The Mutiny on the Bounty is a true classic. It took over 2 years to film, and won many awards for 1935. Yes, that’s 1935! It’s a classic in black and white, and I’m not the biggest fan of black and white since I grew up with color. However, the video quality is very good on this blu-ray that after about 10 minutes of watching I forgot it was even black and white. Great acting for such and old movie, half the time on old movies the whole acting style can seem very fake to me. However, Mutiny on the Bounty was perfection! It had my attention from beginning to end!
The story is based on a true story of a ship named the Bounty that was sent from England to tahiti to get some plants that would be transported for food for slaves on the plantations. Captain Bligh was a ruthless Captain who punished his ship mates relentlessly that finally the first mate Fletcher Christian couldnt take it anymore and led a mutiny over the ship. This same movie was done again in 1962 with Marlon Brando playing Fletcher Christian. The movie shows loyalty, pride, love and courage. It’s a very well known story, though with both films being very old I don’t want to put out too many spoilers for those who have seen niether.
The film won best picture in 1935 and was nominated for 7 academy awards. It comes in a very nice digibook that is different than most since it actually has a different feel to it. Almost fuzzy like if that makes any sense. For those who have seen the movie and/or know the story and would like to read some interesting facts I suggest you google the Pitcairn Island. It’s just amazing what has become of it today of which all that was started with the “The Muntiny on the Bounty”.
Mutiny on the Bounty comes crashing onto blu-ray with a wonderful 1080p 16×9 1.33:1 video source. It’s amazing how well blu-ray can make a black and white movie look. I mentioned above that I’m not the biggest fan of black and white to begin with, but with this film it took like all of 5 minutes for me to look past it and enjoy the rich detail that was depicted on the screen even in black and white! There are some very few moments where quality is lost a bit and one where a line is kind of going down the middle of the screen later in the movie. Though it’s hard to know why excactly that is, as I believe it is probably from the master and not a problem with the video processing during the blu-ray transfer. Thumbs up overall!
Blu-ray Screen Shot Gallery:
The audio track is probably as good as it’s going to get for its age. It comes with a lossless monaural Dolby Digital track that does provide enough clarity for all dialogue and sounds of the environment. In this case, the sea. It’s too bad a classic like this couldnt have an HD audio track because a film of this nature that is primarily filmed outside would have been great for all the natural sounds and or sound effects used. The 1962 Marlon Brando version will probably be one heck of an audio track. Keep in mind my rating for the audio is based on what all was available at this time and age when filming this movie. ie. 1935!
The supplements for Mutiny on the Bounty are probably very good for such an old film, though they are very slim. It has trailers, (for both this edition and the 1962 version) an interview with the director when accepting the award and a few other tid bits. Even a peice on what the island of Pitcairn is like today. However, I suggest anyone who finds the Pitcairn feature interesting to then do some googling of the island as their is plenty more info that is way more up to date then that of the small bonus feature. Probably the best and most informational part might be the 32 page digibook. Is it supposed to be like that? Haha.
Mutiny on the Bounty is strongly recommended for many reasons. For those who know this movie and are currently a fan then its worth it to upgrade to this fantastic blu-ray edition. For those who are fans of digibooks (like myself) then its a very cool one to have, great movie and well made with a different feel to it. (the digibook itself) For those interested in this movie then its great because its an awesome true story that is worth experiencing. Additionally, the video quality is excellent for a black and white film. The audio quality is probably as good as it can get with only dolby digital. The supplements aren’t the beefiest but I found the 32 page book to be very informational and entertaining. Also one old vintage interview of acceptance of the best picture award. Once more, this is highly recommended.
