Most helpful customer reviews
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
A classic movie of adventure and victory at sea!, Jun 12 2003
This is a 1951 big-budget film adaptation of three of C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower novels. Specifically, this movie combines "Beat to Quarters," "Ship of the Line," and "Flying Colors." It necessarily condenses the latter two novels, but does a good job in doing so.These are great novels, and this is a great film. Gregory Peck does a stellar job as Captain Hornblower, and Barbara Mayo puts in a fine performance as Lady Barbara. At the time there were some complaints that both leads were Americans, but the film justified the casting choices both in the eyes of the critics and at the box office. For those unfamiliar with the Hornblower series of novels, these stories are widely considered to be the greatest novels ever written dealing with the British navy during the Napoleonic wars. Captain Hornblower is a fictional British sea captain, who is blessed with high intelligence and competence, but humble origins of birth, which mattered greatly in those days. In the film his ship is ordered to make a 7000 mile voyage to Spanish South America, for the purpose of inciting rebellion among the Spanish colonies, as Spain had recently allied itself with Napoleon against Great Britain. Complications immediately develop, and this is a fabulous and engaging story about a brave age of hardship and adventure. I literally cannot imagine anyone not enjoying this film or this story. The movie features fine acting and quite good battle scenes. The A&E series actually had better special effects in my opinion, but the film hews closer to the actual stories in the novels. Both are well worth watching and owning. My only complaint is that this film is not yet available on DVD. Hurry!
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Come Blow Your Horn, Jun 1 2004
By A Customer
I confess I love this film far more than it deserves. The idea of casting Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo as a red-hot English couple is too much, and I'll bet this film got a cold reception in the UK. Get around that idiosyncrasy, though, and it's a great time. Director Raoul Walsh was one of Hollywood's most dependable directors for more than thirty years and "Hornblower" is one of his great moments. No American moviemaker ever topped him at keeping his story in motion and pacing it for the audience's enjoyment. After shooting up a Latin American maniac and then an assortment of French fighting ships during the Napoleanic wars, Hornblower staggers back to England to claim the aristocratic Mayo, both of their spouses having thoughtfully died. All the acting is a little over the top, but then so was the period.
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Swashbuckling Technicolor fun, Jul 21 2003
A fun, uncomplicated pirate film starring Gregory Peck as the restrained, capable Captain Horatio Hornblower, hero of the popular novels by C. S. Forester. Starts on an action-packed note, then slows down a bit for a long romantic interlude, then picks up steam again as cannons burst and swords clash in the big climactic battles of the end. Good old-fashioned fun, with a brisk script and plenty of great character actors and snazzy Technicolor cinematography. Recommended!
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