Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
The courage to do the impossible lies in the hearts of men.
After an abrupt and violent encounter with a French warship inflicts severe damage upon his ship, a captain of the British Royal Navy begins a chase over two oceans to capture or destroy the enemy, though he must weigh his commitment to duty and ferocious pursuit of glory against the safety of his devoted crew, including the ship's thoughtful surgeon, his best friend.
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| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 14 November 2003 |
| Genre | Adventure, Drama, War |
| Director | Peter Weir |
| Starring | Russell Crowe, Paul Bettany and James D'Arcy |
| Runtime | 138 min |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 7.6/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 85% · Metacritic 81/100 · IMDb 7.5/10 · TMDB users 7.2/10 |
| Budget | $150 million |
| Box office | $212 million worldwide |
Where to watch Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is streaming on Apple TV+ ($14.99 a month) in the US. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Apple TV+ is $14.99 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 31 October 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Rent or buy
You can rent or buy Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World on Apple TV, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World in 34 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Albania | Max |
| Australia | Disney+ $17.99 AUD, ARD/ZDF |
| Austria | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Belgium | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | Max |
| Bulgaria | Max |
| Canada | Disney+ $15.99 CAD |
| Croatia | Max |
| Czechia | Max |
| Denmark | Disney+ 119 kr DKK |
| Finland | Disney+ €11.99 |
| Germany | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Hungary | Max |
| Ireland | Disney+ €11.99 |
| Japan | Prime Video ¥600 JPY, U-NEXT ¥2189 JPY |
| Liechtenstein | Disney+ |
| Luxembourg | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Moldova | Max |
| Montenegro | Max |
| Netherlands | Disney+ €10.99 |
| New Zealand | Disney+ $18.99 NZD |
| North Macedonia | Max |
| Norway | Disney+ 129 kr NOK |
| Poland | Max 39.99 zł |
| Portugal | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Romania | Max |
| Serbia | Max |
| Singapore | Disney+ $18.98 SGD |
| Slovakia | Max |
| Slovenia | Max |
| Spain | Disney+ €10.99 |
| Sweden | Disney+ 129 kr SEK |
| Switzerland | Disney+ CHF16.90 |
| United Kingdom | Disney+ £11.99 GBP |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Peter Weir’s 2003 adaptation is a 138-minute study in patience. It follows Captain Jack Aubrey and his surgeon, Stephen Maturin, across two oceans in a pursuit that prioritizes naval procedure over human comfort. The film trusts you to sit with the creak of timber and the silence between deckhands. It is not a sprint; it is a voyage. You will either love the stillness or die of boredom.
What the critics said
Rotten Tomatoes lists an 85% approval rating and a 7.6/10 average. Metacritic assigns it an 81, a score that signals universal acclaim. Roger Ebert gave it 4 stars, noting it achieves the epic without losing sight of the human. A. O. Scott called it stupendously entertaining. Not everyone agreed. Jason Epstein of The New York Times criticized the script's implausible events. Christopher Hitchens argued the film skips the core of the source material, though he praised the Galapagos sequence.
How it did with audiences
$150 million to make, $212 million to take, which in Hollywood accounting is a win and in any other industry is a solid year. It opened No. 2 in North America, beaten by a Christmas comedy, before finishing its domestic run with $94 million. On TMDB, users rate it 7.2 out of 10. Audiences, it seems, did the math before the studio did.
Awards
Russell Boyd took the Academy Award for Best Cinematography in 2004. Peter Weir followed with the BAFTA for Best Direction that same year. The film racked up 8 wins from 33 nominations. It also landed on the National Board of Review's Top Ten list. Ten nominations at the Oscars, two wins. The Academy does that.
Where it left its mark
Weir called a sequel "most unlikely" in 2005, noting the box office lacked the "monstrous, rapid income" needed to justify one. He was right. The A.V. Club later listed the film as a "failed attempt" to start a franchise, praising its opening salvo while acknowledging the series never materialized. Yet the film sparked genuine creative ripples. Naomi Novik cited watching it as the spark for her Temeraire series, where dragons fight in the Napoleonic Wars. Scott Tobias, writing in 2019, lamented that Pirates of the Caribbean got sequels while this historically grounded epic did not. Crowe kept hoping, tweeting a direct appeal to Fox executives in 2010. The film remains a ship that never quite docked.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
Sources
- Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q1125384 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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