Does anybody else think that this film would have been much better if Daniel Day Lewis was given the part of Fletcher Christian? In almost every scene, the supporting cast (Day-Lewis, Hill, Neeson) does a far more credible job than Gibson, who practically struggles to keep up.
shareI love Daniel but Mel was absolutely brilliant as Christian so I like the movie the way it is.
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I agree 100% with Edward_de_Vere. Christian as a character is multilayered and Mel couldn't bring the entire complexities of this character to screen. Mel's character remains uni-dimensional.
Day-Lewis would have pulled off the role with all the complexities but he was not having the star power that Mel had in those days.
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Day-Lewis has far more range as an actor than Gibson, who's basically a one-dimensional action movie star who sometimes, somehow, makes it into more serious roles. Could you picture Gibson pulling off a role like Daniel Plainview in There Will be Blood?
You saw depth and layer in Gibson - I saw a flat performance throughout the movie, with occasional outbursts of almost comical over-acting. Adequate, perhaps, but by no means compelling, especially not opposite Hopkins and the various supporting actors.
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Gibson was amazing in this film as was Day-Lewis and Hopkins. This film was severely underrated.
shareI have to disagree with the original poster, as I thought Gibson was absolutely fantastic as Fletcher Christian (equally as brilliant as Anthony Hopkins is here as Bligh). This is among Gibson's stronger dramatic performances, and he did a wonderful job of pulling off the complexity of the role. I don't think Day-Lewis could have done a better job.
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I will say this, if there was anyone else in the cast I would have considered as Fletcher, and Gibson was not available for the role, hindsight based on his body of work in the last 20+ years would convince me that Liam Neeson would be the second strongest choice (and not Day-Lewis). Neeson has one of the most naturally commanding screen presences I've seen. Watching Les Miserables, where he goes toe-to-toe with Geoffrey Rush, gives me the same thrill and powerful dramatic rush as those scenes in The Bounty where Gibson confronts Hopkins.
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gibson can go where DDL goes, sounds like someone missed the beaver
share. I actually dislike DDL in this film (he was underused and left to grimace and look snippy as Fryer) , but I do think a meatier role like Fletcher would have brought out his talent. A lot of people forget that DDL at the time was an accomplished stage actor.
However, I do think Gibson has the right kind of power and presense for Fletcher. (even though his english accent is a little iffy) Neeson is wrong for the role in my opinion because isn't Fletcher supposed to be a bit of a posh officer. Neeson seemed more working class back then and his irish accent would not have worked for me.
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Day-Lewis is great as Fryer.
Liam Neeson has never been better than in this film. He strangely reminds me of a young Jimmy Nail in Auf wiedersehen pet.
Mel Gibson has alwayss been a boring actor and this film is no exception.
shareBoth Neeson and DDL would have done far better than Gibson - who is still better here than most his movies.
Someone mentioned Gibson's Hamlet? My oh my, that version was the worst Hamlet ever, not even saved by Glenn Close!
Someone mentioned Gibson's Hamlet? My oh my, that version was the worst Hamlet ever, not even saved by Glenn Close!
Well Edward, hard to discuss tastes :)
I still preferred Hawke's take on the role; here's my ranking on Hamlet movies (those I've seen):
1) Olivier's / Olivier (8.1/10)
2) Branagh's / Branagh (7.8/10)
3) Almereyda's / Hawke (5.8/10)
4) Bennett's (TV) / Jacobi (5.7/10)
5) Zeffirelli's / Gibson (4.2/10)
I'm surprised that you didn't like Jacobi's performance. If you can get your hands on copies, take a look at Nicol Williamson and Christopher Plummer's interpretations of Hamlet (particularly the former).
shareNo.
He's awesome, but Mel Gibson was right for this.
The comments on this string are hilarious.
Are you guys talking about William Shakespeare or Fletcher Christian?
Multilayered?
Complex personality?
Fletcher Christian was a 25-year-old repressed Protestant who was trying to get some Asian booty!
(a tradition that continues today, where 70% of the people getting off the plane in Bangkok are British guys who can't get any back home)
P.S. I think the suddenly explosive performance in the scene where the mutiny takes place was just a rehearsal for his rant in 2010:
“You go out in public and it’s a *beep* embarrassment to me. You look like a *beep* bitch in heat. And if you get raped by a pack of ni**ers it will be your fault. Alright? Because you provoked it. You are provocatively dressed all the time with your fake boobs that you feel you have to show off. I don’t like it. I don’t want that woman. I don’t want you. I don’t trust you. I don’t love you....I am going to come and burn the *beep* house down... but you will blow me first.”
He probably would have been better but I thought Gibson was very good.
sharewould be interesting for sure.
'I'm not making art, I'm making sushi.'-Masaharu Morimoto
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nah.
he's not at ddl levels yet.
Veneration of Mark Twain is one of the roots of our current intellectual stalemate
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yes yes, we all love Daniel Day Lewis
some of us even loved him back in the late 90's with My Beautiful Laundrette ,Room with a view,The Unbearable Lightness of Being.
he was a young actor who showed promise and range, then he showed the world what he can really do with MY LEFT FOOT! and the rest is history.
but let's remember, Daniel was still a fresh young actor in 1983 when filming began on The Bounty
the only real movie he did before this was in gandhi
so he was quite inexperienced he had no star power to speak of, either did Neeson.
so this is why they got bit parts in the movie.
It took Daniel 7 years to get noticed from the bounty when he did the small independant movie, My Left foot and that put him on the map with the oscar win.
Mel Gibson was the far more experienced actor.
having done a wide range of movie, the mentally challenged TIM, then the action hero MAD MAX, then the drama gallipoli, the thriller The year of living dangerously.
So mel was the best choice for Fletcher! not just because of Star power to get the film financed and distributed but the role suited him more.
now I am not saying DDL couldn't of played Fletcher with conviction, of course he could of.
but he was superb as FRY.
just because you are a co star doesn't mean your character is not as important
fry was a great part!
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Good question.
I think DDL wasnt rounded well enough as an actor at the time to play FC, MG was probably name cast as lead.
But the present day DDL would pulverize the role to perfection I think.
I think DDL wasnt rounded well enough as an actor at the time to play FC, MG was probably name cast as lead.
But the present day DDL would pulverize the role to perfection I think.
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