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A nice, innocent kid getting brutalized by an incredibly-sadistic 1700s ship officer is not always easy to watch, but this is one of the better under-publicized films of its day. It sill holds up, some 40-plus years later, and I'm still wondering when a DVD will come out. The great cinematography alone makes this cry out for a good DVD transfer.

It was an apt choice to cast Robert Ryan as the sadistic "Claggart." Ryan played mostly villains in his career and is extremely effective in that role here as an intelligent-but-sick-and-vicious bully. In fact, his character in Billy Budd remains one of the most memorable villains I've seen in a half century of movie watching. It isn't just his deeds. The looks on his face alone as he delivers his lines make him fascinating.

Peter Ustinov gives a great performance as the captain of the ship and a man who has to make a big, big decision about Mr. Budd, played by a young and boyish-looking Terrence Stamp. The character "Billy Budd" is about as pure and innocent as some of the characters Jennifer Jones played in the 1940s, such as Cluny Brown, Bernadette Soubirous or Jennie Appleton. Also of interest is Melvyn Douglas as the aging seaman.

This is simply a powerful and very involving film, one that is hard to forget.

If you've read the Melville story, this film will be a delightful surprise, especially in contrast to what usually happens to film adaptations of literature. For those of you who've never heard of Herman Melville, it's no matter. This film can stand on its own without reference or support from its original source.

A cheerful, innocent young man with wide eyes and blonde hair is conscripted from his commercial schooner to serve aboard an English Royal Merchant ship, which is akin to being Shang-Hai'd, but without the knock to the head. Everyone on both his old and new ship loves Billy Budd, an affable, competent young seaman who can fathom no sinister purpose in man nor beast, until he meets the master-at-arms of his new vessel.

I don't want to give away any more of the story, so give this lovely film a try if the premise interests you.

This film which was made at the now legendary, Allied Artists Studios (cough cough) is nothing short of a Masterpiece. Filmed totally on board a reconstructed Man O'War, it features Oscar level performances by Peter Ustinov, Terrance Stamp, Melvin Douglas and the performance of a lifetime by Robert Ryan (as Klaggart, the very human manifestation of evil). If one accepts this movie as a biblical allegory, then it could not end any other way. This is not your typical Hollywood fare, it is filled with intelligent performances, and good direction under difficult conditions. And it's in glorious black and white.

Billy Budd, a merchant sailor dragooned into service aboard a British warship, loves everyone around him and is loved by everyone around him. Everyone, that is, except the ship's master-at-arms, John Claggart, who sees human affection as a threat to him and his ability to do his duty as a maker of war. Billy seems to have only one flaw; he cannot speak coherently when in the grip of strong emotion, and Claggart mercilessly exploits this weakness with tragic results.

I've not read Melville's original story "Billy Budd, Foretopman" and cannot say how it compares with the great novelist's work. But this movie stands in its own right as one of the hardest-hitting dramas of its time. The conflict between law and justice, created and demanded by the circumstances of naval service in the age of sail, was never so well explored. Instead of taking the easy path of caricaturing all the ship's officers as brutal tyrants, director Peter Ustinov portrays them as men trapped into acting against their own desires. This helps lift BILLY BUDD head and shoulders above such solid but pedestrian shipboard historical dramas as DAMN THE DEFIANT! Lastly, BILLY BUDD shows that forgiveness can sometimes be harder to bear than scorn or hatred.

Outstanding performances are the order of the day. Terence Stamp's acting as Billy Budd seems natural, unforced, and human despite the nearly incredible innocence and naivete of his character. Robert Ryan is coldly malicious and calculating as the master-at-arms. Ustinov gives another great performance in a career of great performances as the conscience-tortured Captain Vere, sparking great chemistry with his fellow officers played by David McCallum and John Neville.

Many a movie since my childhood has brought a tear to my eye, but I have not *sobbed* at a movie in the past fifteen years, except once: at the end of BILLY BUDD. It is moving, passionate and poignant. Don't miss it.

Rating: **** out of ****.

