Tumulto en alta mar

It is the Napoleonic Wars and Captain Crawford takes command of the H.M.S. Defiant and sets off with his orders to Corsica. His second in command is Lt. Scott-Paget, a vindictive and bullying man who has moved through the ranks on account of his higher echelon connections. The two men don't see eye to eye from the off, which only compounds the many problems that are reaching boiling point aboard the ship. Mutiny is afoot, just as the French forces are closing in.

Lewis Gilbert may just be one of Britain's most undervalued versatile directors. Here's a man that has directed Educating Rita/The Admirable Crichton (comedy), The Good Die Young (crime), Cast a Dark Shadow (Noir), Reach for the Sky (biography), Alfie/Shirley Valentine (romance), James Bond x 3 (multi genre) and sea faring adventures such as Sink the Bismarck! and this fine Napoleonic historical piece, H.M.S. Defiant.

Adapted from Frank Tilsley's novel "Mutiny", this is a film built around a true story about what became known as the "Spithead" and "Nore" mutinies in 1797. Where sailors and press ganged inlanders were fed up with the working conditions, rates of pay and the all round treatment from the officers in charge. Also into the mix is a fascinating battle of wills between the two leaders of the Defiant, both men, in the midst of their power struggle, are oblivious to the rumblings and plotting of the crew. I mean you would think that with the French warships possibly around the corner that they would be unified in creating a rock solid front? That they don't gives the film an extra dimension. Thus when the battle sequences do come, and the turn of events perk the piece up, it has a two fold impact that makes all the waters lead to a terrific foggy bound climax.

The cast are notable names from a roll call of British performers. Alec Guinness as Captain Crawford plays it spot on. An honourable man adhering to his code of ethics, it's through a plot strand involving his own son being on board that Crawford gets torturous and conflicted by his emotions. Who better than Guinness to layer such a role? Dirk Bogarde steps up to play weasel duties as Lieut. Scott-Padget, suitably handsome in uniform but playing the devils tricks, it begs the question on why Bogarde didn't in fact play more villains? because here he is excellent at it. Leading the mutiny is the looming muscular presence of Anthony Quayle, who along with Nigel Stock leaves a favourable mark in the support cast.

Comparisons with other notable genre entries are inevitable, the likes of Mutiny On the Bounty, Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. and the more modern offering that is Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. If you like any of those films then the chances are you are bound to get much from this British production. The ocean scenes are filmed out in Alicante, and they sparkle as a backdrop to the splendid costumes, while the ships design is top draw. Ultimately this a fine genre entry, for as it stirs the blood and tells a great multi stranded story, it's also acted quite superbly by the cast. 8/10

Despite the fact that this film is not as known as some other sea sagas, it has some spectacular battle scenes, which are quite impressive even today. The movie does contain some historical speculations ( like the prevention of France's invasion of England in 1797 ), but overall it is one of the most detailed and authentic depictions of what seamen's life looked like in the 18th century. It is highly recommended to anyone interested in the military history of the period. The primary reason I wanted to see that movie was the fact that Alec Guinness was in it. Needless to say, his portrayal of Defiant's captain is as strong and convincing as ever. Good captain vs. bad second-in-command ( Bogarte )opposition might not seem very original to a modern viewer, but again, excellent performances by both Guinness and Bogarte and many unpredictable plot turns make us forget about this semi-cliche.

Denis Maternovsky

I had a chance to catch this well-known film for the first time on the "Action" cable channel and was very impressed all around - script, acting, direction, authenticity, pacing, the whole nine yards. This is a really engrossing story rooted in history with bold characters and lots of naval action; just a rip-snorting good adventure story of a very high calabre. The scenes of 18th century naval action are some of the most impressive I have seen (a letterbox release would be of great benefit in this regard). Guinness is up to his usual high standard, abetted by fine work from Bogarde and Quayle. The tension of the dramatic line never lets up until the heroic conclusion. The movie inspired to do some reading into the story of the Spithead Mutiny, on which the movie is based. Highly recommended.

Few films have tried to capture the era of Horatio Hornblower, and even fewer do it as well as this one. It's an extremely well-made movie, though a bit difficult to classify. Traditionally, in a sea adventure, the dashing, sexy leader is the hero; in this case, he's the villain (brilliantly played by Dirk Bogarde, who normally plays more sensitive chaps). The good guy turns out to be a very UNdashing and flawed, but compassionate Captain.

