Customer Reviews

The Making of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

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My dad loves Master and Commander (and so do I), so I got him this book for Christmas. He loves it and said it was his favorite present this year! He says he's also reading the books by Patrick O'Brian (the author of the books that inspired this movie) and he said he sometimes goes back to this book for reference after reading the novels.

This book is divided into sections - stuff about the crew, the doctor, the captain, etc. It has quotes from the actors and stuff about the novels and the author.

Well, all I can say is my dad loves this book and is still looking at it from Christmas and I look at it all I can. If you love the Master and Commander movie, you'll love this book!

I'm a great fan of O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin novels and of Napoleonic era naval fiction in general, and I looked forward to this film with a certain apprehension. I mean, how could they possibly do justice to O'Brian's extremely detailed world? Would they just crank out a superficial action film? I'm not sure any devotée was entirely pleased with the result, but it was, in fact, a pretty damn good movie. And all the background information and photos in this book help explain why. Peter Weir, the director, was a fanatic on accurate historical detail, including small items you never see on camera (but the crew knows they're there). He kept the entire cast together for the full five months of filming at the big tank in Baja, the same way a ship's crew would be together every day of their lives. And he instituted hierarchy (with Russell Crowe at the top, naturally) even during the "boot camp" phase at the beginning of the project. And on and on. A fascinating look behind the scenes and into the minds of all the people responsible for the film. I winced every time they talked about the "cannon," though.

If you love the O'Brian series and the movie, this book is not only full of colour photos but also contains much information about the movie and its actors. Any interested in the 19th century British Royal Navy will find it intersting, also. A great book!!!

This is an excellent book which explains the huge amount of work that went into the making of the film Master and Commander. The sheer amount of research and attention to detail revealed by this book greatly enhances the enjoyment of the film.

Lots of great large pictures and plenty of information. A good book to ad to your collection of movie related books.

I loved the movie Master and Commander and recently bought this this book as a companion to the DVD I also purchased. The book exceeded my expectations and reading it greatly enhanced my experience of watching the movie a second time. The sailing ships of the 18th century were one of the most complex "technologies" of the age and the author artfully explains the "hows and whys" Peter Weir went to such painstaking lengths to manufacture an authentic recreation of this historical period, the ship and its crew. The book has an excellent visual layout with awesome color graphics and photos scattered throughout the informative text.
The author truly "painted a wonderful and insightful picture" of everything it takes to make, IMO, a true classic sea movie.
Chapter one discusses how the film "finally" came into being and describes the herculean efforts taken to create, build and sail a full size replica ship. Included is a funny story about Sam Goldwyn, who admired Peter Weir and pitched him with no initial success, then "stalked" him for several years before Weir finally relented after receiving a timely gift of a replica "Captain Jack Aubrey sword" . . . a good Hollywood behind the scenes story.
Chapter two describes the many technical innovations used filming in Baja, Mexico. Lots of photos showing how they utilized a 20 million gallon, 360,000 square foot tank originally used for filming the movie "Titanic". I also learned what a gimbal is. The HMS Surprise sets on a huge gimbal that dictates her movements, assisted by a 162 foot tower crane, and all used to maximize the authenticity of the visual effects. How do you put wind in her sails? How do you make virtual rigging act like real rigging would? I now know there was some CGI used in the movie, but I learned not as much as I expected.
Chapter three describes life "below the decks". Weir said he wanted the audience to "feel that this is as close as you can get to the impossible but exciting idea of travelling back to the past". I was convinced! Weir was constantly driven by authenticity and insisted that consultants become part of the fabric of the movie set. Described in detail are the consulting roles of the Historical Consultant, Armament Advisor, Sword master, Sailing Master and Master Shipwright and their unbelieveable commitment to historical accuracy.
Chapter four describes life in Jack Aubrey's navy. Naval hierarchy seemed to be a microcosm of British social structure as everyone "knew their place" on board ship. In general there were four major hierarchies aboard ship; officers, ratings, marines and servants. Ever wonder why there were so many "teenage boys" aboard ship? Immediately prior to filming, all actors and extras attend a two week boot camp training aboard an exact replica of the HMS Surprise. Good anecdotes about the cast and crew bonding together.
Chapter five has candid stories and interviews with most members of the cast.
One of the many unusual aspects of this movie was the sheer number of actors and extras required, on a permanent basis, on set. " The extras came from all over the world, echoing the reality of a British crew of two centuries ago". Great insight about the casting process.
The last chapter talks about Patrick O'Brian, best known for his Aubrey/Martin tales which the movie is based on, including how he came to eventually write his 20 volume set about the sea. O"brian said " After writing several novels, one of them quite good but filled with anguish and written with even more, it occurred to me to write something FUN".
Buy this book, it's fascinating, informative and fun!

If you see the movie by the same title as the book you will be better off. The movie has more action than the book. Usually the norm is the book is better than movie in this instance it is not the case. In the movie the setting is during the Napolionic era and chasing a French frigate. In the book the setting is during the War of 1812 and chasing the American Frigate Norfolk. The book explains the lives of seamen at sea during that era. No great naval encounters like in the movie. I could not wait to finish this book and place it on the bookshelf under never to be touched again. To think that I need to read the first book of this series Master and Commander. That will take a while before I read that book.