introduced by Museum of the Earth Director Warren Allman
Who woulda thunk it? In 2003, tales of the high seas returned to the big screen with actual made-like-they-used-to-make-'em entertainment value. Peter Weir, no mere midshipman himself, helms what could have been a sail-deflating yawner in Napoleonic naval gazing with alarming navigational skill. Cap'n Crowe combines strategy with instinct to engage his H.M.S. Surprise with the formidable dreadnought, the Acheron, in an epic chase around Cape Horn, and the good news here is that it's genuinely absorbing. The much-ballyhooed attention to detail will amaze you, yes, especially in the blood'n'guts surgical scenes, but the real ride comes from such a deft handling of story. Not to be missed in the theater, where you can hear every sigh, crack and moan of the Surprise's hull when it's pulverized by the French 44 gun vessel. Video projection.
2003, color, 2 hours 18 minutes, USA