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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
Special Topics
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Master and Commander
Britain and France. This period, from the late 1793 to Napoleon's defeat in 1815, has proved to be very popular with writers of naval fiction. The most well known is perhaps C.S. Forester, who created the character Horatio Hornblower, brought to the screen by Gregory Peck and latterly to the small screen by Ioan Gruffydd. But Patrick O'Brian, who wrote the books "Master and Commander" and "The Far Side of the World" among 18 others, has surpassed them all. Not only does he describe ship actions between the British and French Navies but also between other nations who were taking advantage of the turbulent times.
HMS Surprise. HMS Surprise (her name is shown on screen right at the beginning of the film, together with the numbers of her guns and crew) was a real-life ship. Originally L'Unite of the French Navy she was captured and brought into service with the Royal Navy - a common event for both navies at the time. The other three ships mentioned are also historical, the line-of-battle ships Victory and Bellerophon ("Billy Ruffian") being at the Battle of Trafalgar and the frigate Indefatigable being the ship upon which Horatio Hornblower supposedly served.
Lucky Jack.. Captain "Lucky" Jack Aubrey was so-called because of his ability to find ships to capture. These were called "prizes", and the money the Admiralty paid to buy it into the Navy (if a warship) or from the sale of the cargo (if a merchantman) was shared between the Admiral in command (if any), the Captain, officers and crew. Prize money could enable a seaman to retire and set up in a shore-based business. "Black Jack" was the nickname of US Army General John J. Pershing, "yellow jack" is a viral disease properly called yellow fever, and "Jack in the Green" is a character appearing in May Day parades and celebrations.
Stephen Maturin. Esteban Maturin y Domanova, to give him his full name, is the illegitimate son of an Irish officer and a Catalan lady. He marries Diana, cousin to Jack's wife Sophie.
Violin (Aubrey), cello (Maturin). Both actors learned to play their instruments to give a realistic performance on screen. Paul Bettany is on record as having said "the cello makes an awful sound, like trying to climb inside a squirrel".
Acheron. Aubrey sees her name on the stern through his telescope, as she circles for the kill, before Surprise escapes into the fog. She is a French frigate, larger than the Surprise and carrying guns which fire heavier cannonballs. That's why she causes so much damage to the Surprise and why, later in the film, Aubrey has to get close enough to board her. The other three ships fought at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Padeen, his servant. Padeen Colman is Stephen Maturin's servant, an Irishman who speaks little English (which I suppose is why his is a non-speaking role). He is also a "loblolly boy" i.e. one who assists the ship's surgeon in his work. He was played by John "Big John" DeSantis, a Canadian actor hailing from Nanaimo, British Columbia, and standing at 6'9" (2.06m).
Stick insect. Stick insects are also known as "walking sticks", "stick bugs" and "ghost insects". They have bodies adapted to resemble twigs or leaves so that they merge into these backgrounds and become all but invisible. Aubrey has to use a magnifying glass to see the specimen Maturin shows him. The name "phasmid" comes from the Greek for "phantom", and "The Phantom" is what the crew of the Surprise calls the Acheron.
To announce the time. Though an officer may have had a pocket watch, by far the majority aboard would have no means of telling the time, apart from the ringing of the ship's bell. The bell was struck every half-hour, the number of strikes increasing by one each half-hour up to a maximum of eight. "Eight bells" marked the end of a watch and the beginning of the next watch. The strikes were grouped in twos, giving the classic "ding-ding, ding-ding, ding-ding, ding" pattern at seven bells, for example. All watches were four hours long except for the two two-hour Dog Watches between 1600 and 1800 (First Dog), and 1800 - 2000 (Last Dog).
The Acheron's surgeon. Once the prize is taken, Aubrey sends it into Valparaiso with his First Lieutenant, Tom Pullings, in command. Later, Maturin tells Aubrey that there was no surgeon on the Acheron as he had died of fever months earlier, and the wounded would have to put up with Maturin's assistant, Higgins. Aubrey realises the "surgeon" he had met must have been the Captain in disguise. The film ends with the Surprise changing course to intercept the Acheron, hoping to catch her in time. Let's hope the stage was being set for a sequel!
| The beginning of this movie was set in 1805. According to the introduction, who was "Master of Europe" at the time? | Master and Commander
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Napolean Bonaparte. You've probably heard of Napolean Bonaparte. You might already know he was born on the island of Corsica. You might not know that he changed his name from Napoleone di Buonaparte. At the time of his birth, Corsica belonged to the Republic of Genoa (in Italy). A year later, France gained possession of the island. Napoleone di Buonaparte later changed his name to Napolean Bonaparte, a more French sounding name. He rose to the rank of general in the French Army prior to the Revolution, served the Republic as First Counsel, and in 1804, crowned himself Emperor.
Although Britain had a powerful navy in 1805, France and her allies controlled the majority of continental Europe.
King George III became king of Great Britain in 1760. He died in 1820. He was plagued with mental illness the latter part of his life and, beginning in 1811, the Prince of Wales acted as Regent for the remainder of his father's life. We in the U.S.A. might remember George III best as the man from whom we won our independence.
Admiral Horatio Nelson was Britain's most honored naval officer of the time. He was referenced several times during the movie. Lord Nelson died in October, 1805 at the Battle of Trafalgar.
Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón, generally referred to as Santa Anna, was a Mexican political and military leader. Napoleon proclaimed himself Emperor of France. Santa Anna proclaimed himself "The Napoleon of the West".
| The British captain played by Russell Crowe was nicknamed "Lucky Jack" by the crew. What was the Captain's real name? | Master and Commander
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Jack Aubrey. Jack Aubrey was Captain of the British frigate in the movie. The nickname "Lucky Jack" was a result of Captain Aubrey's propensity to be in the right place at the right time, to win battles and, if necessary, narrowly escape disaster. It wasn't all luck, as he was an excellent seaman and an inspirational commander.
