[LAUGHING]
[SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
- Good morning, sir. - Good morning, Mr. Stewart.
Mr. Bligh wishes you to report to him as soon as you come aboard, sir.
Thank you, Mr. Stewart.
- Reporting, sir. - You relieve my anxiety.
I was about to send an armed shore party to look for you.
- I had your permission, sir. - You're a fine figure of a king's officer.
If I could prove to that native you're a liar, they'd arrest you! You'll regret this!
Before this voyage is over, you'll know who's master here!
Mr. Bligh, I have in mind the dead seaman you had flogged in Portsmouth.
He struck his captain.
You'd like me to strike you.
- Well, I won't do it. - Very clever, Mr. Christian.
1000 pounds, sir. The pick of the island!
Mr. Morgan, I shall commend your industry to Sir Joseph Banks.
Thank you. There's one difficulty, sir, a very grave one.
These growing plants require more water than we can store aboard.
We can't let them die, sir.
We won't.
Mr. Morgan, I'll take these trees to the West Indies...
...every tree in prime condition.
I shall cut the water allowance for the entire ship's company.
Good morrow to you.
I'll drink your health in Portsmouth!
- Put your stuff there. - It's mine, sir. It's a gift.
Captain's orders. Put it down and go forward!
Shore leave in heaven, duty in hell again.
- What have you got there? - Monday Wash, sir.
It's a pet, sir. Her name's Monday Wash.
Mr. Maggs, take that laundry for the captain's table.
But, sir! Oh!
Now get forward!
- Come along, there. Hurry! - Did he hurt you?
No, but one day, I'll take that cane away...
Look behind you.
[MUSIC BOX PLAYS]
[SPEAKING TAHITIAN]
Yes.
Aren't you coming aboard, Hitihiti?
I have said farewell to Bligh.
I have sent gift to King George.
- Then this is goodbye. - Yes.
Byam, tayo.
- You have been happy here? - Very happy, Hitihiti.
Byam, I have no son.
Stay here with me. Be my son.
I must return to England.
I shall never come back.
[SPEAKS TAHITIAN]
Byam...
...you will think of us sometime. - Hitihiti.
[SPEAKS TAHITIAN]
[MUSIC BOX PLAYS]
[SPEAKS TAHITIAN]
CHRISTIAN: Roger! Will you come here, please?
- Look. - Big as gooseberries!
Make her understand. These are priceless, I can't take them.
[SPEAKS TAHITIAN]
She says they're for your mother.
Oh. Well, thank her, Roger.
And tell her when this voyage is over, somehow, I'm coming back.
- I can't tell her that. - I mean it, Roger.
But it's a dream, Fletcher. This island isn't real for you and me.
It's the ship that's real. It's taking us home.
Tell her, Roger.
[SPEAKING TAHITIAN]
Thank you, Roger.
[SPEAKS TAHITIAN]
Goodbye, Maimiti.
That's right. No tears, lass.
Love?
Love.
Goodbye.
Reporting with deserters. Taken on the other side of the island. No resistance.
BLIGH: Very well, Mr. Young.
So you let them take you alive.
You'll regret that, me lads. Take them below.
BURKITT: We ain't deserters, sir.
You kept us aboard because we dropped that tub of breadfruit.
- We wanted to see the island... - Take them below and put them in irons.
Prisoners in escort, into file.
Left, turn!
Quick march!
- Is she ready for sea, Mr. Fryer? - Ready, sir.
- Set topsails and jibs. - Stand by. Topsails and jibs.
MAN: All hands on deck!
[PIPE WHISTLING]
Looking about me, I can't believe we're in a ship of the royal navy.
The deck's like a barnyard! Paradise is astern, gentlemen.
I'll break the men of that island if I have to flog every thieving...
Which reminds me...
...10 coconuts, Crown property, were stolen on your watch.
Correct, Mr. Maggs?
MAGGS: I counted myself. - I'll account for the men in my watch.
- They didn't take them. - Can you account for yourself?
Mr. Bligh, may I recall the outward voyage?
Harsh things were said, but I hoped the return trip would be better.
Then suppose you return the 10 coconuts.
