There are hardly worse ways to learn history than to watch Hollywood films, because simple and easily digestible myths look more attractive on silver screen than complicated and often prosaic facts. One of many examples can be found in the story about mutiny on the Bounty, which entered public perception mainly through 1935 black-and-white film starring Clarke Gable and Charles Laughton and its 1962 colour remake starring Marlon Brando and Terrence Howard. Both films were based on the novel by James Nordhof and James Norman Hall, which represented major departure from established historical facts. An attempt was made to set the record straight with The Bounty, 1984 film directed by Roger Donaldson.
This film was based on Captain Bligh and Mr. Christian, book by British maritime historian Richard Hough. The plot begins in 1790 England where Royal Navy Lieutenant William Bligh (played by Anthony Hopkins) must come before the board of inquiry presided by Admiral Hood (played by Laurence Olivier) and explain how he lost his ship. Flashbacks show how Bligh in 1787 was given command of small ship HMS Bounty and tasked of conducting ambitious botanical expedition with the aim of collecting breadfruit pods from Tahiti and bringing them to Jamaica as possible source of food for slave population. Bligh selects his friend Fletcher Christian (played by Mel Gibson) to serve as one of his subordinates and, as journey goes on, makes him second-in-command. The expedition doesn’t go as well as planned because Bligh fails in his attempt to sail from Atlantic to Pacific via stormy Cape Horn and instead has to take longer route via Indian Ocean. When HMS Bounty finally reaches Tahiti, Bligh is forced to wait for breadfruit plants to grow. This actually sits well with the crew, which enjoys life in tropical paradise and company of friendly natives, including plenty of attractive women. This includes Christian who falls in love with Mautaua (played by Tevaite Vernette), beautiful daughter of King Tynah (played by Wi Kuki Kaa). He, like the rest of the crew, is unhappy when he has to leave the island and upon return Bligh’s attempts to restore discipline create resentment and finally lead to mutiny, led by Christian. Mutineers take over the ship and return to Tahiti. Bligh and couple of loyal crew members is forced to take small boat and few provisions with which he would try to reach nearest friendly port which is thousands of nautical miles away.
The Bounty is good film, but it leaves impression that it could have been much better, even to the audience unaware of the great names initially involved in its production. The script was written by Robert Bolt, screenwriter best known for his collaboration with David Lean, film maker originally slated to direct and who had imagined this film as two-part epic dealing not only with mutiny, but also with its aftermath. Problems with budget and creative differences with producer Dino De Laurentiis led Lean to leave the project and direction was given by Australian director Roger Donaldson. He did very good job and finished the film on time and within budget, which is quite rare for productions at sea. Despite Bolt’s ambitious script being trimmed down, The Bounty still looks epic due to excellent cinematography by Arthur Ibbetson which captures beauty of Tahitian and New Zealand locations.
The most important thing about this film is, however, its adherence to historical facts and the treatment of Captain Bligh as a hero rather than villain. Unlike Laughton and Howard which had portrayed him as sadistic tyrant, Anthony Hopkins plays Bligh as dedicated family man, responsible officer and, last but not least, immensely talented navigator whose long and perilous journey across the ocean in a small boat to safety represents one of the greatest feats in maritime history. Mel Gibson, on the other hand, plays Christian as confused young man rather romantic hero and natural leader portrayed by Gable and Brando. Their efforts are complemented by rest of the cast in the roles of crew which includes Liam Neeson and Daniel Day-Lewis, young and formidable actors who would later have great careers. Vangelis with its musical score, on the other hand, sounds somewhat anachronistic. The final part of the film, which in parallel subplots chronicles Bligh’s journey to safety and Christian’s escape from Royal Navy, seems a little bit rushed, but it could be explained with time constraints. Despite not being as good as it could have been, The Bounty proves that the period films can still be entertaining when they stick to history instead of myths.
RATING: 7/10 (++)
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