Product Description

First officer Clark Gable and tyrannical captain Charles Laughton powerfully clash in this vigorous retelling of a true historic incident about a British ship commandeered from its brutal master. Franchot Tone also stars in 1935's Best Picture Academy Award(R) Choice.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #16936 in DVD
• Brand: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Released on: 2004-02-03
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Black & White, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English, French
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 132 minutes

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

Customer Reviews

It's naval, not navels...
Charles Laughton gives the standout performance in this classic retelling of the Bounty mutiny. Gable appears properly confounded and gives a believable and sympathetic rendering of Fletcher Christian. The movie holds up remarkably well despite some awkward editing and gaps in the story line. Still, at 133 minutes it is a relatively long film but it never drags. In spite of allegations made in other reviews there are no "white girls in blackface" or "boats in a bathtub" scenes. True, navels are concealed but the two female leads are obviously and revealingly topless in several scenes. As for "toy boats in a bathtub" there is only one sequence that obviously utilizes a model and it isn't all that obvious. Laughton is the luminary here and his Bligh stays with you. In fact it has stayed with the culture for sixty-five years. His performance is without fault and repeated watchings bear this out. A couple of sequences bear a closer look: The mutiny montage is startlingly effective and intense. It is a realistic portrayal of sudden violence; short, confusing, and graphic. The Sunday morning prayers on deck sequence is poetic and approaches the sublime. The ship's sails gleam translucent in the sun, the Union Jack floats majestically in the breeze, sunlight reflects brightly on faces as the Captain invokes God's blessings on the voyage. The extreme contrast of light and dark in the black and white print and the metaphorical contrast of good against Bligh, the epitome of evil, is subtle yet effective. It is a beautiful few moments. In every way but gloss this film is superior to the 1962 version. The 1984 "Bounty" with Mel Gibson is a fine film but it fades in the memory. This version lingers in the subconsious.

"...I am your captain, your judge, and your jury."
Charles Laughton is unforgettable as the ruthless Captain Bligh, who is ordered in late 1787 to take the Bounty, a British naval ship, to the island of Tahiti in the South Seas to gather breadfruit trees that'll be transplanted to the West Indies and served as food for the slaves. But the mission is doomed from the start because of Captain Bligh's intolerable cruelty to his crew and fellow officers, including Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable).

As the Bounty makes its way to Tahiti, crewmen are mercilessly wipped for minor offenses and several die because of the sinister Bligh. When the Bounty finally reaches the beautiful island the crew are allowed to have some brief relaxation and many fall in love with the pretty native girls. Christian falls in love with a beautiful native girl but is forced to leave her behind when the Bounty, now packed with breadfruit trees, starts its return journey to England. Bligh's cruel treatment of his crew drives Fletcher Christian over the edge, and he decides to lead a mutiny against Bligh.

Bligh and his loyal officers and crewmen are cast adrift in a small boat, and Christian heads back to Tahiti where he reunites with his native girlfriend. He and his now "liberated" crew are happy, but not for long. Bligh defies the wrath of nature itself and somehow makes it back to England, where he is exonerated by his superiors for the loss of the Bounty. Eager to seek vengeance on Christian and his mutineers, Bligh is given a new ship and begins his pursuit of the Bounty. Knowing that Bligh will never stop looking for his lost ship, Christian decides to burn the ship after landing the crew (as well as his girlfriend and the crewmembers' girlfriends from Tahiti) at the deserted Pitcairn Island. And there they will remain for the rest of their lives, "prisoners" of the island, rather than hanged by the British.

This 1935 classic has aged well and has been nicely restored for its dvd release. The special features include theatrical trailers for both the 1935 and 1962 versions, brief footage of the director recieving the oscar for best picture of 1935, and an incredible but brief documentary (made at about the same time as the film I guess) about Pitcairn Island which has real footage of the descendants of Fletcher Christian and his mutineers.

I honestly don't know which of the film versions (this one, the 1962 version, and 1984's "The Bounty") I like best, but I think that there are strengths and weaknesses with each one. For example, Clark Gable as a British officer is as convincing as Richard Burton playing a German officer (which he did, for heaven's sake!), but he still did well in the role. Franchot Tone, in a supporting role, had some of the corniest dialogue of the whole film. The real scene-stealer was of course Charles Laughton, who always made such a great screen villian. If youn enjoy watching classic sea adventures, I highly recommend this one.

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.