Every day, AlloCiné recommends a film to (re)watch on TV. Tonight: a great adventure film from the 80s with Mel Gibson and a slew of stars.
What if a scent of adventure came into your living room to end this weekend? If this is your wish, then head to Arte, which has the chic idea of broadcasting the excellent Bounty led by Mel Gibson. Let’s immediately get rid of the joke that immediately comes to mind: we’re not talking about the coconut-filled chocolate bar here, but about a film featuring the famous Royal Navy frigate.
Very good entertainment, The Bounty is the big screen adaptation of Captain Bligh and Mr. Christianthe novel by Richard Hough based on the true story of William Bligh, a lieutenant against whom a mutiny was led in 1787. It is the fourth film to evoke this historic episode after In the Wake of the Bounty with Errol Flynn (1933) , Rebels on the Bounty with Clark Gable (1935) and (again) Rebels on the Bounty with Marlon Brando (1962).
The Bounty takes the viewer back to December 1787, when the Royal Navy frigate of the same name sets sail from England towards Tahiti. If the first part of the journey takes place without major incident, relations become strained between Captain Bligh (Anthony Hopkins) and the crew following several failed attempts to cross Cape Horn. Little by little, the sailors no longer accept the iron discipline imposed by their commander after spending several months in paradise. The revolt rumbles, led by second captain Fletcher Christian (Mel Gibson)…
Filming in French Polynesia and parterre (or rather “parterre”) of stars
Presented in Competition at the Cannes Film Festival, The Bounty is an excellent show in which shines Mel Gibson as a king of the seas (a Mel Gibson who you probably don’t know from this film where he is cryogenically frozen), years before Jack Sparrow in the Pirates of the Caribbean saga. An exotic adventure filmed in particular in French Polynesia, where the quality of the sets and costumes is worth highlighting.
Carried by the sublime score of Vangelis (Chariots of Fire, 1492, Blade Runner), this film, classically but solidly staged, gives great importance to the psychology of the characters. Which are embodied by an incredible number of stars: Mel Gibson And Anthony Hopkins, who play the main roles, are surrounded by Daniel Day-Lewis, Liam Neeson and Laurence Olivier! It makes you want to go for a sea trip with them, right?
Tonight on Arte at 9 p.m.
