The Bounty
After 200 years, the truth behind the legend.
1984 | 132m | English
Popularity: 5 (history)
| Director: | Roger Donaldson |
|---|---|
| Writer: | Richard Hough, Robert Bolt |
| Staring: |
| The familiar story of Lieutenant Bligh, whose cruelty leads to a mutiny on his ship. This version follows both the efforts of Fletcher Christian to get his men beyond the reach of British retribution, and the epic voyage of Lieutenant Bligh to get his loyalists safely to East Timor in a tiny lifeboat. | |
| Release Date: | May 04, 1984 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Roger Donaldson |
| Writer: | Richard Hough, Robert Bolt |
| Genres: | Action, Drama, History |
| Keywords | sea, ship, exotic island, mutiny, lake, pregnancy, sailing, based on true story, tahiti, murder, great barrier reef, sailor, native peoples, 18th century, storm at sea, whipping, british sailor, fiji, mutiny on the bounty |
| Production Companies | Bounty Films Production, The De Laurentiis Company |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $8,613,462
Budget: $25,000,000 |
| Updates |
Updated: Feb 01, 2025 (Update) Entered: Apr 13, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Mel Gibson | Fletcher Christian |
| Anthony Hopkins | Lieutenant William Bligh |
| Daniel Day-Lewis | John Fryer |
| Bernard Hill | William Cole |
| Phil Davis | Edward Young |
| Liam Neeson | Charles Churchill |
| Wi Kuki Kaa | King Tynah |
| Tevaite Vernette | Mauatua |
| Laurence Olivier | Admiral Hood |
| Edward Fox | Captain Greetham |
| Philip Martin Brown | John Adams |
| Simon Chandler | David Nelson |
| Malcolm Terris | Dr. John Huggan |
| Simon Adams | Thomas Heywood |
| John Sessions | John Smith |
| Andrew Wilde | William McCoy |
| Neil Morrissey | Matthew Quintal |
| Richard Graham | John Mills |
| Dexter Fletcher | Thomas Ellison |
| Pete Lee-Wilson | William Purcell |
| Jon Gadsby | John Norton |
| Brendan Conroy | Robert Lamb |
| Barry Dransfield | Blind Fiddler, Michael Byrne |
| Steve Fletcher | James Valentine |
| Jack May | Prosecuting Captain |
| Mary Kauila | King Tynah's Wife |
| Sharon Bower | Bligh's Wife |
| Tavana | King Tynah's Councillor |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Arthur Ibbetson | Director of Photography |
| Victor Magnotta | Stunts Coordinator |
| Richard Hough | Novel |
| Tony Lawson | Editor |
| John Graysmark | Production Design |
| John Bloomfield | Costume Design |
| Louise Carrigan | Set Decoration |
| Douglas Twiddy | Production Supervisor |
| David Tringham | Assistant Director |
| David Middlemas | Production Manager |
| Margaret Hilliard | Production Manager |
| Jonty Barraud | Location Manager |
| Michael Boone | Assistant Art Director |
| Michael Stevenson | Second Assistant Director |
| Toby Phillips | Steadicam Operator |
| Arnold Ross | Location Manager |
| Debbie Vertue | Third Assistant Director |
| Loretta Ordewer | Production Coordinator |
| Tony Reading | Art Direction |
| Robert Cartwright | Set Decoration |
| Paul Engelen | Makeup Artist |
| Jeanette Freeman | Hairstylist |
| Murray Close | Still Photographer |
| Pat Howell | Production Accountant |
| Neville Smallwood | Makeup Artist |
| Francia Smeets | Hairstylist |
| Mick Morris | Gaffer |
| Ben Teriitehau | Assistant Art Director |
| John W. Mitchell | Sound Recordist |
| Terry Gilbert | Choreographer |
| Terry Mellis | Assistant Accountant |
| Rosalind McCorquodale | Makeup Artist |
| Bert Hearn | Property Master |
| Michael Hopkins | Dialogue Editor |
| June Randall | Script Supervisor |
| John Harris | Camera Operator |
| Keith Pamplin | Boom Operator |
| Joan Washington | Dialogue Coach |
| Craig Barwick | Assistant Accountant |
| Betty Glasow | Hairstylist |
| Graeme Mardell | Key Grip |
| Roger Donaldson | Director |
| Robert Bolt | Screenplay |
| Vangelis | Original Music Composer |
| Debbie McWilliams | Casting |
| John Stears | Special Effects Supervisor |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Dino De Laurentiis | Producer |
| Bernard Williams | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 26 | 43 | 18 |
| 2024 | 5 | 28 | 51 | 18 |
| 2024 | 6 | 37 | 53 | 18 |
| 2024 | 7 | 27 | 54 | 15 |
| 2024 | 8 | 25 | 42 | 14 |
| 2024 | 9 | 18 | 40 | 13 |
| 2024 | 10 | 17 | 32 | 11 |
| 2024 | 11 | 17 | 35 | 9 |
| 2024 | 12 | 16 | 37 | 8 |
| 2025 | 1 | 18 | 35 | 12 |
| 2025 | 2 | 12 | 23 | 3 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 3 | 7 | 2 |
| 2025 | 6 | 2 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 2 |
| 2025 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 2 |
Trending Position
When you already have a definitive version of a story on film (1935) it's always tough to remake it successfully. To be fair to Roger Donaldson, he has managed to come pretty close - and do far better than the 1962 iteration - with this well cast telling of a story of mutiny and brutality. It's told ... by way of a retrospective as Lord Hood (Lord Olivier) conducts an investigation into what happened aboard the ill-fated ship. Anthony Hopkins is the disciplinarian Lt. Bligh in charge of the glorified freighter "HMS Bounty" which is charged with heading to Tahiti to secure breadfruit trees that can be used to feed the slaves by the colonies in the West Indies. His second-in-command is the no-nonsense but eminently more fair Fletcher Christian (a competent effort from Mel Gibson) and as our journey progresses, the film takes it's time to develop the gradually building toxicity of that relationship as the former man treats the crew with scant humanity. After a great many trials and tribulations, their relationship is all but shot when they arrive at their destination and we know that the writing is on the wall for Bligh. Unlike the other "Bounty" films, this one spends a bit more time presenting the epic and perilous open-boat journey undertaken by the dispossessed - the high seas, the cannibals, the shortages - and Hopkins holds that together really well. This man may have been an inhumane individual, but he was no mean sailor too. The cinematography is top drawer, well complemented by Vangelis' score and Robert Bolt's adaptation of the story that keeps the dialogue tight and potent - especially from Hopkins. Not quite Laughton and Gable, but then...