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Donaldson’s The Bounty was a strikingly solid adaptation of the tale of rebellious Fletcher Christian, stalwart Captain Bligh and the breadfruit and Tahitian beauty that inspired mutiny on the HMS Bounty. Unlike the rollicking 1935 classic that starred a dashing Clark Gable as the swashbuckling Christian and an imperious Charles Laughton as the evil Bligh, this is a revisionist tale that casts the Bounty captain in a more compassionate light. Hopkins’ Bligh is a usually fair and just leader who’s unprepared for the tropical lust that takes over his crew, and soon finds himself up against Gibson’s Christian, a man torn between his duty to his captain and the newfound love he has for the South Seas … Donaldson’s strength lies in keeping the audience sympathetic to both Hopkins and Gibson, making out neither to be a monster but rather men driven by their differing moral compasses. Donaldson further distinguished The Bounty from its predecessors with its attention to historical detail and sumptuous location photography, which seduced audiences as well as the crewmen of the ill-fated ship. – Mark Englehart, imdbRead More »
