# Movie question: Master and Commander **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 8, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834 "2006-05-08T02:10:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 2:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/1 "2006-05-08T02:10:01Z")
I just finished watching “Master and Commander:the Far Side of the World” with Russell Crowe. I know this is a stupid question, and I know I’m missing something that will make me look foolish, but I just can’t figure out the ending of the movie. Why did Captain Aubrey turn the ship around to follow the one that had just left not long before? There was something about a sword given by the French doctor, only the doctor was said to have died. Will someone come along and explain what I am missing, so I can go :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Governor\_Quinn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@Governor\_Quinn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Governor_Quinn)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/2 "2006-05-08T02:16:30Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > I just finished watching “Master and Commander:the Far Side of the World” with Russell Crowe. > > I know this is a stupid question, and I know I’m missing something that will make me look foolish, but I just can’t figure out the ending of the movie. Why did Captain Aubrey turn the ship around to follow the one that had just left not long before? There was something about a sword given by the French doctor, only the doctor was said to have died. > > Will someone come along and explain what I am missing, so I can go :smack: Explanation in spoiler box: Aubrey had accepted the surrender of the captain’s sword from a man claiming to be the ship’s doctor. Having learned that the man in question was not the doctor, he came to the quick realization that the man who had surrender the sword was 1) the ship’s captain, and 2) had to be captured before he could cause mischief. Hence, the pursuit. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/3 "2006-05-08T02:30:43Z")
:smack: Oh geez, how did I miss that? Thanks _Governor Quinn_, now that you explained it it’s obvious, but for some reason I just couldn’t understand it before. That was fast. God, I love this board. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/4 "2006-05-08T03:50:23Z")
One little detail that I thought added something to that movie, was that during a sea battle one might see the flash of a gun _before_ the sound of it’s firing was heard. In many movies flash and boom are simultaneous, which wouldn’t be accurate unless the two ships are so close they could practically touch. I once attended an outdoor performance of the 1812 Overture, during the course of which small cannon were fired. They were well over a hundred yards away, far enough so that one could see the jerk of the arm as a cord was pulled to fire. There was a brief fraction of a second, enough to give time to get set against the noise. I still flinched, it was so loud, but I \*could \* tell there was a time gap. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 5:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/5 "2006-05-08T05:16:36Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > One little detail that I thought added something to that movie, was that during a sea battle one might see the flash of a gun _before_ the sound of it’s firing was heard. In many movies flash and boom are simultaneous, which wouldn’t be accurate unless the two ships are so close they could practically touch. I noticed that too, though I wondered if the ships were far enough away to have that kind of a delay. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Swan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@The\_Swan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Swan)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/6 "2006-05-08T06:05:41Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > I noticed that too, though I wondered if the ships were far enough away to have that kind of a delay. Oh yeah. I can remember frieds bouncing basketballs from 50 yards away which produced a sound much later than the sight of such. The ships in question often fired from much greater distances. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePasto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@AuntiePasto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePasto)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2006, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/7 "2006-05-08T12:14:55Z")
> [@HPL](#): > > I noticed that too, though I wondered if the ships were far enough away to have that kind of a delay. Let’s assume (for ease of calculation) that they were 100 meters apart. The speed of light (in a vaccuum) is about 3 x 10^8 m/s. The speed of sound (at sea level) is about 340 m/s. The light from the explosion at the other boat would reach you within 3.3 x 10^-9 seconds: essentially instantaneously. The sound from the explosion wouldn’t reach you until 0.29 seconds later. That’s a noticeable difference. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 7:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/8 "2006-05-10T19:44:08Z")
Is a spoiler box really necessary? I think they were most concerned that the prize crew led by the newly-promoted lieutenant from HMS _Surprise_ would be overcome by the French captives, who still outnumbered them, despite having surrendered. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/9 "2006-05-10T20:15:40Z")
> [@Elendil's Heir](#): > > I think they were most concerned that the prize crew led by the newly-promoted lieutenant from HMS _Surprise_ would be overcome by the French captives, who still outnumbered them, despite having surrendered. I’m working my way through the O’Brian books now. Is this battle covered in the books? If so, is there a definite resolution? ---