- You think I'm so fond of them I'd steal? - Yes, you hypocrite.
You stole Crown property more valuable.
- Explain that! - Pearls, Mr. Christian.
- Pearls? BLIGH: I believe I said pearls.
Fortunately, Mr. Maggs was at the boat.
He saw that native woman give you two pearls.
I think I'm beginning to understand.
The native woman, as you call her, gave the pearls to me.
- They are not Crown property. - The goods I gave away to the natives...
...belong to the Crown. What comes back belongs to the Crown!
I'm not the most patient man in the world. Give them to me!
Remember, Mr. Bligh:
Crown property.
Very well, Mr. Christian.
Crown property.
- Gratings rigged. - Everybody present?
- Everyone present, sir, but the surgeon. - Huh?
The surgeon is ill, sir.
- III? Drunk, you mean! - We had to bleed him this morning, sir.
He's not fit. Mr. Morgan and Mr. Christian agree.
Go below. Tell him to report on deck at once!
Very good, sir.
Thomas Burkitt, Matthew Thompson, step forward.
CHRISTIAN: Ship's company, off hats.
I'm sorry, sir.
Captain Bligh...
How do you feel?
I'm afraid I'm a very old man, lad...
...and a very sick one. - I'll tell him again you can't report.
No, boy. No, I'm not worth getting into a scrape over.
For once, a midshipman gives an order.
You stay where you are.
A good lad.
I must pull him out.
I've taken the liberty of telling the surgeon to stay. He's not able to report.
I'll have no drunken relic holding up the discipline aboard my ship.
Once more, bring him on deck, or I'll have you seized up and flogged.
Byam doesn't wanna disobey you. I beg you, don't force the old man.
He can't walk.
- Go below and see for yourself. - Are you presuming to give me orders?
BACCHUS: Reporting on deck for duty, sir.
Mr. Morrison, do your duty. Four dozen, I believe.
Four dozen it is, sir.
Nothing lost, Mr. Christian.
- Well? - What did you expect, Mr. Bligh?
The man's dead.
I call this ship's company to bear witness.
- You killed him! - Silence.
Ship's company dismissed.
Boatswain, punishment postponed 24 hours.
Aye, aye, sir.
Do you hear, men? Ship's company dismissed!
Bear a hand. Take him below.
Drunkard?
Yes, but everybody loved him.
The welfare of men on shipboard...
...depends upon things that seem small.
A joke at the right moment.
A glass of grog.
A kind word would do more with seamen than the cat-o'-nine-tails.
And this ship will be the worse...
...if possible, for his death.
Wonder if that's Defoe Island.
The natives are cannibals...
...but it's land. The last we'll see for months.
You'd better get some rest. You've been here for hours.
No. I can't sleep, and it's nearly my watch.
- Well, good night. - Roger.
- There's something I want you to do. - Gladly. What is it?
One never knows what may happen on a voyage like this.
If for any reason I don't return to England, I want you to see my parents.
Well, why shouldn't you return to England?
Why?
I can't stand this devil's work much longer.
One day I'll forget this discipline and break his neck.
Wait until we're back in England. The admiralty will save you the trouble.
Well, in any case, I'd like you to see my parents.
- Of course. Where do they live? - In Cumberland at Maincordare.
I've almost forgotten what the old place looks like.
I haven't seen it in 10 years.
But I do remember a tapestry in the hall...
...with ships and islands on it.
Perhaps that's what sent me off to sea.
I don't know.
In any case, I'd like you to see my home.
If anything should happen, tell my father and mother you knew me.
- You can count on me. CHRISTIAN: Good. That's settled, then.
BLIGH: Mr. Byam, you're up late. - It's fairly warm below.
I hadn't noticed. A true sailor can sleep in an oven or on ice. Get below.
Very good, sir.
[BELL RINGING]
Your watch, Mr. Christian.
And I must count the coconuts.
MCCO Y: Mr. Christian, sir.
That shark's been following us since the surgeon died, waiting for the burial.
- Couldn't I have a musket to shoot it? - Take the deck.
- I'll get the keys to the arms chest. - Two muskets.
