# Master and Commander **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 30, 2003, 1:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355 "2003-10-30T01:31:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/61 "2003-11-15T02:00:18Z")
Yoyo Ma did Marturin’s cello, BTW. Anyone know if they used the music mentioned in the books? And BTW, they aren’t very good players. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/62 "2003-11-15T02:05:03Z")
Killick thinks so too. I have the CD _Musical Evenings with the Captain_, which contains the music mentioned in the novels, but not one of these tunes turned up in the film, as I recall. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/63 "2003-11-15T02:13:10Z")
“Screeching away all night” as I recall his comment to Bonden. I envy you the CD. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/64 "2003-11-15T03:03:54Z")
The CD has pieces by Locatelli, Haydn, Handel, Boccherini, and Leclair. It’s been a while since I listened to it, so it’s possible that they used some in the movie, but I will check the soundtrack to be sure. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/65 "2003-11-15T03:12:01Z")
One Boccherini piece on the soundtrack but it’s not the one on the CD. Well, hey…Amazon has Vol. 2 of the CD. I was referring to Vol. 1. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 6:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/66 "2003-11-15T06:00:54Z")
I just saw it tonight. Thumbs up from me. Much better than I expected. Crowe is terriffic as ususal. I haven’t read the books but Crowe really good job of creating a three-dimensional character rather than just a type. You can see why his men would follow him even with all his flaws. The guy playing the doctor was really good too and I really enjoyed the interlude in the Galapagos. It me want to see a movie about Darwin and the Beagle. The battle scenes were great as well. It’s the best sense of what cannon fire is like that I’ve ever gotten from a movie. I have to agree with one thing a couple of others have mentioned, though. I kept thinking about that South Park “fightin’ 'round the world” episode. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/67 "2003-11-15T06:13:26Z")
It was a movie about two men who end up basically where they started. I guess you have to expect that if you know the story’s plucked from the middle of a long series, but it didn’t make for a satisfying story for me. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/68 "2003-11-15T09:05:52Z")
Saw it tonight with my dad as his birthday present. Loved it. Excellent performances all around. Couldn’t understand at least half the dialogue, but didn’t find that to be much of an impediment. My favorite part? They flogged Pippen! Take that, fool of a Took! ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/69 "2003-11-15T15:23:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by vivalostwages \* > \*\*Killick thinks so too. > > I have the CD _Musical Evenings with the Captain_, which contains the music mentioned in the novels, but not one of these tunes turned up in the film, as I recall. \*\* He raised his bow, beat the deck three times with his foot, and at the third they dashed away into their often-played yet ever-fresh Corelli in C major -The Far Side of the World ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/70 "2003-11-15T17:23:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Miller \* > \*\*Saw it tonight with my dad as his birthday present. Loved it. Excellent performances all around. Couldn’t understand at least half the dialogue, but didn’t find that to be much of an impediment. My favorite part? > > They flogged Pippen! > > Take that, fool of a Took! \*\* Actually, they didn’t, but I’m sure you can find some fanfic like that if you’re into it. ---
**Author:** ![Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e99b99/32.png) [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diogenes_the_Cynic)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/71 "2003-11-15T22:21:23Z")
**Miller** : I think you’re mixing your characters up. Pippen was the officer who killed himself-- the guy that everyone thought was a “Jonah.” ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/72 "2003-11-15T22:38:00Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Diogenes the Cynic \* > \*\ ***Miller** : > > I think you’re mixing your characters up. > > Pippen was the officer who killed himself-- the guy that everyone thought was a “Jonah.” \*\* [spoiler]Billy Boyd (“Pippin”): Barrett Bonden, Coxswain (turns the wheel, says things like, “Sou’ by Sou’west, suh!”, smiles a lot, has curly blond hair and a scar under his eye.) That one I’m sure of – he’s Pippin! As for the other two, I think they were Ian Mercer: Mr. Hollar, Boatswain (the Jonah, has wispy sideburns and kind of a weaselly face – sorry Ian, it’s true.) Bryan Dick: Joseph Nagle, Carpenter’s Mate (gets himself flogged, killed in final battle, dark hair, looks younger than the other two.)[/spoiler] The fact that people are having such a hard time distinguishing one character from the other indicates another possible flaw in the movie. ---
**Author:** ![TWDuke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@TWDuke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TWDuke)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/73 "2003-11-15T23:27:40Z")
Apparently, [Lee Ingleby](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0408846/) as Hollum was the weaselly one. My apologies, Ian. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/74 "2003-11-15T23:31:38Z")
The Jonah in the book was Hollan, a passed but unpromoted Master’s Mate who remained “an ancient Midshipman”. He dies, but does not take his own life. Perhaps that sort of thing also causes confusion. ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/75 "2003-11-16T01:25:31Z")
I was able to keep them straight, but it was a bit of a challenge, with so many speaking characters and so many more in the books. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/76 "2003-11-16T02:23:58Z")
You read O’Brian? I had no idea you were so cool, viva. Do they pronounce names Aub ree or Ah bray? Mah TUR in or MAT erin? ---
**Author:** ![Archergal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c89c15/32.png) [@Archergal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Archergal)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/77 "2003-11-16T02:34:37Z")
It’s MAT-ur-in (first syllable emphasis) for sure. And I believe it’s AW-bree for Jack. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/78 "2003-11-16T03:25:36Z")
BTW, in one of the NPR interviews, O’Brian picked Charlton Heston for Jack. Maybe it’s a firearms thing. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![vivalostwages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/d07c76/32.png) [@vivalostwages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vivalostwages)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/79 "2003-11-16T05:35:35Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by carnivorousplant \* > \*\*You read O’Brian? I had no idea you were so cool, viva. > > Do they pronounce names > > Aub ree or Ah bray? > Mah TUR in or MAT erin? \*\* You…You…You **DIDN’T KNOW???** :eek: Gaaah! Don’t you remember the conversations we had in some old ENT threads when we talked of Spotted Dick? I’m waiting for a sequel wherein the good doctor will say, “I am with child to see a dewpond.” What a guy. **Archergal** is correct. Someday when I own a boat, I will name it Lucky Jack Aubrey. I have a nautical soul. One of my bumper stickers says “Nautical People Have Their Ship Together.” ---
**Author:** ![Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Laughing\_Lagomorph](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Laughing_Lagomorph)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2003, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355/80 "2003-11-16T06:04:04Z")
I saw it tonight. I knew nothing about the O’Brien books beforehand. After the movie my wife and I ran into 2 other couples we knew who had been to the same showing. I really liked it but I was the only one of the 6 of us who did! That was the only surprise for me. I loved the feel of being on board the ship, and especially liked the sequences early on with the ships slipping in and out of the fog. The main complaint of the other 5 people was that the battle scenes were hard to follow, and that much of the dialogue was hard to pick up, which I think was a combination of the theater we were in and the accents and naval jargon of the characters. I picked Pippin out right away. **TWDuke** got it right: he’s not the one who gets flogged, and he survives the final battle. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/master-and-commander/210355.md?page=5)