I think Alec Guinness is the only actor who can portray a character who is colorless yet also make him sympathetic. Perhaps the World War II era (with its emphasis on teamwork, its glorification of the average G.I., and its near-worship of able, but dull, leaders like Omar Bradley) may have influenced it, because the movie strongly emphasizes the worth of the common man, especially as personified by Anthony Quayle's character.

It's an offbeat movie: part sea adventure, part character drama, part historical epic. Critics might say it's not satisfactory in any of these areas, but those of us who love it recognize how special and even unique it is. Now that Columbia has finally released on DVD a letter-boxed version one can fully appreciate its worth, not only for the sea battle scenes, but also the many two-shots of Guinness and Bogarde interacting (or, more often, snarling) at each other.

In April 1789 Captain William Bligh was set adrift off the Friendly Islands by Fletcher Christian and the crew of H.M.S. Bounty, tired of Bligh's bad temper and harsh tongue. Bligh and the loyal crew members (except two killed by cannibals on one island they stopped at) managed to sail the open boat 2,100 miles despite lack of supplies and dangerous seas and weather to safety. Bligh returned to England, and eventually made a second trip to Tahiti to complete his original mission. Christian and most of the Bounty mutineers fled on the Bounty and reached Pitcairn Island, where their descendants live to this day.

The mutiny on the Bounty is the one that most people think of whenever they hear the word "mutiny". Otherwise they think of THE CAINE MUTINY. Actually there have been many mutinies. In 1905 a mutiny on the Russian battleship Potemkin occurred at Odessa on the Black Sea. It was immortalized by Serge Eisenstein in his film of the name POTEMKIN.

It surprises many people outside of England that the Bounty was peanuts compared to the Great Mutiny of 1797 at the Nore and Spithead of the entire British fleet (also the 1931 Invergordon Mutiny of the British fleet during the depression, which was a total surprise). The Great Mutiny is supreme because it occurred just when England was facing revolutionary France in the French Revolutionary Wars. A force being planned by Wolfe Tone and the French General Lazare Hoche was to invade Ireland. By sheer chance the French were unable to take advantage of the moment of England's peril to invade.

The 1797 Mutiny at Spithead was actually successful - various gains in pay and food were made by the sailors. Then came the Nore Mutiny, which was led by a seaman of some leadership qualities named Richard Parker. Parker's demands were impossible, and he apparently toyed with leading the fleet to France. Instead the British Admiralty got tough, and crushed the mutiny. Ironically one of the last ships to give up was H.M.S. Director, which was commanded by William Bligh. It was the second mutiny (of three!) that Bligh would face in his career. Parker was tried for mutiny and executed, as were dozens of other sailors.

It would be nice if some enterprising producer would make an accurate film of the 1797 Mutiny - but until that day comes we are left with two films that roughly approximate the story. There is Peter Ustinov's BILLY BUDD, which is set in the period of the Great Mutiny, and this one. BILLY BUDD has much going for it regarding it's source material (Herman Melville's brilliant study of good and evil, and how they are impossible to separate). Then there is DAMN THE DEFIANT / H.M.S. DEFIANT, which tells the story from the point of view of a single vessel and the evils that permeated all the crew from the Captain to the tars.

Alec Guinness is a well meaning but weak leader who is the Captain of Defiant, and has been stuck with Dirk Bogarde as his new second in command, a socially well-connected sadist. Bogarde is determined to be the real commander of the ship, and is willing to do what is needed to bring Guinness and everyone in sight under heal. Guinness's son is a midshipman on the DEFIANT, and Bogarde keeps finding ways of punishing the young man that Guinness (because of fears of favoritism) will not interfere with. On top of this, during one battle, Guinness loses an arm (a salute to Lord Nelson who was similarly was crippled).

However, the men led by Anthony Quayle, decide to join the mutiny. And then it is Bogarde's turn to sweat.

What were the gripes of the mutineers? Low pay (the government spent money on bribes for votes, but not decent pay). Nothing like pensions for the men - frequently kidnapped by press gangs in the major cities - and left cripples after serving in the naval battles. Food was crap - the quartermasters and the people who sold supplies were in cahoots and sold rotten food to the ships. It was a "lovely life". The wonder is that there weren't more bloodbath mutinies. One (in 1798) on board H.M.S. Hermoine led to the murder of a dozen officers, including the Captain (one Hugh Pigott). Reading of it makes one realize how lucky Bligh and the Admirals were that they did not face the real wrath that was just under the surface.