This movie was adapted by a novel from Herman Melville and directed by Peter Ustinov. It was unfortunate that this movie came out at the same time as Mutiny On The Bounty and as overshadowed by that movie. This is a much better movie and has a great cast with Peter Ustinov playing the captain, Melvyn Douglas playing an old sailor, Terence Stamp playing the title character and Robert Ryan playing John Claggart, the Master-at-arms. Robert Ryan easily steals the movie and when Ustinov was casting this picture he didn't know why Ryan would want this role when he was trying to stay away from roles like this. Ryan always played great villains and this was one of his best roles. Everyone in this movie was great and so is the film.

After a hiatus of many years, "Billy Budd" has been re-released. When I saw it for the first time, when it first came out, I was stunned by the brilliance of the film. Arguably, "Billy Budd" is Herman Melville's greatest work, even better than "Moby Dick." Peter Ustinov wrote the screenplay for "Billy Budd" as well as produced, directed and starred in the film. "Starred" is, perhaps, the wrong word. The cast is like a wonderfully put-together ensemble cast. There is not a weak link in the cast. Robert Ryan, who in real life was a softie and a political liberal-radical, was wonderful as John Claggart, Master-at-Arms (the villain). Terrence Stamp, as Billy, was remarkable in his film debut. The direction was flawless, as was each and every acting job. Peter Ustinov's screenplay captures perfectly the text, the sense and the intent of Melville's writing. As is the book, the screenplay is sparse, direct, with everything necessary and nothing unnecessary. This has been, since I first saw it, on my list of 100 greatest films.

Not only an excellent study of good and evil, this film also explores the conflict of duty vs personal ethics. When the officers are pondering Billy's fate, Wyatt pleads passionately for him. He is told that they are talking about law not justice and he asks pointedly , "Was not the one designed to serve the other?" Of course this opens up for the viewer a question of the real purpose of law. Excellent performances all around. Of course everyone talks about Stamp, Ustinov, and Ryan, but we also see excellent performances by Melvyn Douglas and David McCallum.

This film deserves to be released on DVD. It is a classic. I have shown it to my students in Honors American Literature after we read the novella, and it is always well received. The screenplay by Ustinov improves on the book by including the debate among the officers at Billy's trial.

Nothing can touch the book (quality-wise), but this Ustinov-directed epic of '62 is clearly under-rated for it's time with some fine performances with beautiful B/W cinematography. Ustinov also plays Captain Vere in a subdued and strange performance. Robert Ryan (superb actor is right on the money as Claggart. Terence Stamp (in his film debut, I believe) is the perfect Billy Budd and well deserving of his supporting Oscar nomination.

An 8 out of 10. Best performance = Terence Stamp. Melvyn Douglas is crusty as usual and David McCallum is well-cast and officious. This was adapted from one of the classic American novels so the film could only be criticized rightfully, but a stunning achievement in retrospect!

Intriguing adaptation of Herman Melville's novel (and Louis O. Coxe's play) about a good-natured seaman aboard a British warship in 1797 who is ultimately pushed to his limit by the cruel Master at Arms. As the ship's captain, Peter Ustinov--who also directed, co-produced, and co-wrote the screenplay--gets amazing lead performances from Robert Ryan and Terence Stamp. Ryan, as the hateful superior, is morally reprehensible without ever becoming inhuman--a delicious feat for an actor; clear-eyed, big-hearted Stamp is wonderful as innocent Billy Budd. The material is handled nimbly with great thought and care, while the supporting characters are mostly rich and complicated. Fine black-and-white cinematography by Robert Krasker, and terrific grown-up entertainment all around. One Oscar nomination: Stamp as Best Supporting Actor. Ustinov received a DGA nomination for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, as well as a WGA nomination with co-writer DeWitt Bodeen for Best Written American Drama (presumably due to Melville being an American, as the movie itself is from UK's Rank Films, distributed Stateside by Allied Artists). *** from ****

The flick is set in the end Century XVIII upon English-French war , in Napoleon time , 1797 . Actor and director Peter Ustinov has directed a few films , this is the best . The movie centers about a Young named Billy (Terence Stamp's film debut) who's obligatorily enlisted in a war ship . Billy Budd is a crew member of the British merchant ship the Rights of Man sailing off the coast of Spain , when the ship is briefly commandeered by the British Naval Ship , the HMS Avenger . There Billy will have to take on a nasty deputy (Robert Ryan) with tragical results .

