Billy Budd (B+ or 3/4 stars)
'Billy Budd' is a powerful drama directed, co-produced, co-adapted, & co-starring Peter Ustinov. Charismatic Terence Stamp plays the titular role; a seaman forced to serve in the British Navy during England & France's Napoleonic Wars in 1797. Young, optimistic, but naive Billy looks upon all men as inherently good. His crewmates aboard the H.M.S. Avenger are initially skeptical about this sailor who seems way too good to be true. i.e., when asked about the horrible food the crew must eat, he replies "It's hot. There's a lot of it. I like everything about it except the flavor". So he proves his worth with his sailor skills, his impenetrable charisma, & eventually gains the respect of his mates - all except for the ship's abusive, cruel master-at-arms John Claggart (a loathsome Robert Ryan), who believes he must control the crew through vicious flogging, and who resents Billy's good-natured purity.
In one discussion with Billy, Claggart says "The sea is calm. Peaceful. Calm above, but below a world of gliding monsters preying on their fellows. Murderers; all of them. Only the strongest teeth survive. And who's to tell me it's any different here on board, or yonder on dry land?". Fed up with Billy, Claggart attempts to poison his reputation by accusing him of instigating a planned mutiny. When the ship's captain, Capt. Edward Vere (Ustinov), questions Billy about these charges, Billy stutters under pressure & reacts by striking Claggart, who trips & dies from a blow to the head. A court-martial is called (including David McCallum & John Neville) and Capt. Vere has to determine whether Billy should be hanged or acquitted. These men argue back & forth over whether the Law OR Justice should prevail for Billy Budd. I won't say what happens. But I will say these tear-inducing words, "God bless Captain Vere!"
This is a good film. Everything from Peter Ustinov's assured direction, to his co-writing, to the uniformly sincere performances, to Robert Krasker's stark black-&-white cinematography, to the costumes, to the music, is well done. It is also engaging. Thanks to the script & the acting, I was compelled to see where the film led. All that said, the ending of the movie is a bit of a downer and brings my overall rating down from an A- to a B+. That's still not bad, but I was hoping for something else to happen; a twist, maybe. But still, I can't complain. Robert Ryan is in top form as the sadistic master-at-arms. As the captain forced to make a tough decision, Peter Ustinov quietly broke my heart. Melvyn Douglas has a few good scenes as the drunken sail-maker. And as mentioned, Terence Stamp steals the show as our simple little hero. His happy-go-lucky attitude is endearing; and only adds to the gravitas of what occurs in the story.
In one discussion with Billy, Claggart says "The sea is calm. Peaceful. Calm above, but below a world of gliding monsters preying on their fellows. Murderers; all of them. Only the strongest teeth survive. And who's to tell me it's any different here on board, or yonder on dry land?". Fed up with Billy, Claggart attempts to poison his reputation by accusing him of instigating a planned mutiny. When the ship's captain, Capt. Edward Vere (Ustinov), questions Billy about these charges, Billy stutters under pressure & reacts by striking Claggart, who trips & dies from a blow to the head. A court-martial is called (including David McCallum & John Neville) and Capt. Vere has to determine whether Billy should be hanged or acquitted. These men argue back & forth over whether the Law OR Justice should prevail for Billy Budd. I won't say what happens. But I will say these tear-inducing words, "God bless Captain Vere!"
This is a good film. Everything from Peter Ustinov's assured direction, to his co-writing, to the uniformly sincere performances, to Robert Krasker's stark black-&-white cinematography, to the costumes, to the music, is well done. It is also engaging. Thanks to the script & the acting, I was compelled to see where the film led. All that said, the ending of the movie is a bit of a downer and brings my overall rating down from an A- to a B+. That's still not bad, but I was hoping for something else to happen; a twist, maybe. But still, I can't complain. Robert Ryan is in top form as the sadistic master-at-arms. As the captain forced to make a tough decision, Peter Ustinov quietly broke my heart. Melvyn Douglas has a few good scenes as the drunken sail-maker. And as mentioned, Terence Stamp steals the show as our simple little hero. His happy-go-lucky attitude is endearing; and only adds to the gravitas of what occurs in the story.