Director: Michael Curtiz
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Top Billed Actors: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 5 more:
Outstanding Production - Cosmopolitan
Best Director - Michael Curtiz
Best Adaptation - Casey Robinson
Best Scoring - Warner Bros.-First National Studio Music Department
Best Sound Recording - Nathan Levinson
Plot: A swashbuckler can't decide on a career choice as he tries being a doctor, a slave, a pirate, a volunteer Naval commander, and finally a governor.
Distributor: Warner Bros.
Top Billed Actors: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Lionel Atwill
Won 0 Oscars
Nominated for 5 more:
Outstanding Production - Cosmopolitan
Best Director - Michael Curtiz
Best Adaptation - Casey Robinson
Best Scoring - Warner Bros.-First National Studio Music Department
Best Sound Recording - Nathan Levinson
Plot: A swashbuckler can't decide on a career choice as he tries being a doctor, a slave, a pirate, a volunteer Naval commander, and finally a governor.
The final Best Picture nominee for the 8th Academy Awards is an important film. Captain Blood (1935) was the break that Errol Flynn and Olivia de Havilland needed to become big stars. They would go on to star opposite each other in eight more films, most notable The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938). Blood was also the movie that rekindled the swashbuckling genre. Treasure Island (1934) and The Count of Monte Cristo (1934) preceded it, but the critical success of this movie helped push this style of movie to a much greater extent. What may be the most important aspect of this movie, however, is the score. Erich Wolfgang Korngold is a name that all movie fans should know. His work here popularized the use of sweeping romantic-style scores in Hollywood films. Drawing inspiration from 19th century composers, Korngold was able to put his stamp in movies and he became the first international composer to sign a contract with a film studio. His score even earned him an Oscar nod. Even though he wasn't officially nominated as he thought his music wasn't original enough (he referenced tone poems from Franz Liszt), the score received the third most votes on write-ins alone. Speaking of write-in votes, Michael Curtiz (directing) and Casey Robinson (screenplay) are also considered to be nominated for Oscars, even though they weren't official nominees.
It's awesome that Curtiz received the second-most votes for Best Director on just write-ins. He deserved this honor because this movie has some great visual moments. The action sequences are much tighter than Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) (although Mutiny may have more grandiose ship-sailing scenes). Watching Errol Flynn run around with his sword is a nice shot of adrenaline. Plenty of pyrotechnics and stunt-work round out these amazing battle scenes. There are also moments when Curtiz puts the camera at just the right angle to capture larger-than-life shadows on the wall. These moments are few, but powerful. These strong visuals pair well with the aforementioned Korngold score. I noticed it right away as I compare this to other movies from the era. Most films from the early 1930's just don't emphasize music, but Korngold shatters that mentality and provides the Romantic-era, classic golden age Hollywood music we have come to know and love.
I wish I could stop at the importance of the clean action and the historical music score. However, the story drew me out of the movie on more than one occasion. What irked me the most is how Peter Blood (Flynn) becomes a pirate. We see how good of a soul he has in very rotten situations over and over again, then we see him become a plunderer and thief. We don't often see him in action against helpless victims, but it is made to look like that is how he got his riches. I would have appreciated an explanation that Blood only attacks other pirates, or that he only attacks British ships that are faithful to the corrupt king. Instead, we get a somewhat morally-conscious pirate that becomes the most successful captain in those waters. The final sea-battle between Blood and the French ships is also a little perplexing. Blood's ship is able to attack two ships at once. I guess even in 1935, we have heroes overcome the most impossible odds.
Overall, the directing and music has taken leaps and bounds forward in terms of what we have come to expect in movies today. A couple of weak story moments hinder the overall experience, but it's still fun to see Flynn swashbuckle his way out of tight spots.
My Score: 7/10
It's awesome that Curtiz received the second-most votes for Best Director on just write-ins. He deserved this honor because this movie has some great visual moments. The action sequences are much tighter than Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) (although Mutiny may have more grandiose ship-sailing scenes). Watching Errol Flynn run around with his sword is a nice shot of adrenaline. Plenty of pyrotechnics and stunt-work round out these amazing battle scenes. There are also moments when Curtiz puts the camera at just the right angle to capture larger-than-life shadows on the wall. These moments are few, but powerful. These strong visuals pair well with the aforementioned Korngold score. I noticed it right away as I compare this to other movies from the era. Most films from the early 1930's just don't emphasize music, but Korngold shatters that mentality and provides the Romantic-era, classic golden age Hollywood music we have come to know and love.
I wish I could stop at the importance of the clean action and the historical music score. However, the story drew me out of the movie on more than one occasion. What irked me the most is how Peter Blood (Flynn) becomes a pirate. We see how good of a soul he has in very rotten situations over and over again, then we see him become a plunderer and thief. We don't often see him in action against helpless victims, but it is made to look like that is how he got his riches. I would have appreciated an explanation that Blood only attacks other pirates, or that he only attacks British ships that are faithful to the corrupt king. Instead, we get a somewhat morally-conscious pirate that becomes the most successful captain in those waters. The final sea-battle between Blood and the French ships is also a little perplexing. Blood's ship is able to attack two ships at once. I guess even in 1935, we have heroes overcome the most impossible odds.
Overall, the directing and music has taken leaps and bounds forward in terms of what we have come to expect in movies today. A couple of weak story moments hinder the overall experience, but it's still fun to see Flynn swashbuckle his way out of tight spots.
My Score: 7/10