- I'd like to shoot that shark onboard. - McCoy!
It's no use. Now's our chance.
There's a lot of us here ready. And the officers and men that won't join us...
- Well, it's them or us! - Keep your hatch closed!
Now, get forward!
MAN 1: Who's there?
MAN 2: Sailor hand, mate.
- Hey, what's this noise about here? - Water, mate.
Water?
- For deserters? - But the lad slipped his cable.
Well, here's to you slipping yours.
When I'm free, I'll wring your scrawny pipe stem till your tongue pops out!
Tongue, is it? I'll give you something to remind you of that slice of shark.
[YELLING]
You scum! Get out!
I'm sorry, lad.
Are you all right?
Thank you, Mr. Christian, sir.
Better take care of Thompson, sir.
Murdering butcher!
I've had enough of this blood ship!
He's not master of life and death on a quarterdeck above the angels. McCoy!
Quintal!
I'm sick of blood! Bloody backs! Bloody faces!
Bligh, you've given your last command! We'll be men again if we hang for it!
- You say you're ready for anything? - Aye!
- Release them! - You're taking the ship?
Mutiny?
Yes, mutiny! Pass the word. Seize the arms chest.
MAN: We've been waiting for this!
[WHISTLING]
No! Don't hit me!
Take him!
Boatswain!
No, no, don't hurt me! Don't hurt me!
Now, wake up! Get into your clothes and lose no time about it.
- What's the matter? - What's happened?
- Have we been attacked? - No, we've taken the ship.
And old Bligh's a prisoner.
Mutiny?
Tie him to the pipe.
Mr. Morrison! Mr. Coleman!
Shut up or I'll shut your trap for you!
Give up this madness, or we'll all be murdered.
You're in no danger.
What will we do with him?
- Shoot him! - I'll slit his dirty throat!
See that, you butcher? My four dozen. We'll give you 400.
- We'll let you know what it feels like! ELLISON: Flog him!
You old rogue. You'd flog us. You'd make us eat grass.
You bluenosed baboon!
Back! Back, all of you!
No more flogging aboard this ship. That's why we're taking it.
We'll have something to say about that! What will you do with him?
Put him in a launch and cast him adrift.
Give him food, water, cutlasses and a compass.
You can have your choice. Go with him or stay with me.
No. Slit his throat, I say, and feed him to the sharks.
And I say go forward!
Clear the launch and lower away!
Aye, aye, sir.
- Stand by, Thompson. - Aye, aye, sir.
Lively, old buzzing bees.
What a pity, what a pity! Every little tree, perfect.
- You'll be sure to water them? - Never you fret. We'll water them.
[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
MAN: We'll take care of your plants, here, Morgan!
You may stay onboard if you like, without joining us.
No, thank you, sir.
All right. Your turn, Mr. Bligh.
Mr. Christian, I give you your last chance to return to duty.
I'll take my chance against the law. You'll take yours against the sea.
But you're taking my ship! My ship!
Your ship? The king's ship, you mean, and you're not fit to command it.
Into the boat!
We're ready, Churchill. Bear a hand here, will you?
[GUNFIRE]
McCoy! McCoy!
CHURCHILL: Two little monkey jackets. Loyal to Captain Bligh, eh?
MUSPRATT: Serves them right. - Come on, lads, on deck.
MORRISON: I tell you, we will!
Mr. Christian, you forgot us. Call back the boat.
There's no more room. You must stay with us.
- We'll join our captain! - We're not mutineers!
I said there was no more room! Take them below!
[SHOUTING INDISTINCLTY]
MAN 1: Stand the guns on them!
MAN 2: Give them a drink!
Casting me adrift 3500 miles from a port of call.
You're sending me to my doom, eh?
Well, you're wrong, Christian!
I'll take this boat as she floats to England if I must!
I'll live to see you, all of you...
...hanging from the highest yardarm in the British fleet!
Yardarms, is it? I'll give you yardarms.
Burkitt!
You're not leaving them adrift? They'll starve or drown.
- That's Bligh's affair. - Your friends, Morgan, Purcell...
Do you think I wanted this?
