MASTER AND COMMANDER ...

Is a 2003 movie starring Russell Crowe as a captain in the Royal Navy as he hunts down a French privateer ship in the Napoleonic wars. The movie is based on a series of twenty books - and an unfinished twenty first book - called the 'Aubrey-Maturin' series by English novelist Patrick O'Brian that are known for their historical accuracy.

                                                                   © 20th Century Fox                                       © Patrick O'Brian                                                                                                       

The movie itself is astonishing for its dedication to that historical realism. It may have been more well known were it not for the fact that 'The Lord Of the Rings: The Return of the King' came out at the same time. The movie called 'Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World' to give it its full title doesn't follow the books exactly but tells its own self-contained narrative that is enjoyable without needing to have read the book series.

Here's a link to the books series on Amazon where you can buy them and here's a link to the movie on Amazon where you can buy it.