Terence Stamp's interpretation as an innocent , naive , thoughtful and sensitive young is extraordinary . Robert Ryan plays correctly to the villain and ominous man . The support cast is featured by famous secondary actors : John Neville (Baron Munchausen) , David McCallum (UNCLE Agency series ) , Ray McNally (The mission) and Neall MacGinnis (Jason and the Argonauts). The film is based on a Herman Melville's novel (author of the prestigious novel Moby Dick) . Herman Melville had been writing poetry for 30 years when he returned to fiction with "Billy Budd" in late 1888. Still unterminated when Melville died in 1891, it was forgotten and it was finally edited in 1924 . An independent producer acquired the screen rights in 1956 and assigned the adaptation to DeWitt Bodeen and subsequently sold to producer/director Robert Rossen, the latter worked with Bodeen on a second script though uncredited . By the time it reached the screen in 1962 , it had been sold to Peter Ustinov , who wrote the definitive storyline but gave Bodenn a co-writer credit ; after writing the magnificent screenplay Ustinov directed this above average film .

The movie runtime is overlong and results to be a little bit boring , because happening little adventures ; however , being very interesting and thought-provoking . Cinematography by Robert Krasker (superproductions' photographer of the 60s) is riveting . Anthony Hopkins' musical score is fascinating . Acting as ship commander and direction by recently deceased Peter Ustinov are excellent . Rating: 7.5/10 . It's a thoughtful and riveting movie . Well worth watching . Better than average.

Billy Budd is based off of a novel by Herman Melville so naturally it takes place at sea and is about so much more than sailing. The film dives deep and has much to say and it's executed considerably well too: from the writing to the performances of Ustinov, Stamp and particularly Robert Ryan to even Peter Ustinov's job as a director.

But though I hate to say it, it is intresting but hardly entertaining. Technically it's good but Billy Budd is also a bit of a drag.

Peter Ustinov is generally a lot better at being a raconteur, chat-show guest and portly, engaging presenter of documentaries than film director, but this adaptation of Melville's short novel (note that the screenplay is based on a previous stage version) is surprisingly gripping. Terence Stamp, in his first movie role, is excellent as the benign life-force, Billy. Pressganged into service aboard a Royal Navy Man'o'War (clunky symbolism - the ship Billy leaves is called the "Rights of Man"), he soon wins over the crew with his guileless respect for justice and fair play. Robert Ryan is superb as Claggart, although perhaps this actor's tremendous capacity for sheer charmless evil overbalances the plot. When Claggart is struck down by the momentarily enraged Billy, he dies with a smile on his face, a detail which isn't in the book. It makes Claggart into a malevolent genius, when Melville wrote him as a preternaturally bitter and empty man. But that's showbiz for you.

There's a lovely scene between Stamp and Ryan, presumably missed by those who refuse to recognise the latter's genius, in which Billy almost manages to win Claggart over; you can see Ryan's eyes getting almost misty (he was a great eye actor) as he contemplates the spectacle of his own bleakness compared to Billy's warmth. But then, as he suddenly growls "You would charm me, too. Get away!" it's as if he suspected Billy if coming onto him. Remarkable touch.

John Neville and David McCallum are fine as the officers with tortured consciences; Ustinov has to carry off the difficult moral turnaround, kind of the opposite of what Fonda spends a whole film doing in "Twelve Angry Men", and has seldom acted so well. Perhaps in the book he's a less significant character, but for dramatic purposes the role obviously needed expanding, and it's done with taste and restraint. Supporting roles are all finely rendered, with Melvyn Douglas especially red-eyed and gravelly as the religious Dansker. Good stuff. And unusually for an adaptation, a sizable chunk of the dialogue is authentic Melville.

