Russel Crowe- GIVE UP

[couch potato]

click here to see Crowe's latest movie If you ask me, its junk. Go home Crowe.

[Theophylact]

I loved the books by Patrick O'Brian. I dread the Crowe movie.

[daveleau]

Why do you guys think this? Just curious. The trailer looks pretty cool. I have never read the books.

[Toddly]

I want to know how you can say it is junk when it is to be released on Nov. 15th. I guess you have a grudge or something with Russell Crowe. I think that he has made some fine movies.

He IS home at present.

He was at a small films festival in my home town.

What's wrong with his movies?? They aren't ALL bad (just some of them!).

Cheers
Mick

Looks pretty good to me. But then I like movies that have a little depth and history to them too. Some people don't.

[Theophylact]

daveleau, I've read interviews with Crowe in which he gives the clear impression that he doesn't like the books (which are not only adventures but also fine social comedies). Furthermore, the books have two coequal heroes: Jack Aubrey, the Captain, and Stephen Maturin, the ship's doctor/secret agent/naturalist. Maturin seems to have been diminished almost to the point of vanishing. So I have fears for the film.

Also, although the title is "Master and Commander", which is the first book in the series, before Jack has the rank of Captain, the action of the movie is based on "The Far Side of the World" -- halfway through the series, presumably because there's more action and less talk. But you miss the wonderful introduction to two young men at the start of the Napoleonic Wars.

[M_Six]

Trying to make a movie that includes all the detail and nuances of a novel, or worse, a series of novels, is impossible. The movie would be way too long. North and South by John Jakes was made into two very fine mini-series, but that was an exception. Most great stories suffer when made into movies. One I like a lot is Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy. That movie was great even though it was significantly altered from the book.

You should try not to judge a novel-based movie by comparing it to the book on which it is based. Judge the movie on its own merit and you'll enjoy it more.

[daveleau]

Thanks. It always sucks when they really screw up a book in a movie.

[Theophylact]

Actually, with very few exceptions, great books do not make good movies, because the virtues of books (words) and of movies (images) are too different. The best movies generally come from fair-to-middling books.