The Bounty (1984) on Netflix
PG19842h 12mActionAdventureDrama
In 1787, Lieutenant William Bligh sails HMS Bounty to Tahiti for breadfruit. Master's mate Fletcher Christian, promoted to sailing master, is drawn to island life and at odds with Bligh.
- Netflix3.6/5
- IMDb7.1/1035,395 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes74%
Trailer
Plot summary
The Bounty leaves Portsmouth in December 1787 to gather breadfruit pods in Tahiti for transplanting in the Caribbean. Bligh takes the westward route around Cape Horn to fulfill a wish to circle the globe, but weather forces a longer eastern passage. He promotes master's mate Fletcher Christian, a friend, to sailing master. Tahiti is reached in October 1788, and contrary winds keep the ship there four months longer than planned. The crew takes to island life, Christian immerses himself in Tahitian culture, and his friendship with Bligh frays. Three men, including Charles Churchill, desert; Bligh hunts them down and has them flogged. When the ship finally sails, Bligh imposes extra chores, reduced rations and tongue-lashings, especially after Christian proposes avoiding Cape Horn.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Bounty (1984)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Mel Gibson said the long production and bad weather sent him mad: “They would hold their breath at night when I went off. One night I had a fight in a bar and the next day they had to shoot only one side of my face because the other was so messed up.”
- The replica of the Bounty was built in Whangārei, New Zealand before the script was even completed, at a cost of $4 million out of the film's $25 million; Donaldson said the boat “has got to be the most expensive movie prop ever built”, exact right down to the hand stitching on the sails.
- In April 1980, with David Lean still attached to direct, Christopher Reeve was the favorite to play Fletcher Christian: Lean had enjoyed Superman, and Katharine Hepburn had recommended Reeve to him.
- The Bounty began pre-production in late 1978 as a long-time passion project for director David Lean, but multiple complications, including a prohibitively high budget and screenwriter Robert Bolt suffering a heart attack, led to a period of development hell that ended with the hiring of newcomer director Donaldson.
- David Lean considered only two actors for the role of Captain Bligh: Anthony Hopkins and Oliver Reed. Hopkins was approached as early as 1978.
- Paramount considered turning The Bounty into a seven-part TV series but pulled out after two months, deciding the project was too masculine and lacked female appeal.