It took me a long time--decades, in fact--to warm to Herman Melville's story "Billy Budd," written in 1891. The writing is dense, the pacing unsatisfactory, the characters more symbols than human beings.

But the movie brilliantly overcomes all these difficulties. The casting is perfect. The then-unknown Terence Stamp seems to have been born for his role as Billy Budd. Nobody could play psychopathic villains like Robert Ryan, a vastly under-appreciated actor, and his portrayal of the villainous master-at-arms, Claggart, may be his finest performance. Melvyn Douglas, in his final role, gives great support as Billy's mentor. Peter Ustinov, whom one might think too soft and distractable to be a British naval captain, turns out to be the ideal embodiment of Captain Vere, whose real attitude toward Billy's "crime" is one of the great enigmas of the story.

You don't need to know a thing about Melville to be thoroughly absorbed by this film. It raises basic questions about the conflict between morality and legality, and the resolution of the problem here, like the process itself, will stick with you for a very long time.

Stamp's finest performance.

The screen is never quite the same after watching Stamp's portrayal of Budd. An elegant, stunning performance by one of the finest actors of our time. As the film sails on, you are left to adjudicate a moral dilemma...one that produces a certain sinking feeling.

Stamp's brave portrayal will always be with you!

Great movie! It made a big impact on me when I saw it as a teenager. I just watched it on TCM and it still has impact. The Master of Arms is just as big of a villian as Darth Vader was in Star Wars. I love movies that have moral quandaries as well. Justice is not the law in every situation. Shades of "Paths of Glory" here. This movie is a favorite!

Just imagine this scenario: It is 1962: MGM are in financial treacle with cost over runs on MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY which will end up costing $15 million US dollars (the same as BEN HUR). Allied Artisis, the once laughed at mini major which has shrewdly made drive in movies and art-house/mainstream blockbusters since the late forties (after changing their name from the guffawed-at Monogram Pictures) rents an existing Man-o-war sailing ship and through Peter Ustinov's astute guidance spends $1 million and creates an enduring seagoing masterpiece that outlives the next two remakes of BOUNTY....and was far more profitable than both put together! AA basically did the same thing again with their production of CABARET in the 70s when nobody would back Bob Fosse after Sweet Charity, and PAPILLON when Hollywood majors could not see the value in a French prison movie: AA did and both films brought in over $22 million each in rentals in the US alone allowing AA to see their greatest ever run of success. It's a pity that when the studio changed production chief in 1976 that they made that Edsel of movies THE BETSY ....instead of STAR WARS....eeek. In Sydney Australia BILLY BUDD was released at the Prince Edward theater a 1500 seat blue velvet palace built in 1924. It was the home of Paramount (who released AA here), so BILLY BUDD sailed straight into one of the most treasured cinemas in town. The PE had a resident theater organist, the hilarious and divine Noreen Hennessy, who was not unlike your great auntie dressed in the full chiffon meringue outfit each session and would nod to the crowd and announce "my song for you tonight is..." and proceed to bibbity bobbity boo on the great theater organ. Well, at the gala charity premiere, Noreen, having arrived to her position in the organ alcove in the last ten minutes of BILLY BUDD and proceeding to witness the tragic demise of said protagonist, she apparently decided to cheer the house up by loudly and merrily belting out "Anchors Aweigh" as Billy's feet swung about on the top of the screen. The sobbing audience, startled and alarmed by the change in tempo howled with laughter and gave a delighted Noreen a standing ovation that ran longer than her performance. Aaah..movie-going in the 60s!

Set in 1797, Billy Budd is the heart wrenching story of a young seaman who faces death after murdering a sadistic master-of-arms. You really feel for the main character played , very effectively, by Terence Stamp. Director Peter Ustinov proves that he is an excellent director along with being one of our finest actors. Robert Ryan and Melvyn Douglas, as always, provide excellent co-starring roles. Billy Budd will do more than just entertain you. It will make you think about what you might have done aboard this Britsh ship faced with the same difficult choices.

