Captain Blood 4K 1935

I became familiar with the original source, that is, R. Sabatini's work, in my distant childhood, and I saw the Russian film on television in bits and pieces in equally distant times. So I decided to refresh my memories with this film, which, according to those who recommended it to me, is a true classic.

My first impression, which did not change throughout the film, was that I had always imagined the main character differently. And it's not even about his appearance; appearance is not the main thing, after all. But if before arriving in the New World I had some doubts — what if everything still changes — then after... However, at certain moments, the accuracy of the portrayal was simply striking.

The capricious and coquettish Arabella was a particular disappointment. It feels like after reading the original source material about what this girl was NOT, the filmmakers tried to portray her exactly that way.

Although, overall, the film deserves credit for its first half, which is extremely close to the original plot. But the second half frankly disappointed me, especially with its “magnificent” ending, worthy of the worst examples of the romance novel genre.

The conclusions are as follows. By modern standards, of course, it is all a bit overly pompous and theatrical, to the point of being somewhat unnatural, but for 1935 it was the norm. I could go into great detail and analyze the finer points, but suffice it to say that I had a very pleasant time watching it and smiled quite a bit.