**Author:** ![Rocketeer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocketeer/32/4437_2.png) [@Rocketeer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rocketeer)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/10 "2006-05-10T20:43:39Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > I’m working my way through the O’Brian books now. Is this battle covered in the books? If so, is there a definite resolution? Not as I recall. I believe that it’s the invention of the screenwriter. How I envy you, encountering the books for the first time. One or two drag a bit, but there is some marvellous, literate writing in there. The chase with the _Waakzamheit_. Diana saying, “I beg your pardon; I thought it was the horse.” Jack pilloried, and his crew rallying around to protect him. ---
**Author:** ![Zakalwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zakalwe/32/270_2.png) [@Zakalwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zakalwe)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/11 "2006-05-10T20:54:55Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > I’m working my way through the O’Brian books now. Is this battle covered in the books? If so, is there a definite resolution? According to the IMDB trivia section: > [@](#): > > The movie combines two novels - “Master and Commander” and “The Far Side of the World”. Both deal with chasing down a privateer, and the movie combines the long chase of the latter with the furious climactic battle of the former. In the book, the Acheron is American not French. The “unique design” stuff shown in the movie is a reference to the Consitution class frigates and is, I believe, an accurate representation of the feelings at the time. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/12 "2006-05-10T21:08:42Z")
> [@Rocketeer](#): > > One or two drag a bit … Anytime there are women being referred to in the story, it tends to drag a great deal. But other than that, I am transfixed by these books. I’ve knocked out _HMS Surprise_ in a couple of days and will be hitting the bookstore for the next couple of volumes to carry me through the rest of the week. > [@Rocketeer](#): > > Diana saying, “I beg your pardon; I thought it was the horse.” My kids have long gotten used to me rolling on the floor laughing, just not quite so often as I do with these books. ---
**Author:** ![UncleRojelio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unclerojelio/32/3160_2.png) [@UncleRojelio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleRojelio)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/13 "2006-05-10T21:14:21Z")
> [@imdb](#): > > The movie combines two novels - “Master and Commander” and “The Far Side of the World”. Both deal with chasing down a privateer, and the movie combines the long chase of the latter with the furious climactic battle of the former. Yeah, I haven’t gotten to _Far Side of the World_ yet but some of the themes in _Master and Commander_ seemed remotely reminicent of the movie > [@Zakalwe](#): > > In the book, the Acheron is American not French. The “unique design” stuff shown in the movie is a reference to the Consitution class frigates and is, I believe, an accurate representation of the feelings at the time. Cool, yet another avenue to research. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Tracy\_Lord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@Tracy\_Lord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tracy_Lord)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/14 "2006-05-10T21:15:49Z")
> [@UncleRojelio](#): > > Anytime there are women being referred to in the story, it tends to drag a great deal. But other than that, I am transfixed by these books. I’ve knocked out _HMS Surprise_ in a couple of days and will be hitting the bookstore for the next couple of volumes to carry me through the rest of the week. How funny – I love the parts with the women (and all the personal interaction, really – Stephen and Diana kill me, but also Jack and Harte, Stephen and Sir Joseph, either of them with Killick). It’s the jargon and the battles that I tend to skim. Just goes to show that there’s something in there for everyone (and what is there is excellent, of course). I second the laughing out loud. I’m just now reading _Desolation Island_ in my off-time, and my server at lunch last weekend must have thought I was crazy from how much I was giggling. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/15 "2006-05-10T22:47:38Z")
I actually have read the first two books of the series. I need to find a website or a book the has ship’s diagrams, with arrows pointing to parts and naming them. I have trouble visualizing the rigging. On the other hand, I have no trouble visualizing the characters. Russell Crowe, as Jack Aubrey, looks exactly like my mental image of him, but Maturin should be shorter and darker. ---
**Author:** ![DrFidelius](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drfidelius/32/3447_2.png) [@DrFidelius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrFidelius)\ **Post date:** [May 10, 2006, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/16 "2006-05-10T23:30:46Z")
I’m not sure if they have a sail diagram handy, but have you visited [http://www.hmssurprise.org/](http://www.hmssurprise.org/) yet? Great, fun Patrick O’Brien site. My daughters (who both enjoy the series) tend to use the “something fascinating and nautical just happened” approach when the jargon gets too thick. ---
**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:** [May 10, 2006, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/17 "2006-05-10T23:51:12Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > On the other hand, I have no trouble visualizing the characters. Rutger Hauer and Dustin Hoffman. Arnold Schwartzenegger as Awkward Davies. Don’t know of anyone sleazney enough to be Killick. Maybe the guy who played Wormtongue in Lord fo the Rings. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/18 "2006-05-11T00:22:13Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > Rutger Hauer and Dustin Hoffman. > Arnold Schwartzenegger as Awkward Davies. > Don’t know of anyone sleazney enough to be Killick. Maybe the guy who played Wormtongue in Lord fo the Rings. Wormtongue [http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0000374/](http://us.imdb.com/name/nm0000374/) Dourif might do. He often plays sleazy or disturbed characters. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/19 "2006-05-11T00:27:00Z")
Jack Aubrey is _fat_. I always kind of visualised a sort of blond haired/blue eyed Robby Coltrane for Jack Aubrey. But all-in-all, Russel Crowe (in fact the entire cast and crew) did a very good job of capturing their character’s essence. Even Billy Boyd as Barret Bonden, in which I had pictured Vinnie Jones as a likely candidate for the role. While Paul Bettany was too tall, he did come across as a “damned ill looking fellow, with pale eyes,” and captured enough of Steven’s temperment, that I overlooked his vertical inconsistency. And I am pleased to announce that I have just aquired _Blue At The Mizzen_, and will be starting it tonight. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2006, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/movie-question-master-and-commander/355834/20 "2006-05-11T04:06:47Z")
> [@Zakalwe](#): > > …In the book, the Acheron is American not French. The “unique design” stuff shown in the movie is a reference to the Consitution class frigates and is, I believe, an accurate representation of the feelings at the time. As I posted on an earlier SDMB O’Brien thread, _Naval History_ magazine reported not long after the movie came out that a digitized version of the actual USS _Constitution_ (flying the French tricolor, of course) was used as the _Acheron_.