STUDY GUIDE fçÇÉÑá|á Academy Award®-winner Russell Crowe teams with four-time Oscar®- nominated director Peter Weir in the motion picture spectacle and event of the year: Master and Commanfer: The Far Side of the World. Set on the adventurous high seas, Russell Crowe is ‘Lucky’ Jack Aubrey, a bold and determined sea captain who sets off on a mission across two oceans that could decide the fate of a nation or destroy him and his loyal crew. Brilliant performances, flawless filmmaking and breathtaking visual effects bring to life this epic tale of leadership and courage in a powerful and emotional cinematic experience. Director: Peter Weir UK Release Date: November 28 2003 Certificate: TBC Running Time: 2hrs 15mins www.masterandcommandermovie.co.uk Visit www.royalnavy.mod.uk to research historical periods, naval leaders, ships, battles and timeline. HISTORY NOW AND THEN hen Patrick O’Brian began to write the stories of Jack Aubrey and Stephen Maturin he was looking for a time in history that might have reflected some of the concerns of his own time - and he was also looking for a story which would make a ‘ripping yarn’. One other thing he would have had to think about was historical accuracy. Is this the same for historians and historical novelists now? Are the periods and subjects that they study simply chosen ‘at will’ because they are interested in them, or do they have a relevance, an ‘echo’ of what is happening in world today? \ ãtÇà ÑxÉÑÄx What about your history studies? Why do you think you are studying the periods in àÉ yxxÄ à{tà à{|á |á tá history that you are? vÄÉáx tá çÉâ vtÇ zxà àÉ à{x |ÅÑÉáá|uÄx uâà xåv|à|Çz |wxt Éy àÜtäxÄÄ|Çz utv~ àÉ à{x ÑtáàA Peter Weir exáxtÜv{ 1 Look at some of the historical novels that are popular at the moment: the Sharpe series, Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey series for example. Both of these series are set in the Napoleonic period. How does the period that they deal with relate to us now? Why should these have been chosen and not others? Why do we relate to them? In the past couple of years, C S Forrester’s Hornblower novels have been turned into a television series. What does our choice about the past tell us about now? 2 Why do you think that the filmmakers of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World chose to make the film at this time? What values does it show? What are the attractions of the Napoleonic naval novels? www.filmeducation.org 1 POPULAR FILM POPULAR HISTORY THE INGREDIENTS OF A POPULAR MOVIE • Using your own knowledge of films and cinema going, make a list of the things that make a film popular and pool your ideas. • When you have seen the film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, make a list of the ingredients of the story. • What is in the story that will appeal to audiences? Also, what is it about the way that the story is shown on screen that will appeal to audiences? Study both lists. Note any items common to both lists. Having compared the two lists, consider the following: • What do you think are the qualities that could make Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World a box- office success? • A film such as Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World will cost many millions of dollars to make. Because it needs to make its money back, how do you think that this could affect the way in which the novel has been adapted. What might be missed out and why? POPULAR HISTORY Visit a bookshop and look in the history section. • What are the main historical periods covered by the books on sale? • Are there any particular people who are dealt with by some of the books? • What type of people are they? • What other aspects of history are covered by the books on sale? • What does the range of books in the history section tell us about what is popular in history for the average book buyer? Compare your list with the previous list you have drawn up for what makes a good film. One key thing to bear in mind is that when we go to see a film such as Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World we are not going to the cinema for a lesson in history. As we have said before, we are going to see a ‘good yarn’. However, because the story is set in a specific historical time, the filmmaker, in this case Peter Weir, has some responsibilities to try to portray that period in as much accurate detail as possible. gtá~ What are the particular questions that you would want to ask about Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World relating to historical source material? www.filmeducation.org 2 THE PERIOD OF THE