Regular Price $19.97

Starring: Charles Laughton,  Clark Gable,  Franchot Tone,  Herbert Mundin,  Eddie Quillan, 
Directed By: Frank Lloyd, 
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Release Date: 1935
Studio: Warner Home Video
Format: Closed-captioned,  Black & White,  DVD-Video,  Subtitled,  NTSC, 

Editorial Reviews and DVD Information about Mutiny on the Bounty

Description
First officer Clark Gable and tyrannical captain Charles Laughton powerfully clash in this vigorous retelling of a true historic incident about a British ship commandeered from its brutal master. Franchot Tone also stars in 1935's Best Picture Academy Award(R) Choice.

Amazon.com essential video
The highlight of Mutiny on the Bounty is undoubtedly Charles Laughton's bracingly evil performance as Captain Bligh, a man so mean that he insists on having a dead sailor flogged. Bligh pushes his men beyond physical endurance, slashes their rations for his own profit, and drastically cuts down their frolicking time with scantily clad Tahitians. Finally, the moment everyone has been waiting for arrives: first mate Fletcher Christian (Clark Gable) hits his limit and all hell breaks loose. Gable holds doggedly onto his American accent through the entire movie, but in a way it makes Christian come off as a Regular Guy in opposition to Bligh's institutionalized cruelty. Once you get past the hurdle of his diphthongs, Gable makes an excellent Fletcher Christian--strong, fair, and noble, and he effectively conveys the struggle of a man who loathes the idea of mutiny but can't stand see his men mistreated. And Charles Laughton is just superb. His Bligh is thoroughly appalling, yes, but it's far from a one-note performance--when he is cast adrift on the open sea in a lifeboat and tries to make an impossible journey to land, you can't help but root for him. Mutiny on the Bounty won the 1935 Academy Award for Best Picture and picked up a Leading Actor nomination for each of its male leads. Check it out or be tied to the mizzenmast. --Ali Davis

Customer Reviews for Mutiny on the Bounty

Clark Gable?
If this is the 1962 version of "Mutiny" it must be the Marlon Brando version and not the 1935 original that the synopsis suggests. This was filmed when Brando began to enjoy the fruits of his acting labors. In an era of tight white naval dress pants, he reportedly went through over 20 pairs due to tears from weight fluctuation. He began honing the behavior that characterized his later persona (difficult and odd) while on set and fathering the first of his children off it. In love with the location, he later bought an nearby island and married his co-star. All this attempt at contentment didn't help his performance or MGM for which he spent needless millions through countless retakes and bizarre demands.Mutiny on the Bounty

I'd hate being in THIS Navy
What more can I say about this classic film? It is simply one of the best sea epics and even more so because it's relatively factual about a brutal sea captain of the British Navy. The acting, direction, art direction are all excellent. While mutiny is usually not a good thing, the true story guides the viewer to understand why Mr. Christian felt that he had no choice. And for this choice, he and his crew were punished, not by the courts, but by themselves in a self imposed marooning in a desolate island. The film makes us feel the agony of land lovers being pressed into service on a naval ship and abused by a cruel and dishonest captain, until good men reached their breaking point.Mutiny on the Bounty

Ageless Filmaking / DVD Could Be Better
The main event here may be an acting titan taking on a screen great's immortal charms, but the whole production holds up as a terrific work of filmaking. Great production values and editing. There are visceral thrills you get from few other films of the time. Also, the movie's portrait of the Tahitians is surprisingly naturalistic and serious. And I love the fact that Gable doesn't bother for a second to affect an English accent.
The quality of the picture on the DVD is all over the place -- it would be nice to have a restored version of the movie and some extras on its making or the subject's historical background. (Think of how Warners might have mounted the release of this classic on DVD.)Mutiny on the Bounty

...AND NOT A DROP TO DRINK
After 72 years, this original version is still the best by far, despite historical inaccuracies. I was never aware that early Hollywood was under any really enforceable laws of historical accuracy, save for the denial of obvious obscenities.Rather, I assume that telling a good story was paramount, and this film certainly does entertain. Laughton, Gable, and Tone all play realisic roles. One can imagine a 2007 version, replete with raw sex, that could completely ruin the overall tale, shot originally on Santa Catalina, and in a huge tub on the MGM lot. Remember also that movies of this era had none of the color,sound effects, and sight tricks available today.For its time, it is a great movie,well worthy of adding to a "buff's" collection.Mutiny on the Bounty

Extremely Overrated, Factually Inaccurate, Undeserving Oscar Winner of 1935!
Those of you who think that changing history for the sake of a "good" storyline is a relatively recent phenomenon couldn't be more wrong. It appears that as early as 1935, Hollywood had showed that it had no qualms about letting wholesale historical inaccuracies and character assassinations get in the way of an entertaining story. The only trouble is that the portrayal of the story is so far-fetched and the pace of the movie so pedantic that it makes me convinced that this movie only won the Oscar because the also rans that year were probably not much better.

The portrayal of Bligh as a vile animal is so overboard that only the most gullible would believe that he was the sole reason for the mutiny and could possibly have been that evil. Let's just say that the Oscars would see a lot better quality nominees let alone winners of the best picture award over the years than this one. As the movie is based upon a version of events that is so heavily slanted in favour of the mutineers against Bligh, one shouldn't be surprised except that the attempt to white wash the deeds of the mutineers is so nauseatingly obvious that it just detracts totally from the enjoyment of the film. It's hard to enjoy a film that loses credibility so early on.

The quality of the DVD transfers is also not very good; the video quality is patchy and so is the sound. One redeeming factor is the special features which includes a very interesting documentary on the real-life Pitcairn Islanders at the time. For diehard fans of this movie, I'd recommend waiting for a better DVD transfer to be released. For those interested in finding out the truth of this historical event, give this DVD a wide berth and head straight for your local library.Mutiny on the Bounty

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