Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Peter Weir
Screenplay by	Peter Weir John Collee
Based on	Aubrey–Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian
Produced by	Samuel Goldwyn Jr. Duncan Henderson Peter Weir
Starring	Russell Crowe Paul Bettany
Cinematography	Russell Boyd
Edited by	Lee Smith
Music by	Iva Davies Christopher Gordon Richard Tognetti
Production companies	Miramax Films Universal Pictures Samuel Goldwyn Films
Distributed by	20th Century Fox[note 1]
Release date	November 14, 2003 (2003-11-14)
Running time	138 minutes[2]
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$150 million[3]
Box office	$211.6 million[3]

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 American epic period war-drama film co-written, produced and directed by Peter Weir, set during the Napoleonic Wars. The film's plot and characters are adapted from three novels in author Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey–Maturin series, which includes 20 completed novels of Jack Aubrey's naval career. The film stars Russell Crowe as Aubrey, captain in the Royal Navy, and Paul Bettany as Dr. Stephen Maturin, the ship's surgeon. This is the second onscreen collaboration for Crowe and Bettany, who previously co-starred in 2001’s A Beautiful Mind.

The film was a personal project of Fox executive Tom Rothman, who recruited Weir to helm the project. Filming took place on the open sea, on replica ships in the water tanks of Baja Studios, and on the Galápagos Islands. The film, which cost $150 million to make, was a co-production of 20th Century Fox, Miramax Films, Universal Pictures, and Samuel Goldwyn Films, and released on November 14, 2003. It was a moderate success at the box office, grossing $212 million worldwide.

The film was critically well received and garnered Weir the BAFTA Award for Best Direction. At the 76th Academy Awards, the film was nominated for 10 Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. It won Best Cinematography and Best Sound Editing. In June 2021, a prequel film was announced to be in development.

Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).