I feel sorry for this film, because - although you could quibble on specifics - it's basically Mutiny on the Bounty without the innocent islander interlude. And it came out in 1962, the same year that the big budget overblown and just awful MGM remake came out because MGM was in its death throes, out of ideas, and had taken to recycling Irving Thalberg material from the 20's and 30's since the 1940s. If they could have gotten a voodoo priestess to get Irving Thalberg to rise from his grave at this point, MGM would have done just that. But it was Bounty that probably dominated the public interest because it was MGM and Budd was just a little old Allied Artists product. But I digress.

Budd (Terence Stamp) is literally the fair haired boy of a British ship in 1797. So, after just having their collective butts kicked out of the now United States, I imagine the British navy in 1797 felt much like the MGM I just described. Although pressed into service - that is shanghaied for all you landlubbers out there - and although he is under the discipline of a depraved and sadistic Master-at-Arms John Claggart (Robert Ryan), Budd has an unbridled optimism and selflessness about him which just annoys Claggart even more. Unlike "Mutiny on the Bounty", the captain (Peter Ustinov) seems a fair and honest man. However, given past mutinies on his ship prior to his command, he probably gives Claggart more leeway than he deserves. Plus the captain feels he must hold to strict naval discipline or risk another mutiny. Also, when emotionally overwrought, Budd is given to stammering, making him unable to verbally defend himself at times. All of these facts come together for a tragic ending that gives the captain the very mutiny that his steadfast adherence to naval law had been employed to prevent. But then along come the French... So what happens? Watch and find out.

A little factoid I got on the Turner Classic Movies presentation of this film last night. Ryan was deliberately unfriendly to Stamp during filming so that their antagonism would be more realistic. He knew that Stamp was new to film acting and didn't want any real friendliness to leak through into their performances.

Terence Stamp's performance will seem all the more remarkable when you realize that 19 years later he is Superman's arch enemy in Superman II and looks and acts every bit as ruthless as he looks and acts angelic and innocent here. Recommended, just have patience with the pacing, because it could have used some work, particularly towards the end.

This adaption of Herman Melville's unpublished novella served to introduce Terrence Stamp to the movie-going public in his breakout part in the title role. It's one of the great portrayals of innocence in a cruel world on the big screen. And it's also one of the great portrayals of unsatisfied homosexual desire in the person of Billy Budd's great adversary, Master-At-Arms John Claggett as played by Robert Ryan.

Melville as a New Englander knew full well about English impressment of seaman. And in 1797 after the mutinies in the fleet at Spithead they were needing sailors worse than ever. The Royal Navy had no compunction about taking seaman from their own civilian merchant ships as well as American ones. A press gang comes aboard the merchant ship and takes young Billy Budd of striking looks and undetermined origin for service in His Majesty's Navy.

On board the British warship, Stamp's happy go lucky attitude makes friends among the crew, but arouses the enmity of Ryan who just has it in for him from day one. He's a cruel and sadistic sort in any event, but Stamp arouses something special in him and the word arouse can have several meanings in this context.

I don't want to give too much away, but if one is familiar with Herman Melville's slightly better known work of Moby Dick you will find certain parallels. The great white whale that everyone is conscious of is the French enemy and their fleet. When they attack the problems of the ship and its discipline seem petty indeed.

Between the two poles of good (Stamp) and evil (Ryan) is the captain Peter Ustinov and the rest of the crew. From Ustinov on down they watch the drama played out between Stamp and Ryan, knowing who was in the right, but also knowing what the rules, in this case the Articles of War call for.

Terrence Stamp in his second film and in the title role got an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor, the only nomination the film received. He lost to Ed Begley for Sweet Bird Of Youth. But his performance wouldn't be possible without the excellent and unrecognized one of Robert Ryan. The two play off each other so well.

The story of Billy Budd lay undiscovered after Melville's death in 1891 until 1924. It's been made both a play and an opera, but this film version is a most satisfying piece of cinema.