Captain Blood
It was an act in keeping with his obligations as a physician, Peter Blood asked to attend to a wounded man, the person in question the rebel Lord Gildoy, Doctor Blood by his sworn duty accused of aiding and abetting the enemy, an act of treason which finds him enslaved and exiled from his home in England and held in the servitude of Colonel Bishop of Port Royal, Jamaica, his training affording him a measure of respect and latitude but no freedom.
Blood intending to escape with the men held alongside him, the uncertainty of the open sea better than what they have before them, the fortuitous timing of an attack by Spanish pirates intent on looting the town allows both the distraction and the means for them to advance their plans, his fellow outlaws and homeless outcasts becoming “the Brotherhood of Buccaneers” on the high seas under the command of Captain Blood.
Based on the popular 1922 novel by Rafael Sabatini, inspired by historical events though with dramatic licence applied, Captain Blood was released in 1935, Michael Curtiz script adapted by Casey Robinson, the first “talkie” version of a story already filmed in 1924, starring Errol Flynn in his first Hollywood lead role alongside rising star Olivia de Havilland as Arabella Bishop, niece of Lionel Atwill’s Colonel, and Basil Rathbone as Levasseur, a rival pirate.
A huge production in terms of sets, costumes and action, both in terms of hand to hand combat on the full-size construction of the decks of the ships, sailors climbing and swinging from ropes and rigging, and the large scale miniatures used for the sea battles and land bombardments, it was released during the Great Depression when film had become low-scale and introspective, its surprise success and Academy Award nominations including best picture demonstrating that spectacle and escapism would still draw an audience.
Set over five years from 1685 and running to a full two hours, the pacing of “the terror of the Caribbean” is occasionally slow, as was the style of the period until action films were reinvented for the MTV generation, but Erich Wolfgang Korngold’s bold soundtrack is rousing throughout even if the film does not truly reach adventure on the high seas until the midpoint, the first half spent establishing a roster of characters who will serve as shipmates and adversaries, though command could never belong to anyone other than the handsome and charming Flynn.
The monochrome restored in crisp 4K, showcasing the shadows projected on the back walls adding depth to the sets and the brilliant modelwork on rippling waters punctured by cannonball impacts, joining the Criterion Collection the new edition of Captain Blood is supported by a commentary by Curtiz biographer Alan K Rode, a 1937 radio version with Flynn, de Havilland, and Rathbone reprising their roles and a 2005 featurette on the background of the production.
Captain Blood will be available as a 4K UHD/Blu-ray double disc set from Criterion from Monday 26th January
