Interesting to note that Random House Audio has Robert Hardy doing the reading on a number of abridged tapes of the series.

I've become a devotee of the Patrick Tull readings of the O'Brian series, to the extent that when I came across a Patrick Tull reading of a Sharpe book recently I couldn't listen to it: Patrick Harper sounded too much like a stage Irish version of Dr. Maturin, and that, as they say, would not answer.

You know Master and Commander is on cable tonight? Have you even seen it? Maybe this would be a good time to sit down with a big bottle of wine and watch the stupid thing. Russell Crowe ain't that bad. Really and truly. ;)

As a related aside, I have to admit, I'm curious to see it now that I've started in on the books. I'm a little more than halfway through HMS Surprise and I really didn't get into them, or really understand what Maturin was all about until halfway through Post Captain. Now I'm hooked. I've already seen the movie and had no great objection to it at the time, but we'll see if I hate it now that I've got three under my belt. I don't know: it's the first naval movie where I've actually understood what they were about with the battles. Weir did a wonderful job shooting aerially to make it more clear---for that alone I'm fond of it.

Oh, I did finally see it a while back.

That reminds me of something - the line in the movie about the French setting up a guillotine in Picadilly (or wherever it was). It's certainly not out of any of the O'Brian books. I'm sure I've read it before and am almost positive the movie lifted it out of the Hornblower series, but so far have not been able to track it down.

Maybe I'll get the big ol' bottle of wine and do that instead.

I liked Crowe as Aubrey, also. I thought he was just fine. Hard to think of another current British or Australian actor who could have done any better. They aren't making many big, virile male stereotypes over there these days. You could see what a hard time they had finding a James Bond, and at least with Bond he could be a rapier and not a broadsword. Jack Aubrey is like a British John Wayne (and I didn't think you were crazy when you suggested the Duke as Jack Aubrey). You have to have some belief that the guy could kick your ass. Who do they have over there who could pull that off? Colin Firth? Hugh Grant? Ewan McGregor? Patrick Stewart? None of these guys particularly intimidates me.

I second MCNS on the Patrick Tull readings, as I have stated before in previous O'Brian postings. I think the Hardy reading was the first of the O'Brian novels I listened to, so whetted my appetite sufficiently to conytinue and move to the unabridged versions. I suggest Liam Neeson, even though Irish, as being sufficiently big, rough and tumble enough to pull off playing Aubrey.

Liam Neeson, maybe -- but he's not getting any younger. He's beginning to get the "old sage" roles that Connery used to get.

On a different topic, I didn't see Hardy as Churchill but I thought Albert Finney did a very good job in The Gathering Storm.

Kathy -

As a related aside, I have to admit, I'm curious to see it now that I've started in on the books. I'm a little more than halfway through HMS Surprise and I really didn't get into them, or really understand what Maturin was all about until halfway through Post Captain. Now I'm hooked. I've already seen the movie and had no great objection to it at the time, but we'll see if I hate it now that I've got three under my belt.

I could have wrote that myself, except I couldn't understand what any of them were about.

By the end of the first book I kind of got it, and saw enough in the action to keep me going. By somewhere in Post Captain, it was like reading Don Quixote in the original and suddenly, miraculously being able to read Spanish. And as I'm on #5, I appreciate most every turn of phrase. I'm not sure if O'Brian was picking up steam or if I just started understanding and taking my time with the material.

Regarding the movie, I saw and enjoyed it greatly (it's widely reviewed as one of the top 3 movies of that year, btw), but want to watch it again to see if it holds up. In fact, I just ordered it on Friday and it's waiting downstairs at my building's front desk.

ANCHOR'S AWEIGH, BITCHES!

*written*

Yeah, it's definitely in Post Captain where everything takes off---not only the action, but the characters really gel, particularly Maturin. I don't know that Aubrey would ever be an interesting character without Maturin...and vice versa. O'Brian plays them off each other so masterfully, it's really quite a wonderful thing to behold...and it's damn near spectacular with the workings of His Majesty's Navy acting as a backdrop. The prose is effortless. O'Brian---damn his eyes!----makes it look so easy.

As far as the movie is concerned, well, I watched bits of it this evening (I came in late) and I can now understand Robbo's general crankiness about it. I don't know why they bothered calling it Master and Commander because of the cherry picked plots from the series---and very few of them were from Master and Commander. (I think the trepination was the only one???) Although, I still do think Russell Crowe does a splendid Aubrey. He's Jack. There's just no getting around it.

Thanks for the reference to All Creatures Great And Small. I truly enjoyed that program when it was on PBS, and was fortunate enough to copy some of the episodes. I think I'll watch them tomorrow.

I don't know why they bothered calling it Master and Commander because of the cherry picked plots from the series---and very few of them were from Master and Commander.

1. Master and Commander is a great title for a movie.

2. They had a lexicon of 20 books to choose from, it seems not unnatural that there would be much splicing. But I may be similarly annoyed, having now witnessed the individual splendor of the books.

Although, I still do think Russell Crowe does a splendid Aubrey. He's Jack. There's just no getting around it.

I agree. Slightly studlier than Jack, but very close. And superb casting, by Hollywood standards.

Which makes me wonder - Robbo - have you tried rewatching Crowe's performance? I've heard that if you pull your head out of your arse you can see and hear the screen better ...

I agree that Liam Neeson is getting too old to portray the Aubrey of the earlier books, but could still handle the later books. The subtitle of the movie was "The Far Side of the World" which was the 10th book and if I recall a good part of the movie was taken from that book. They issued books tied in with the movie of both "Master and Commander" and "The Far Side of the World"

Hardy would have been terrific, agreed. Woulld that he were a younger man.

But I still have to disagree with your assessment of the movie... like Crowe's performance. Say what you want, the man can act.

As for the use of the Fantasia, well, yes I do have an opinion. For setting the right mood of melancholy and mourning, the passage selected from the Fantasia is perfect - and used perfectly.

I mean, if you want full historicity, forget about ever putting on film any work set before the 20th century.

Regarding your update:

My parents were visiting when the movie came out on DVD and I thought my dad might enjoy part of it since he was in the Merchant Marines in WW II. When they got to the scene you describe, I could hear him choking up. Fortunately my son woke up from his nap at that time and we had a distraction for a while. He apologized later saying that it felt a little too real for him, which of course there was no need to apologize in our minds.

Fond memories of All Creatures and Robert Hardy as Siegfried. But Peter Davison was so very Tristan, I could never quite accept him as The Doctor following Tom Baker...