Best movie of this year hands down!

The first must-see film of the year.

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

C.S. Forester adapted his own novel for this British military ship adventure drama that takes place during the Napoleonic wars, which was directed by Raoul Walsh; Ivan Goff, Ben Roberts, and Aeneas MacKenzie wrote the screenplay. Gregory Peck plays the title role (R.N. stands for Royal Navy) in this Technicolor movie which could have been the model for Peter Weir's 2003 action drama Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Other similarities include the point blank, broadside to broadside gun ship battles, action that includes significant (more than is usually shown) cannon damage complete with falling masts, a captain that's a more than capable navigator who's misunderstood by his crew initially, but otherwise beloved, and at least one youthful officer in training aboard.Unlike the more recent film about the type of warfare waged in that era, this one's middle third is a mushy romance between the titled Captain (who has an annoying habit of clearing his throat for attention) and Lady Barbara Wellesley (Virginia Mayo), who's engaged to a Rear Admiral played by Denis O'Dea; she boards Hornblower's aged ship (another similarity to Weir's film), the Lydia, after he learns that Spain is now his country's ally in the war against France. Unfortunately, Hornblower had just captured a better Spanish warship and turned it over to a near crazy South American dictator rebel self dubbed El Supremo (Alec Mango), who had an alliance with England to attack Spain's colonies from the Pacific. But the Captain's superior tactical knowledge and seamanship enables Hornblower and his well trained crew to defeat El Supremo and sink the ship.On the voyage home, the Lady gets "the fever" (initially thought to be yellow fever, but actually breaks within 72 hours meaning it was merely swamp fever); the Captain alone cares for her, nursing her back to health, so the stage is set for their romantic entanglement, which is also complicated by the fact that he's married, in addition to her engagement. However, when Hornblower returns home, he learns that his wife died giving birth to a son. Two weeks later, he reads about Lady Barbara's wedding to the Irish Rear Admiral.But another opportunity presents itself to allow Hornblower to disobey his orders (from O'Dea's character) and perform heroically. Using a re-commissioned French warship, Hornblower and his crew use the subterfuge of a phony flag designation (another similarity) to get close enough to destroy three enemy ships in a protected harbor before their ship is sunk in its channel. After being captured by shore troops, he and his injured Lieutenant Bush (Robert Beatty), along with a strong and loyal seaman named Quist (James R. Justice), escape while being transported as prisoners to Paris. In a small boat, the three of them navigate a stream to the Loire river to a sea port where, thanks to Hornblower's ability to speak the language, they pose as Dutch sailors, free some of their countrymen prisoners to be crewmen, and commandeer a British frigate thought lost, the 'Witch of Endor', to sail home to England. He learns that his Rear Admiral died in battle. So, when Hornblower gets home again to see his son, Barbara (dressed nothing like a recent widow) is there and the two can be together.

"Starboard battery - Ready! Fire as your guns bare!"Captain Horatio Hornblower is a highly entertaining big-budget Technicolor seafaring epic from 1951, starring Gregory Peck in the title-role of Captain Hornblower. This classic film is grand in all ways and is one of the very best films of it's kind, that being a naval seafaring adventure, which is similar to, but NOT a swashbuckler movie. Captain Gregory Peck runs a tight ship in this rollicking seafaring classic and was reportedly one of his favorite roles of his long and successful career. Gregory Peck and Virginia Mayo, the two leads, are the only two American actors in this movie, the rest is made of an entirely British supporting cast, which certainly helps since it's based on an English naval hero. Warner Brothers entrusted directorial duties to the eye-patch wearing veteran director Roul Walsh (so they say, he lost his right eye by "an errant jackrabbit" which jumped through the windshield of his car while driving!), who had ample experience with expensive large-scale productions. The film is a deft blend of many aspects, such as: great acting (especially Peck), terrific ship battle sequences (the last one is the best of it's kind ever filmed), miniature effects (i.e. the model ship sequences), a bit romance, great scenery/location filming and a high-spirited musical score by the relatively unknown Robert Farnon.Taking place in the Napoleonic-era, the year 1807 to be exact. The beginning of the film captures well the air of a sickly ship that's running desperately low on provisions and to enforce the captains order aboard, we get a taste of the cat-of-nine-tails early on as well. Travelling half-way around the world, eventually arriving at the fortress one "El Supremo, Don Julian Alvarado" and unload their cargo of guns and ammo, at El Supremo's insistence they capture the Spanish galleon Nativida and turn it over to him for his intended conquests of the nearby countries of central America. However, as fate would have it, a change of sides occurs and allies they are no more and with cannons blazing, a rousing ship battle ensues - full broadside-action! Along the way they pick up "the love interest" a lovely female passenger (and her maid) one Lady Barbara Wellesley and with a boatload of horny seamen - she proves to be quite a distraction, much to the Captian's dismay, though he too has a hard time resisting her charms. Once back in England, Hornblower finds that his wife has died, but not before giving birth to a son, but with a war happening, he's soon off on another mission; that is to take a fortress and a harbor full enemy ships (and the battle sequence that erupts for this scene is truly a spectacle - thee overall best of it's kind I've ever seen and I've seen a lot of the vintage swashbuckler films). Taken prisoner with two other ship mates, they escape while en route to Paris intended to be tried and executed by the decree of Naploeon himself; in disguise they board a stolen English ship and with a crew of prisoners/sailors, they take it over and make sail for England. Ending in with the captain and his infant son, standing in the bucolic setting of a Technicolor rose garden, where then the Lady Barbara appears once again - conveniently recently widowed and presumably becomes the new Mrs. Hornblower.Captain Horatio Hornblower: A classic and timeless film you can watch many times. A big fan of nautical films (Treasure Island, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, The Crimson Pirate, The 7th Voyage of Sinbad and Moby Dick - the 1950's where the best decade for such films) they don't get much better than this. With it's opulent sets and costumes, stirring ship battles and striking scenery, I find this to be one of the most handsomely-staged films from the Technicolor-era - there's no weak link in The Captain. And little not to like.....................

