I know a lot of people (like my boyfriend) get instantly turned off if they know a film is a “classic” and heaven forbid it be in black and white! I can understand that to a degree, because not all films age well and some are simply laughable today. But the amazing thing about film is its ability to capture for eternity a great performance, a brilliant shot, a director’s daring vision. All of this is present in “Mutiny on the Bounty,” a film that in many ways shows its age, but, if taken as a product of its time, is still brilliant.

“Mutiny” is a grand adventure film, very daring at the time for being shot on location – at sea – instead of on a soundstage. This realism is deftly brought through to the audience through the great cinematography. The sea is another character in the film. Certain aspects of the film are almost foreign to modern movie-making – the way the Tahitians are portrayed, the time spent meandering on the exotic island, and the monologues, especially Byam’s at the end. What moved the movie into a five-star film for me, though, was the electrifying performance of Charles Laughton as Bligh. Everything about his character is sheer genius – the slight hunch, the bushy eyebrows, the constant sneer – all of which could have easily moved into something of a cartoonish parody of a villain. Instead, he is mesmerizing. You are repulsed, you are intrigued. I was looking forward to seeing Clark Gable in another role, but found myself eagerly waiting for Laughton to come back on screen. It is a performance that makes you grateful for the invention of film and its capacity to save a 70-year-old performance for new generations to discover.