- Call back the boat. - No.
- Call it back! - No!
These men have been in hell. I couldn't stand it.
- Then I must go with Bligh. - There's no room.
Then I call on you men.
All of you, in the name of the king, return to duty.
THOMPSON: Cock-a-doodle-doo!
Give me that gun! Give me that!
Take him below.
Stand by to wear ship.
- What course, sir? - West-northwest, Tahiti.
Tahiti, lads!
[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
[SINGING]
Hey, Thompson! Here comes their water!
Sit down, Roger.
You know, there are five other men onboard...
...who refused to take part in the mutiny.
They've agreed not to try and retake the ship.
You may have your liberty under the same conditions.
I simply want your word for it.
You may have it.
But I'll escape if I can.
I understand.
Then I may go?
Yes, you may go.
Roger...
...I'm sorry I had to hit you.
That didn't hurt.
What hurts is that you and I can never again be friends.
Keep her as she goes, west-northwest.
West-northwest, sir.
I presume you'll make for the nearest island.
No. That's certain death. The savages in these parts are fierce cannibals.
We must keep well clear of those fellas.
By my reckoning, the first port from which we can expect help is Timor...
...in the Dutch East Indies, some 3500 miles away.
Then our case is hopeless.
It is by no means hopeless.
We have extra canvas, rope, a tool chest. We'll put on every rag of sail.
That's impossible. Deeply laden as we are, we'd fill with the first storm.
Then we'll bail with our hands if we must.
She'll see us through if we do our part, she will!
Begging your pardon, sir, but the food and the water.
We haven't got enough for 10 days.
If we are to reach Timor alive, we must make it last 20, 40, 50 days.
It's the sea against us.
Mr. Bligh, we'd be pleased if you'd ask God's blessing on our journey.
That I shall do, Mr. Fryer.
Almighty God, thou knowest our need. Grant we acquit ourselves like men...
...in the trials and dangers that lie before us.
Bail!
[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
Bail!
Bail faster!
Bail faster! Bail!
Another piece, Mr. Maggs.
Thank you.
Thank you, lad.
Are we all served?
All served, sir.
Now, lads, for your own good, eat and drink slowly.
How far have we still to go, sir?
Don't let your mind dwell upon that, lad.
Think how far we've come.
We'll never see Portsmouth again?
We'll see Portsmouth again...
...and we'll see Fletcher Christian hanging from a yardarm...
...and every pirate with him.
Steady, mates.
Steady.
[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
Mr. Fryer, take the tiller.
Get away! I caught him!
Hey, lads! Give me that bird!
Share and share alike, lads.
The blood for the sick.
Raise him up, Mr. Maggs. Norton, get me a cup.
This will nourish you, Mr. Morgan.
No, thank you, sir.
Give it to the youngsters.
They need it more.
Yes, Mr. Morgan, but I'm still giving the orders.
Timor, up ahead.
Timor!
Up with you. Up with you.
[SPEAKS INDISTINCTLY]
We've beaten the sea itself.
[CAROLERS SINGING "GOD REST YE, MERRY GENTLEMEN"]
I hope Master Roger has a nice Christmas, ma'am.
Thank you.
- Well, good night, ma'am. - Good night.
- Good night, ma'am. - Good night, ma'am.
I beg your pardon. Will there be anything more?
- Nothing more, Burrows. - Thank you.
[SINGING "GOD REST YE, MERRY GENTLMEN"]
Christmas?
Yes, Christmas.
Peace on earth, goodwill to...
Come along.
A merry Christmas to you, Mrs. Christian.
Thank you, lads.
A merry Christmas to you all.
- Same to you, sir. - Merry Christmas, Mr. Christian.
Won't you come...?
- Roger! - Merry Christmas, Fletcher.
Oh, thanks, lad. I've been hoping for this for a year.
Come in. This is a day worth celebrating.
Begging your pardon, sir.
We've brought the little lady a bit of Christmas.
Well, thanks, lad.
But she must have it from you.
Come in. Come in, lads, all of you.
TOGETHER: Thank you, sir.
My boy was like that when I left home, sir.
