Set against the rivalry between the French and the British, Master And Commander also suffers because we seldom get to see the French side. Yet, this saga dealing with issues like human pride and idealism offers plenty of rewards, including a number of fine performances, sharply observed human conflicts, stunning visuals and haunting music.

The film's sombre mood and refusal to provide easy thrills could make it a formidable task to recoup its reported $150 million cost. Three Hollywood studios (Fox, Universal and Miramax) shared the costs to cut down the risks.

Hollywood history is full of huge productions helplessly turned into bloated corpses, but Master And Commander is an exception. Peter Weir, who started with small films (Picnic At Hanging Rock and Gallipoli in his native Australia), still remembers some of the fundamentals: well focused themes, retaining the integrity of the theme and extracting decent, believable performances.

The maker of such interesting hits -- Witness, The Truman Show and the brilliant Fearless -- Weir has now delivered his most formidable creation.

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