This movie was far better than I expected for it's time, given they had no access to cgi and had to rely on ship models and shots of existing tall masters to recreate the naval battles. I loved it from start to finish, how can you go wrong with Gregory Peck at the helm! He was an awesome actor at 35 too! I wish they would re-do the hornblower movies with modern technology.The naval battle scenes are excellent, and demonstrate the correct sailing tactics near flawlessly. The outcomes are realistic, for example after sailing into an enemy port and blowing up 4 enemy ships at anchor, it is shown just how suicide this would have been as the fort quickly destroys them as they try to escape.The damage these old ships took when in battle is shown well, the only thing not properly shown, likely due to censorship rules at the time, is the blood. This makes the movie enjoyable for the girlfriend though, and the nice thread of a love story through the movie keeps her entertained while I watch the kewl ship battles.

"Make sail, men!" cries Horatio Hornblower, "We're on our way to England!" But before we arrive at this point in the movie we've taken part in a rousing boy's own adventure of the naval wars pitting the Royal Navy against Napoleon. We're with Captain Hornblower (Gregory Peck) on the 38-gun frigate H.M.S. Lydia as he deals with a Central American megalomaniac who calls himself El Supremo, then battles and beats -- twice -- the 60-gun Spanish ship- of-the-line Natividad. When he returns to England and assumes command of the 74-gun H.M.S. Sutherland, we're right there as he takes on four French ships-of-the-line, nearly destroys them and, as his ship sinks, deliberately holes her so she bottles up a vital French port. And then, captured by the French and on his way to Paris to be tried as a pirate, we're with him as he and his two companions escape, make it to a Dutch port, manage to steal a captured sloop, man it with English prisoners-of-war and then sails it across the channel to England. And what had seemed a doomed romance with the brave and beautiful Barbara Wellesley (Virginia Mayo), sister of the Duke of Wellington, comes to a happy conclusion due to various deaths in battle or to small pox. Movies about iron men in wooden ships, who battle scurvy and thirst as well as the French, are for me always stirring occasions. Grape shot, flogging, amputations without anesthesia and oaken splinters flying into one's face would be enough to convince me that even accounting would be a better profession than the navy in those times. Captain Horatio Hornblower, the movie, is an audience-pleasing romantic adventure where the battles are packed with lots of action but little gore, and that's not a bad thing. The two-hour movie slows down only in the middle when Hornblower and Lady Barbara, sailing back from Central America to England, realize their deepening feelings for each other. But he is married, and she is not only above his station in life, but engaged to a suspicious prig of an admiral under whom Hornblower will find himself assigned. Peck manages not to embarrass himself. He wisely avoids trying an English accent. Hornblower is a smart, decent man, harrumphing now and then when he's caught off guard or at a loss for words, respected by his crew, a skilled navigator, a gifted battle tactician, a captain who inspires love and loyalty. Peck's own great gift as an actor of projecting decency serves him well. Mayo may not have a lot to do, but she's gorgeous to look. The one amusing aspect of the movie is the propensity for the officers to wear dress uniforms during their everyday duties. We're treated to them sailing on the hot Central American waters in their best wool uniforms, complete with white weskits, cocked hats and shiny swords dangling from their waists. One assumes the Hollywood producers had no confidence that the audience could distinguish officers from the men without the equivalent of signs around the officers' necks. Lady Barbara also has a habit on board of wearing gowns that risk sunburn and peeling on some sensitive parts of her upper anatomy. The movie features fine performances from familiar faces and names, including Robert Beatty, James Robertson Justice, Terence Morgan and Denis O'Day. In smaller roles are faces that later became much better known, those of Stanley Baker and Christopher Lee. Alec Mango gives us an over-ripe and enjoyable turn as the strutting, sweating El Supremo. The movie is drawn primarily from C. S. Forester's Beat to Quarters, with the later half of the movie pulled from episodes from Ship of the Line and Flying Colors. These are the first three Hornblower novels Forester wrote. The Hornblower series still holds up as exciting adventures in the age of sail and the life-and-death struggle pitting Britain against Napoleon.