He'll be 3 years old now.
Come on, lads. Everybody outside for some grog.
TOGETHER: Thank you, sir.
MAN: Isn't that a sweet baby?
Help yourself, lads!
TOGETHER: Thank you, sir.
The surgeon's, Roger.
It would delight his soul to have us drink it, especially on this day.
Friend. Good, good.
Hitihiti, here.
[SPEAKS TAHITIAN]
Makes head go round, round.
[LAUGHING]
MAN: Come on, Byrne, drink some of this!
Where's Ellison? Ellison!
Come on!
[VIOLIN PLAYING]
[SHOUTING IN TAHITIAN]
[SPEAKS TAHITIAN]
[HORN BLOWING]
[SPEAKS TAHITIAN]
What? A ship?
- Maybe she's Spanish. - No.
- No, she's British-rigged. - British?
Did you hear that, mate? British.
- British? - She's coming for us.
We've got a chance. The wind's against her.
She must lay outside the reef till morning.
Get your families and your goods together! Get aboard the Bounty!
Thompson, everyone onboard?
Burkitt and Muspratt have gone into hiding.
The fools! They'll be taken and hanged. Get in the boat.
Where are you taking us?
I don't know. The Pacific is filled with uncharted islands.
We'll find one and settle there for good.
Mr. Christian, I've got a wife and child in England. I've got to get back.
Back? You know what that means? A yardarm.
I must take that chance, sir.
But whatever happens, I'll never blame you.
Thanks, lad, and I understand.
Good luck.
Well, this is goodbye, youngster.
We'll never see each other again, that's certain.
- But I'll remember. - I will too, Fletcher.
When you're back in England with the fleet...
...you'll hear the hue and cry against me.
From now on, they'll spell mutiny with my name.
I regret that...
...but not the taking of the ship. Every time I think of Bligh...
Well, I'd do it again.
If ever I reach England again, I'll go to your father and tell him the truth.
Thanks.
- I'll be happier knowing that. - Fletcher.
What is out there for you?
Another island.
- Stand by. I'll be back in a moment. - Hurry up, Byam.
When she comes around the headland, we'll pilot her in.
[SPEAKS TAHITIAN]
Oh, Tehani, I'll be back in two hours.
Tehani knows.
[SPEAKS TAHITIAN]
The ship may be here for months before she sails.
But she will sail.
Byam, midshipman. Tehani knows.
Tehani, you're my wife, always.
Mrs. Roger Byam.
My wife, my darling.
[SHOUTS IN TAHITIAN]
There she is, lads, and we've nothing to fear.
We took no part in the mutiny. Soon we'll be in England.
Thank God! Thank God!
We're returning. Good, eh?
Very good, sir. My name's Byam, Roger Byam. This is Mr. Stewart.
We're midshipmen of His Majesty's ship, Bounty.
BLIGH: Bring those men up!
Captain Bligh, thank God you're alive, sir.
They gave me a boat and a sail, didn't they?
Where is Fletcher Christian?
He sailed yesterday, sir, when your ship was sighted.
- Where to? - I don't know, sir.
- You don't know, Stewart? - I don't know either.
You're lying, both of you. Sergeant, put these men in irons.
- Irons? What for? - Mutiny.
But we're not mutineers.
A court-martial in England will decide that.
- We're as loyal as you. - A court-martial will decide that!
We're reporting for duty! If we're guilty, we'd go with Christian.
When Christian took my ship, you remained with him...
...and you'll have to answer for it. It'll be better to tell me where he's gone!
- We don't know, sir. - Then you'll lie in the hold...
...until you do know. Sergeant, take them below!
MORRISON: By the mark, 12! Rocky bottom!
- To the lee helm. - Lee helm, sir.
- Steady! - Steady, sir.
Mark 12!
- Foretop, any sail in sight? - No sail, sir.
- Banktop! - No sail, sir.
MORRISON: By the mark, 12! Reefs ahead!
Mr. Byam, I can't understand why he keeps us below here in irons.
You and Mr. Stewart, Mclntosh, Coleman, Byrne and myself...
...we are no mutineers.
