Master and Commander Remains a Sea-Worthy Classic | The Backdrop
Hey folks!
So Fox and Universal really do not want you to remember Master and Commander. We've spent the last few weeks remastering our Master and Commander essay that keeps getting taken down by YouTube's copyright system (seriously, even if we don't monetize it you can't view it), and guess what, it got blocked again despite our best efforts.
We didn't want Darren and Matt's work to go to waste, so we're uploading it directly here to Patreon instead. We hope you enjoy it as much as we did making it, and thankfully, at least on Patreon, we don't have to worry about it getting taken down again.
Enjoy!
Comments (33)
Great analysis. One of the few movies I can watch with my dad where we're both enjoying it.
Great Video! I've always been saddened that this didn't at least get a couple more movies in the series, but I was part of the problem at the time. Something with the marketing of the movie just didn't resonate with me at all. I only saw the movie months later at home. Oh and quick aside, very small error in the video at ~3:06. Missed a 0 on the hair (40 vs 400)
Thanks. Glad I could see it here. I have the movie on DVD, but its a standard deviation in 4x3 format. Might watch it anyways.
I clearly missed this 2 years ago but I am so happy that this film is getting some love at last - and from Darren no less. I really enjoyed it when it came out in 2003 and have always been disappointed that it never got a sequel. I guess the original team are well over this by now, but it would be nice to see a spiritual successor one day.
Thank you Darren (and crew :) so very much for sharing this video essay with us!! It is so very appreciated and I’ve been looking forward to it since I heard of its existence!
Thank you Justin for enjoying it!
Nice retrospective. I wonder if for all the money it's putting on the screen, the movie simply didn't have enough "emotional spectacle" or easy conflict for larger audiences. The conflict at the heart of the movie doesn't lead to POTC level shenanigans, and neither to a Moby Dick style final confrontation. Thinking back to it, I first remember look and feel and heart of the movie, not plot and "goals". Looking back from 2024 with my dumbed down brain I'm almost confused by the idea that this was supposed to be a blockbuster, let alone a franchise starter. It's interesting that POTC is sitting next to it, negating a superficial executive take like "oh people do not like sailing ships". Is there a consensus on why the movie didn't find the audiences they expected it to find?
And I swear it took me until minute 21 to remember that -this Paul Bettany guy- is now most prominently known for his Marvel work ^^
I loved this movie. I watched it in the cinema when it came out and I've watched it several times since. I remember when it first came out there was some mild controversy that the filmography was so well done that people got sea sick watching it and always wondered if those rumors ever affected the movie's success.
Interesting! I had never heard that, but it's pretty awesome. Reminds me of the buzz around, say, "The Exorcist."
I really love this video and thanks for posting it, but does anyone else find the Patreon video player nearly unusable? The video stream constantly stutters and pauses, even though every other streaming service works in 1080p fine.
No issues here. Viewing on a Google Pixel 6 at 1080p super smooth
Well yes. I will take this "accidentally" exclusive content
Acc-clusive!
We loved that film one of the many DvDs I purchased and then never watched after seeing it at the cinema
No Geoff, you're doing it wrong... You're supposed to just wait patiently until one of the streaming services deigns to provide it, or at least own it digitally somewhere until it gets deleted from your library per the user agreement!
Such a striking film. I saw it in theaters twice, and it's one I'll still watch all the way through if i manage to catch it on somewhere. I even bought the Aubrey-Maturin book series after it came out and devoured them. I keep hoping the sequel(s) will materialize sooner or later.
Yep. As we mention in the re-master (and re-commander), there was a project announced in 2021, shortly after we launched the video. (I'm not saying we were single-handedly responsible, but...) However, we haven't heard anything about that project since.
Fantastic commentary to a great movie.
Thank you!
Absolutely wonderful, Darren! Thank you for releasing it to us! 😊
Oh, shoutout to Matt, who did an excellent job with the edit. He really makes the piece sing. His work is phenomenal.
Thanks for putting this out again guys, I didn't see it the first time. Great piece! 🙏 Here's hoping putting it out here doesn't cause you any great copy issue 🍻
Thanks. Really proud of it.!
Second Wind: “We made this in-depth celebration and analysis of Master and Commander” Fox & Universal: “We don’t have time for your damned hobbies sir!”
"You must be pirates, argh!"
Well, now I'm going to go out of my way to watch this. Just because Fox / Universal wanted to be difficult.
Thanks! Hope you enjoy!
So wait this is like a review right? Are they claiming your review is not fair use?
Well I guess it's like Nick said, "because sometimes copyright rules are really stupid".
Thanks for releasing this for us! Rise again!
Master and Commander is one of my all-time favs. It deserves more recognition. It's so damn good, and I want more movies like it.
Also, thank you for releasing this here. It sucks that Fox and Universal don't want it on YouTube. Their loss. An excellent watch.