Mutiny on the Bounty

In 1787 the Bounty sails for Tahiti to collect breadfruit plants. Captain Bligh runs the crew with the lash, with starvation and with arbitrary punishment. On the return voyage his second in command, Fletcher Christian, mutinies and sets him adrift in an open boat. The film is not interested in nautical adventure. It is interested in the limits of authority: it draws Bligh not as a madman but as a man using his powers to the letter, and presents the mutiny as necessity rather than heroism. The form is big studio production: real sailing footage, crowded deck scenes, MGM scale. Its most famous legacy is in Oscar history. Charles Laughton, Clark Gable and Franchot Tone were all nominated for Best Actor for the same film, the only time that has happened. The Academy created the supporting categories the following year and it never happened again. The film won Best Picture. Frank Lloyd directed. Who it is for: viewers who like classical Hollywood epics and sea adventure. Who it is not for: anyone after historical accuracy. The real events are rearranged for effect and the Tahiti section carries the colonial gaze of its day.