A strong film, and it's surprising that it was panned when it came out in 1962. One of the issues is that it was being compared to the 1935 version with Charles Laughton and Clark Gable; another was that stories of Brando's difficult behavior while filming were followed by filmgoers seeing his unconventional portrayal of Fletcher Christian. Personally, I highly enjoyed it. The film has an epic feel, but even at three hours long, didn't feel padded at all. The cinematography is beautiful, showing a replica Bounty on the ocean, sailing into sunsets or brutally rough seas, as well as the natural beauty of the islands in the south Pacific. The film is loose with the facts, most notably in the treatment of natives and the final outcome on Pitcairn Island, which may put off viewers. It's also a little unbelievable in its depiction of the love Christian had for Princess Maimiti (played by Tarita Teriipaia), but the gist is accurate, and it's a fascinating story.Trevor Howard turns in a fantastic performance as Bligh, and while Brando's foppish and almost effeminate Fletcher Christian had me scratching my head in the beginning, it really grew on me, and he's strong as well. The difference between the two men is clear from the beginning, and I appreciated the film's balanced presentation of them over the first hour or so. Bligh gets the chance to explain that he's driven by duty above all else, and that the crew need to fear the captain and his officers. Christian understands duty, and while he has his personal opinions, is a model of behavior until the actual mutiny. The two of them express their opinions and disdain for one another in deliciously restrained British dialogue.The scenes in Tahiti are gorgeous, and Tarita is stunning. Her hip shaking is mesmerizing, and her smile enchanting. The world these men landed in may seem idealized, but if you read other informed or first-hand accounts (such as Herman Melville's 'Omoo'), it's accurate. Aside from the beauty, the Tahitians were for the most part extremely friendly. The scenes of sailors pursuing women get a little silly, such as when Fletcher Christian is in the bushes with Maimiti when Bligh wanders by, and the rapidity with which Maimiti later picks up English is surprising. Most of all, though, it's unfortunate that the film is stilted towards a white male fantasy, showing delight and frolicking, without showing rape, sexually transmitted diseases, or the devastation to the native culture. The reality was that Tahitians were forced as slaves to go along with Christian and his mutineers when they tried to find a new place to live, not willing adventurers. That's a pretty damning omission.Brando gives us a Fletcher Christian who believes he was morally right to overthrow Bligh, but also knew he no longer had a country as a result. He's a tortured soul from then on, to the point of thinking about returning to England to state his case. That will probably seem odd to the filmgoer, and should - the real Fletcher Christian wanted to do no such thing. It's a shame they took this liberty to set up further dramatic scenes, when the real story itself is so captivating.The film was also of interest to me because as the excellent documentary "Listen To Me Marlon" explains, it marked the point at which Brando started to prioritize enjoying life - realizing that acting, even great acting - was a means, not an end for him. Surrounded by beauty, and in love with his co-star Tarita (who he would marry before the film was released), he felt the same thing that some of the sailors from the Bounty felt - and other such as Gauguin felt - that one could just retire from the world, and live happily in paradise. For film lovers, his approach to his career after "Mutiny on the Bounty" was a real shame, with the exception of a few high points, since he was such an outstanding actor. It wasn't his last great performance, but clearly marked a turning point for him.

This 1962 remake of "Mutiny On the Bounty," is not in the same league of greatness as the 1935 version. That film has a more coherent narrative, is quite gripping and Charles Laughton as Captain Bligh is the film's best performance. Trevor Howard is perfectly OK in the 1962 version as Bligh but his rendition can't hold a candle to Laughton's. Having said that, Marlon Brando is a far better Fletcher Christian than Clark Gable. Brando actually creates a character and gives probably the best performance in the movie. "Mutiny on the Bounty" benefits from having lavish photography and a film of this kind needed to be made on an extravagant scale. However, a film that has good production values doesn't guarantee satisfactory results and it is no wonder that this film wasn't very successful upon release. The scenes involving the various bouts of sadism and eventual rebellion are very capably handled. There was even some tension as some of the crew members began to rebel against Bligh's tyranny. I thought the running time to be far too long. About 40 minutes should have been edited from the final cut. The film was beset with problems from pre- production onwards. Brando had original director Carol Reed fired early on but Lewis Milestone certainly had his work cut out for him. The fact that the screenplay kept being changed during production, weakens the narrative as it loses all sense of direction after a while. The best portion of the film is during aboard the Bounty. One of the last films Marlon Brando made whilst his name meant anything at the box office or in the acting industry. His decline had begun.

In my view, the one good thing that came out of this mess was the revival of traditional shipbuilding skills in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia for the reconstruction of an enlarged version of the original 1787 Royal Navy sailing ship HMS Bounty. I seriously doubt if anyone could recruit shipbuilders with the requisite skills today. Tragically the ship sank off the coast of North Carolina during Hurricane Sandy on 29 October 2012. Since MGM went to such trouble and expense to reproduce the ship accurately I wonder if similar pains were taken over other aspects of historical accuracy. The (mis)casting of Marlon Brando as Fletcher Christian certainly enhanced Brando's reputation as box office poison. The casting of Trevor Howard as Captain William Bligh is interesting. Depicting a 50-year-old man receiving his first command of a ship would strongly suggest he did not have the right stuff. In point of fact, William Bligh was only 33 when appointed Commanding lieutenant of HMS Bounty in 1787. Bligh was later promoted to commodore and Governor of New South Wales, hardly the career path of an incompetent martinet.

Not so much directed as staged by the legendary Lewis Milestone, MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY boasts a great performance by Trevor Howard and a decidedly outré one by Marlon Brando. Based on the true-life mutiny aboard the British warship HMS Bounty, the film is beautifully assembled but ultimately very static. It's as if MGM wanted to get its money's worth in production values at the cost of a truly compelling script. Howard, as the draconian Captain Bligh, never waivers in his demented view of discipline and steals each scene he's in. It's unfortunate that he's not given more scenes allowing the audience to genuinely loathe him. Brando, as a fop faced with making a no-win decision to lead a shipboard rebellion, seems at first completely out-of-sync with the rest of the actors...but eventually his performance works as he's transformed into the only noble character left. Richard Harris adds a lot as Mills and Richard Haydn & Hugh Griffith are also on board. The middle part of the film spends far too much time in Tahiti, thus becoming something of a travelogue as opposed to adding to the storyline.