Contra Mundum from Alexander Larman

Contra Mundum from Alexander Larman

Master and Commander and the greatness of Peter Weir

A ten-gun salute to a fine film and a frustratingly underrated filmmaker

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Alexander Larman
Jul 22, 2025
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When I saw Master and Commander, Peter Weir’s fine adaptation of two of Patrick O’Brian’s novels, upon its initial release in 2003, it was an interesting time. Russell Crowe, who played the swashbuckling protagonist Captain Jack Aubrey, was at his peak as a film star, coming off the successes of Gladiator, The Insider and A Beautiful Mind, and he excell…

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