Mutiny on the Bounty (1962) Blu-ray review

This epic adventure is 185 minutes long and on DVD releases it is split onto two discs, which is a primary reason for praising the release of a single-disc Blu-ray disc. The photography is as magnificent as it has ever been and there are a number of great moments in the classic telling of the novel written by Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall. The slow burning tale centers around a mission to retrieve breadfruit trees from Tahiti, and the true story involving a mutiny against Capt. William Bligh by first officer Fletcher Christian. Brando plays Christian in the second adaptation of the novel, which was highly praised for all for the technical achievements when it was released. Trevor Howard is Bligh and Richard Harris also co-stars as John Mills.

The story begins in 1787, taking place over seas and on tropical paradise. The crew of the HMS Bounty becomes quite accustomed to the tropical lifestyle, and they decide that mutiny is a worthwhile risk for keeping the life that they want with the native people. Bligh runs his crew with tyranny and cruelty, forcing his first officer Christian to make a difficult decision. Nominated for seven Academy Awards, this particular version of this classic story stands apart from the rest.

           

The film is long enough to have an intermission, which previously gave perfect timing to split the film onto two discs. As well as a new high definition digital transfer restored from 65mm elements, there are a number of special features, taken from the Collector’s Edition DVD release. There are four vintage featurettes about the film as well as one new featurette. There is also an alternate prologue and epilogue sequence which was not shown theatrically. Also included is a 2006 featurette. These are all fit onto the single disc, along with the lengthy film, making this Blu-ray release a practical one.