Information

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World was one of the major motion pictures of 2003: an adaptation of Patrick O'Brian's sea-stories starring Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany. Directed and adapted for the screen by Peter Weir, the film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards (it was the year that Lord of the Rings swept) and took home the awards for sound editing and cinematography.

About the Film

The movie is based off the Aubrey/Maturin novels by Patrick O'Brian, a long-running and well-loved series of adventures featuring Captain Jack Aubrey and his best friend Stephen Maturin, surgeon and intelligence officer. The film's plot comes from several books. The main conflict and half the title are from The Far Side of the World, the tenth installment, but a number of incidences and the other half of the title come from the first book: Master and Commander.

The film's drama unfolds almost entirely on the deck of the HMS Surprise, where "Lucky" Jack Aubrey finds himself outgunned by the French ship Acheron. Although there are plenty of show-stopping fight scenes, most of the film's power comes not from the thrill of the chase but the friendship between Jack and Stephen and the daily goings-on of a ship in His Majesty's service. Other highlights include a trip to the Galapagos, Badass Moments 101: Self-Surgery, and some really bad puns.

About the Site

This is a fanlisting for the Master and Commander movie. As so quotably put forth by TFL:
A fanlisting is simply an online listing of fans of a subject, such as a TV show, actor, or musician, that is created by an individual and open for fans from around the world to join. There are no costs, and the only requirements to join a fanlisting are your name and country.

For more on the concept of fanlistings, I recommend visiting the Fanlistings 101 page.

This particular fanlisting is maintained by Alex, who got dragged into Master and Commander by her family and came out of the theater with a new favorite movie. This set off a chain reaction that resulted in my purchasing of multiple book series in their entirety and a Horatio Hornblower DVD set.

The site name comes from a sea chanty I found in the book Master and Commander. The layout was designed by me in such a haphazard fashion I've no idea how it came about.