Master and Commander

[Anonymous]

so, was the "lessor of two weevils" a joke that was present at the time the movie was made? or is there a supposition that this was an original creation by the captian? <p></p><i></i>

[Catiline]

i thoroughly enjoyed it I must say. I think in the distant past i've read O'Brian intermittently, so my knowledge of the Navy in this period is largely based on Hornblower which i have read more extensively. Did rather expect it to cut to cornfields eveytime Crowe gave a speech though. <p></p><i></i>

[Anonymous]

gberke,<br>
&nbsp &nbsp &nbsp &nbsp The joke is from the O'Brian books and is a running gag throughout the series. When the officers sit down to dinner, the art of conversation is one of the tricky bits of Royal navy protocol. Jack is not especially quick minded (except in action) and has been schooled aboard ship. he always messes up his sayings and classical allusions. Stephen on the other hand, is a master of verbal humor; so when Jack actually gets off a good, he doesn't let Stephen forget it. The joke reappears in different guises and situations for different effects throughout the series.<br>
<br>
<br>
Wade Heaton<br>
Lucius Cornelius Libo<br>
[email protected] <br>
www.togaman.com <p></p><i></i>

[rekirts]

Yay! I finally got to see the movie. And just in the nick of time, too! I saw it Dec. 23 and on by Dec. 26 it was no longer playing in any of the theatres where I was staying.<br>
<br>
Anyway, I really enjoyed it, more than the people who were with me, I'm afraid. But they weren't Patrick O'Brian readers.<br>
I found Stephen's character in the novels quite a bit more eccentric than in the movie. Though Aubrey and Maturin weren't portrayed quite as I imagined them, they were still sympathetic and interesting enough that I maintained my affection for them throughout the movie.<br>
<br>
Wendy <p>"I am an admirer of the ancients,but not like some people so as to despise the talent of our own times." Pliny the Younger</p><i></i>

[Goffredo]

Wonderful.<br>
I tried reading O'Brian a few years ago and got immediately sea sick with the jargon so I am not influenced by the original books.<br>
<br>
I saw the film yesterday and I liked it very much.<br>
I really like the ambiguity of the film which seems to want to show what things men can do without really taking positions. The enemy fights and die just like they do.<br>
<br>
My favorite character is the small Lord that looses an arm at the beginning and ends up leading grown men in manning a cannon and then an attack on the French vessel. But he also developed an interest and talent for natural history! The same lad is influenced by both the naturalist Doctor and the heroric Commander.<br>
<br>
The music is also wonderful. I recognized Correlli (Concerti Grossi) and Bach (violoncello solo).<br>
<br>
p.s. had I been less involved emotionally, just slightly more rational then I would have guessed the ending. I usually figure out trick endings. In this case the commander does see/recongnize himself in the fallen enemy, like in a mirror, but it is a distorted mirror. The face of the dead French commander was too beautiful, too "romantically tragic", to be true. I got carried away by the strong emotions and was fooled too.<br>
<br>
<p></p><i></i>