sailor flogged. Bligh pushes his men beyond physical endurance, slashes their rations for his own profit, and drastically cuts down their frolicking time with scantily clad Tahitians. Finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for arrives: first mate Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) hits his limit and all hell breaks loose. Gable holds doggedly onto his American accent through the entire movie, but in a way it makes Christian come off as a Regular Guy in opposition to Bligh's institutionalized cruelty. Once you get past the hurdle of his diphthongs, Gable makes an excellent Fletcher Christian--strong, fair, and noble, and he effectively conveys the struggle of a man who loathes the idea of mutiny but can't stand see his men mistreated. And Charles Laughton is just superb. His Bligh is thoroughly appalling, yes, but it's far from a one-note performance--when he is cast adrift on the open sea in a lifeboat and tries to make an impossible journey to land, you can't help but root for him. Mutiny on the Bounty won the 1935 Academy Award for Best Picture and picked up a Leading Actor nomination for each of its male leads. Check it out or be tied to the mizzenmast. --Ali Davis

Amazon.com Essential Video:
The highlight of Mutiny on the Bounty is undoubtedly Charles Laughton's bracingly evil performance as Captain Bligh, a man so mean that he insists on having a dead sailor flogged. Bligh pushes his men beyond physical endurance, slashes their rations for his own profit, and drastically cuts down their frolicking time with scantily clad Tahitians. Finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for arrives: first mate Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) hits his limit and all hell breaks loose. Gable holds doggedly onto his American accent through the entire movie, but in a way it makes Christian come off as a Regular Guy in opposition to Bligh's institutionalized cruelty. Once you get past the hurdle of his diphthongs, Gable makes an excellent Fletcher Christian--strong, fair, and noble, and he effectively conveys the struggle of a man who loathes the idea of mutiny but can't stand see his men mistreated. And Charles Laughton is just superb. His Bligh is thoroughly appalling, yes, but it's far from a one-note performance--when he is cast adrift on the open sea in a lifeboat and tries to make an impossible journey to land, you can't help but root for him. Mutiny on the Bounty won the 1935 Academy Award for Best Picture and picked up a Leading Actor nomination for each of its male leads. Check it out or be tied to the mizzenmast. --Ali Davis

Good Quality DVD of classic adventure!:
Okay, so there are some corny MGM movie moments here and there, but on the whole this is a timeless adventure classic with standout performances by Laughton, Gable and Tone. Truly thrilling and gut wrenching, deserving of a place in your collection. A few additional bonus features compliment this Best Picture Oscar winner.

The definitive version:
Skip the 1962-version with Brando or the 1984-effort with Mel Gibson... THIS is the 1. The production values are very high(of course - it`s from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer) and the star performances still survives... With MGM`s "San Francisco", the best b & w melodrama of the 30s... No wonder they called Clark Gable "The King of Hollywood" - here the monarch is at his youthful and masculine BEST:-)

Mutiny on the Bounty 1962 version better:
I wish they would release it in DVD, I saw the 3 versions. I prefer the 1962 version it's a lot better, can't wet to buy it (The DVD 1962) rate 4 1/2 stars. michel lebrun sherbrooke, qué.

Entertaining, but not historically accurate:
OK, while miles ahead of the 1960s remake, ruined by an over-the-top performance by a very miscast Marlon Brando, this version still does not tell the true story of the HMS Bounty and its ill-fated voyage. (See James A. Michener's "Rascals in Paradise" for a historically accurate, but brief, picture of Bligh and the mutiny.) The movie stays close to the novel by Hall & Nordhoff and uses a fictious midshipman, Roger Byam, as the main character and we see both Christian and Bligh mostly through his eyes. The acting by Gable and Laughton are, of course, excellent and the film shows the money spent by M-G-M wasn't wasted. The Bounty, itself, was a beautiful replica and the filming at sea--especially during storms--is hair-raising. In short, if you are after historically accurate drama--then this isn't your film, but if you want an entertaining, thrilling sea adventure from Hollywood's golden age--then by all means take a chance with this great picture.

Early Best Picture Winner Disappoints Somewhat:
The 1935 Academy Award for Best Picture. The AFI list of best 100 films of the century (the 20th, that is). With this pedigree, I expected great things from "Mutiny on the Bounty." But this film for me, while never less than entertaining, fell far short of greatness. It's a solid action film with a script more literate than your average action movie to be sure, but I was still left somewhat cold by it. Much of the adoration of this film seems to spring from a love of the central performances, namely those of Charles Laughton and Clark Gable. Both of course are good, but Laughton's character suffers from a silent movie villain's one-noteness. He does sadistic well, but that's about all he's required to do. Clark Gable impressed me more, and made me think that maybe he's a better actor than I ever gave him credit for. But for me, the standout performer (and the one I hear the least about) is Franchot Tone, playing a young idealist, enamored with the romance of life at sea and not prepared for the petty brutalities and politics. Tone is forced to give the most nuanced performance, as he straddles the line between loyalty to upper command and humanity for his fellow shipmates. In contrast to Laughton and Gable's showy roles, Tone's is quiet and thoughtful, except for a last-minute soliloquy that he handles well. The production is never less than impressive, especially for 1935. The special effects are solid, as is the attention paid to period detail. But for some reason, despite the good things I have to say about the film, I just never got that into it. It's like any number of solidly crafted films released today: competent, fairly intelligent and well done, but not especially artistic or unique. One gets the feeling that it achieves what it sets out to do; one just wished it had set out to do a little more than it does. Grade: B