Mutiny on the Bounty (1962 film)
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| Mutiny on the Bounty | |
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 Original film poster |
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| Directed by | Lewis Milestone |
| Produced by | Aaron Rosenberg (uncredited) |
| Written by | Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall (novel) Charles Lederer (screenplay) |
| Starring | Marlon Brando Trevor Howard Richard Harris Hugh Griffith |
| Music by | Bronislau Kaper |
| Cinematography | Robert L. Surtees |
| Editing by | John McSweeney Jr. |
| Distributed by | Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer |
| Release date(s) | November 8, 1962 |
| Running time | 178 min. (UK:185 min.) |
| Country | US |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $19 million approx. |
| IMDb profile | |
Mutiny on the Bounty is a 1962 film starring Marlon Brando, based on the novel Mutiny on the "Bounty" by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. It is the third American film to be made from the novel, the first two being the 1933 version and 1935 version. It was directed by Lewis Milestone. The screenplay was written by Charles Lederer (with uncredited input from Eric Ambler, William L. Driscoll, Borden Chase, John Gay and Ben Hecht [1])
The film chronicles the real-life mutiny aboard the HMAV Bounty led by Fletcher Christian against the ship's captain, William Bligh. Like the 1935 version, this film portrayed Captain Bligh as a cruel tyrant whose abuse lead the crew to mutiny. However the movie does not spend much time on what happened to those in the launch after being put off the Bounty. It only shows the beginning of the voyage of the launch and then Bligh's participation in the inquiry into the mutiny in England.
Mutiny on the Bounty was photographed in the Ultra Panavision 70 widescreen process, the first film so credited.
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[edit] Plot
This version has the unfortunate distinction of being the least historically accurate of the films. This movie has Bligh and Fletcher meeting for the first time - in reality Bligh and Christian had sailed together before. Bligh was asleep during the initial stages of the uprising; this movie shows him as awake. After the mutiny, Fletcher Christian suffers a guilt complex which severely affects his behavior. He dies at the end of the film after the ship lands at Pitcairn Island. He dies not from being murdered, but as a result of burns suffered while trying to save the Bounty after the other mutineers have set it on fire so that Christian will not take them back to stand trial, as he was planning. However, most historical evidence shows that Fletcher lived on the island for several years before being murdered, and some even believe that he eventually returned to England some years later.
[edit] Cast
- Trevor Howard as Capt. William Bligh
- Marlon Brando as 1st Lt. Fletcher Christian
- Richard Harris as Seaman John Mills
- Hugh Griffith as Alexander Smith
- Richard Haydn as William Brown
[edit] Trivia
- The film has also become legendary for the excessive behavior of Marlon Brando during filming. According to the biography by Peter Manso, Brando's antics included pulling members of the film crew away from the set to work on the decorations for a friend's wedding in Tahiti and flying airplane loads of expensive food and drinks to the island for parties he would throw.
- According to the NPR trivia Show Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! Brando ripped 52 pairs of trousers from the costume department due to his excessive over-eating.
- Brando later married Tarita Teriipia, who played Maimiti in the film.
[edit] Awards
The 1962 movie did not win any Oscars but was nominated for seven:
- Academy Award for Best Picture - Aaron Rosenberg
- Academy Award for Best Art Direction-Set Decoration, Color - George W. Davis, Henry Grace, Hugh Hunt and J. McMillan Johnson
- Best Cinematography, Color - Robert Surtees
- Best Effects, Special Effects - A. Arnold Gillespie (visual) and Milo B. Lory (audible)
- Best Film Editing - John McSweeney Jr.
- Best Music, Score - Substantially Original - Bronislaw Kaper
- Best Music, Song - Bronislaw Kaper (music) and Paul Francis Webster (lyrics) - For the song "Love Song from Mutiny on the Bounty (Follow Me)"