Captain Jack Sparrow was another fictional sea captain you might know from the "Pirates of the Caribbean" movies.
Acheron was the name of the French privateer Lucky Jack was sent to stop.
Jackson Scholz, the New York Thunderbolt, was an American Olympic sprinter in the early 1900s. You might remember him racing Harold Abrahams in the movie "Chariots of Fire".
| During the course of the journey, many of the crew began comparing one of the midshipmen, Mr. Hollom, to a famous biblical character. To whom did they compare him? | Master and Commander
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Jonah, because he brought bad luck to the ship. We would be hard pressed to find a group of people more superstitious than sailors in the age of sail. Poor Mr. Hollom didn't seem to have what it took to be an officer, having failed to pass the test several times. His attempts to get the crew to like him only backfired, resulting in a lack of respect for his authority. It seemed to the crew that any time anything bad happened on the ship, Mr. Hollom was on watch. Eventually, even Hollom believed the superstition, and took his own life in order to save the ship.
HMS Surprise. We were told the name of the ship at the beginning of the movie. It was mentioned again at the conclusion of the Captain's pep talk prior to luring the Acheron into their trap. Lucky Jack reminded his crew with a play on words that "Surprise is on our side."
Nelson was the name of the highly revered Admiral who commanded the British fleet at the Battle of Trafalgar. Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar was the HMS Victory.
The USS Constitution (Old Ironsides) was a U.S. Navy frigate.
Both the HMS Victory and the USS Constitution are still in service and can be toured in London and Boston, respectively. The Constitution was used by the special effects crew of this movie, as a model for the French Privateer ship, the Acheron.
| Another midshipman in this movie, Blakeney, lost something important as a result of the first clash between his ship and the French privateer. Oddly enough, Lord Nelson lost the same thing in an earlier engagement. What did Blakeney loose? | Master and Commander
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His arm. Blakeney's arm had to be amputated due to wounds received in battle. There are many who are under the impression that 19th century surgeons tended to be too quick to amputate rather than try to save an injured limb. However, the theory that germs caused disease didn't take hold until the latter half of that century, and the development of antibiotics was still almost a century away from that. Without a doubt, most amputees would have died from sepsis had the affected limb not been quickly removed.
In a moving scene from the movie, the Captain came to check on the welfare of the midshipman, who was the son of an old friend. The Captain presented Blakeney with a book, a biography of Lord Nelson. The boy opened the book to see a portrait of England's greatest sailor with his empty sleeve pinned to the breast of his coat.
The midshipman in question was played by actor Max Pirkis, whom you might also remember as young Ocatvian from the first season of "Rome", a joint production of HBO and BBC. I could hardly believe he had grown so much in such a short period.
As for loosing ones marbles, that's another quiz for another movie.
Captain Howard. Captain Howard, who commanded the detachment of Marines on the HMS Surprise, was attempting to shoot a bird flying close to the ship. He accidentally shot the doctor, who was trying to get a closer look at the bird.
It was a common practice for marksmen (usually marines) to be stationed in the higher parts of the ship during battle so when two enemy ships closed on one another, the marksmen could fire down onto the decks of the enemy ship. This was how Admiral Nelson was killed at Trafalgar.
| Immediately following the rescue of the Albatros whalers, Jack ordered the ship to make sail in order to pursue the French Privateer. When Stephen reminded the captain of his promise to remain at the Galapagos Islands for a few more days, what was the captain's response? | Master and Commander
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"We do not have time for your ... hobbies, sir!". Resigned to the fact he was not going to catch the French ship, the captain promised the doctor they would be staying there long enough for him to explore the islands. As soon as they rescued the English whalers and were presented with fresh information, the plans changed. The doctor felt the captain didn't appreciate the significance of the opportunity to explore the islands. He felt the captain broke a promise. To the captain, of course, the military mission should come first.
"England expects that every man will do his duty" was the message sent by Nelson to the fleet prior to the Battle of Trafalgar.
Stephen's reason for wanting to stay didn't involve him meeting a local girl, though that has been the undoing of many a sailor both in fiction and real life.
"Louis, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship" is a memorable line from my favorite movie, "Casablanca".
The French Captain. The French captain deceived Jack into thinking he was a doctor and that the captain was dead. He then gave Jack the captain's sword, to symbolize the surrender of the ship, stating he was acting on orders given to him by the dying captain. Jack learned later that the French doctor had died before the battle, and the man surrendering the sword must have been the captain.
To Stephen's consternation, the HMS Surprise was once again diverted away from the Galapagos Islands and in pursuit of the Acheron. Though it wasn't explained in the movie, the presence of the French captain on the Acheron could have presented a threat to the unsuspecting British prize crew.
| "Master and Commander" was nominated for ten Academy Awards. Which of following categories was not included in this list? | Master and Commander
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Best Actress in a Leading Role. Don't you hate it when movie quizzes include questions not related to the plot? However, this question is. The only women in this movie were indigenous people without speaking roles in canoes coming out to meet the ship somewhere in South America. Therefore, one could conclude there were no leading ladies in the cast eligible to be nominated.
"Master and Commander" was released the same year as "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", which won all eleven awards for which it was nominated. "Master and Commander" won two awards, Best Sound Effects Editing and Best Cinematography. Lucky for them "Return of the King" wasn't nominated for those awards, too.
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