FILM Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is set during the Napoleonic Wars, when Britain was at war with, amongst others, France. The film is set in 1805 (although the novel is set later in 1812). The origins of this war are to be found in the previous century. n 14 July 1789, angry at their poverty and at the wealth and ineffectuality of the ruling classes, masses of French Revolutionaries stormed the Bastille in Paris and France was declared a republic. Three years later the king, Louis XVI was put on trial and executed. In 1792, disturbed by what they saw as a dangerous precedent and an unsettling force in Europe, Austria and Prussia formed a Coalition against the new Republic and mobilised their troops. They were joined the next year by Britain, Spain and Holland. This started a war that was to last twenty-two years. Throughout the next two decades, both Britain with its Coalition allies and the French allied forces all experienced both victory and defeat. But these years also saw the steady rise of one man: Napoleon Bonaparte. From early success \àËá tÇ |ÇvÜxw|uÄx commanding the French army in Italy and in Egypt, Napoleon arrived unexpectedly twäxÇàâÜx? ã|à{ in Paris in 1799 and forced a coup d'état, making himself one of three consuls who were to govern France. In just a few months he became First Consul, and sole ruler zÜxtà tvà|Çz tá ãxÄÄ of France, with ambitions to conquer and rule all Europe. Over the next fifteen tá tÇ xåtÅ|Çtà|ÉÇ years, he was to invade Spain, Russia, Austria and Portugal and even attempt to Éy t àÉàtÄ Ä|yx tà áxtA invade Britain, being defeated famously at the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805. In these years, the size of the British Navy and the skill and experience of its cxàxÜËá âÇ|Öâx sailors was crucial in turning the tide from the French victories on land to the eventual defeat of the Napoleonic regime. British commanders, particularly Admiral ä|á|ÉÇ? vÉÅu|Çxw Horatio Nelson, used unconventional tactics to defeat the French and their allies, ã|à{ tÇ |ÇvÜxw|uÄx as may be seen from the Battle of the Nile and later in the crucial victory at Trafalgar. The urgent need for sailors to man these warships also exacerbated the vtáà? uÜxtà{àt~|Çz tension between Britain and apparently neutral America. Ships were so significant |Åtzxá tÇw xåv|à|Çz a part of a countries' power, both naval and economic, that control of the seas utààÄx áxÖâxÇvxá @ became perhaps the most important factor for all sides in the Napoleonic Wars. For more background on the period, visit www.filmeducation.org and click on the \ yxxÄ |à ã|ÄÄ ux t Master and Commander button. áàâÇÇ|Çz xåÑxÜ|xÇvx |Ç v|ÇxÅtA Alan Curtiss, First Assistant Director Image © Harper Collins www.filmeducation.org 3 HISTORICAL STUDIES elow is the film synopsis of the story of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Read it carefully and then answer the tasks that follow. Academy Award®-winner Russell Crowe teams with four- time Oscar®-nominated director Peter Weir in the motion picture spectacle and event of the year: MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD. Set on the adventurous high seas, Russell Crowe is ‘Lucky’ Jack Aubrey, a bold and determined sea captain who sets off on a mission across two oceans that could decide the fate of a nation or destroy him and his loyal crew. Brilliant performances, flawless filmmaking and breathtaking visual effects bring to life this epic tale of leadership and courage in a powerful and emotional cinematic experience. gtá~ TyàxÜ áxx|Çz à{x y|ÄÅ 1 What are the key areas of the story 2 Was there anything which surprised that are stressed in the synopsis? you about the film? Was there How important are the characters of the anything which annoyed you about the story compared to the time in which it is film? Did any of the casting surprise set? How important is the historical you? What did you think of the ending? period in the synopsis? HISTORICAL CHARACTERS History was once thought of as a series of great events and great people. Nowadays there are very many different ideas of what history is. However, great names in history are still important. How does a historian go about creating an idea of a person in their readers mind? If we stay within the period of Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, how would you, as a historian, be able to build up a picture of Admiral Nelson? What sources would you have at your disposal? Make a list of the possible types of sources that you could use to construct your portrait and then think about which would be the most useful and accurate.