Mutiny on the Bounty (1962)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Lewis Milestone

Writers:

Charles Lederer (screenplay)
Charles Nordhoff (novel) ...

Release Date:

8 November 1962 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | History | Romance

Tagline:

The mightiest excitement that ever swept across the sea or the screen!

Plot:

The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in 1787. Its destination: to sail to Tahiti and load bread-fruit. Captain...

Plot Keywords:

Tahiti | Crew | Discipline | Paradise | Mutiny

Awards:

Nominated for 7 Oscars. Another 2 wins & 6 nominations

Cast

Marlon Brando	...	1st Lt. Fletcher Christian
Trevor Howard	...	Captain William Bligh
Richard Harris	...	Seaman John Mills
Hugh Griffith	...	Alexander Smith
Richard Haydn	...	William Brown
Tarita	...	Maimiti
Percy Herbert	...	Captain Matthew Quintal
Duncan Lamont	...	John Williams
Gordon Jackson	...	Seaman Edward Birkett
Chips Rafferty	...	Michael Byrne
Noel Purcell	...	Seaman William McCoy
Ashley Cowan	...	Samuel Mack
Eddie Byrne	...	John Fryer (Sailing Master)
Frank Silvera	...	Minarii
Tim Seely	...	Midshipman Edward 'Ned' Young

Runtime:

178 min | UK:185 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.76 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) (Westrex Recording System) | 4-Track Stereo (35mm release) (some prints) | Stereo (DVD Release) | Mono (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Finland:K-14 (uncut) (1993) | Finland:K-16 (cut) (1962) | Norway:12 (video rating) | Norway:16 | Iceland:12 | UK:15 (video rating) | UK:15 (TV rating) | USA:Approved (certificate #19794) | UK:12 (video re-rating) (2006) | Finland:K-11 (uncut) (2007) | Sweden:15 | West Germany:12

Filming Locations:

Bora-Bora, Tahiti, French Polynesia

Company:

Arcola Pictures

Trivia:

Marlon Brando refused to really hit Richard Harris in a scene which was subsequently edited from the film. At one point Harris whispered, "Shall we dance?", and later he startled Brando by kissing him on the lips.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The actual mutiny did not happen in the manner portrayed in the film. Christian and the other mutineers actually took the ship in the early hours of the morning, while Bligh and almost everyone else was asleep.

Quotes:

John Mills: There's no chance for people like us to go back to England, give Bligh a bad name and walk free men ourselves. And anyone who thinks otherwise hasn't got the sense that God gave geese.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Perl oder Pica (2006)

Soundtrack:

Follow Me

Marlon Brando's best performance ever

I first watched this film because I really liked the Mel Gibson / Anthony Hopkins version of the film (Bounty). I expected this to be a less sophisticated, dated early 60's remake of the 1930s classic.

I was blown away! Brando absolutely nailed the pretentious, self styled

aristocrat Fletcher Christian with such accuracy, I found myself thinking that he may have grown up with a Duke and Duchess as his parents and a castle in

Edinborough. There are several scenes where Brando's performance would

have to be recorded as one of Hollywood's most important moments at the

Smithsonian (if there was such a thing). The supporting cast is excellent and the period imagery they evoke, with limited special effects, but spectacular

location filming, makes this a HUGE classic and extremely entertaining.

Unlike a lot of recent great films, this Hollywood classic does its magic while staying within the family film guidelines, while not feeling like a "Mickey the Rat" formulaic piece of garbage. Spectacular technicolor scenes of Tahiti (before even tourists went there), combine with great wardrobe, and accurate local

customs and ceremonies, to create a very, very entertaining film.