Haven't I told him that time and time again?
His marines surprised me and Muspratt, sir, or we wouldn't be here, alive.
MORRISON: Reefs ahead!
BLIGH: Attention below.
Have you decided to tell me where Christian sailed for?
MORRISON: By the mark, 12! Reefs ahead!
Well, I'm waiting!
Well, stay here and rot.
My watch, I believe, Mr. Christian.
Very well, Mr. Young.
[YELLS IN TAHITIAN]
- You heathen slime! - Enough!
[SPEAKS TAHITIAN]
I'm sorry, sir.
Mr. Christian, sir, when are you going to make a landfall?
We're fierce sick of this. It's more than man can stand...
...to be at sea forever in a ghost ship.
I've steered off the track of ships. When it's safe, I'll put about for the island.
Until then you've got to trust me, that's all.
Deep 11. Rocky bottom!
I beg you again to give up the search.
The Bounty must be lost. The ship's dragging barnacles. The seams are open.
Men are working the pumps day and night.
- We're still afloat, are we not? - Only by the grace of God in these reefs.
- Ease her off a point. MAN: Ease her off a point, sir.
I must remind you this is one of His Majesty's ships.
Mr. Edwards, I intend to bring back Fletcher Christian.
Unless he's hanging from a yardarm, not one of His Majesty's ships is safe.
Mutiny and piracy will be rampant in the fleet.
- But we'll lose the ship. - Then we'll lose it!
As long as I have a deck under me, I'll search for that man.
Fourteen!
MAN: To starboard!
Old Bligh's a seaman.
The rocks are so thick, a fish couldn't swim between them...
...without rubbing off his scales. MORRISON: By the mark, 8!
Eight fathom! Let's hope we're moored before night...
...or the sharks will have us.
MORRISON: By the mark, 2!
MAN 1: Breakers ahead.
MAN 2: Hard alee!
What's happened?
- Hard to port! - Very good, sir!
Haul out both of them!
Get the doors!
Captain Bligh!
Get us out! We'll drown!
Lift with them and turn around!
Captain Bligh! Let us out of here!
Save your voice, man!
Take charge of the aft boat.
Captain Bligh, get us out of here!
- Get those men out! - Aye, aye, sir! Come on, men!
[SHOUTING INDISTINCTLY]
Hurry up, soldier!
- The first boat's ready. - Take them out.
Make for the Australian coast. Prisoners go with me in the other boat.
- Very good, sir. God be with you. - God be with you.
Hurry up with you down there.
Thank you. You saved our lives.
Mr. Byam, I wouldn't lose you for a flagship. Get into the boat!
MAN 1: How long has this trial been going on?
MAN 2: About a week now. They should reach a verdict soon.
Oh, there, there, child.
But they won't let me see him. Why won't they let me see him?
If I could see him to talk to him, he'd know I trust him.
- He knows that, darling. - Oh, but it's cruel. Cruel.
They can't hang him!
[GUNFIRE]
MAN 3: There's the signal. The trial is opened again.
On the 15th day of September, 1792...
...for mutiny on His Majesty's ship, Bounty.
MAN: Call Mr. Fryer.
Mr. Fryer.
Do you swear by God any evidence you give...?
MAN: Besides the leader, did you see any of the prisoners now before this court...
...in arms?
FRYER: Yes, milord. MAN: Inform the court.
FRYER: Seaman Burkitt and Seaman Muspratt were armed with muskets.
Seaman Ellison was armed with a bayonet.
MAN: Have any of the accused any questions to put to this witness?
Yes, milord.
Good morning, Mr. Fryer.
Oh, good morning, lad.
Mr. Fryer, you say I was armed with a bayonet.
- Did you see me use it? - By no means, lad.
MAN: Address your replies to the court. - Milord, he didn't use the bayonet.
He merely flourished it under Captain Bligh's nose...
...and called him a few names.
Names? What names did he call him?
Sir, he...
He called him a bluenosed baboon.
[LAUGHING]
Have you any more questions to ask the witness?
ELLISON: No, milord.
That is all.
Milord, I should like to ask a few questions of Captain Bligh.
Very well, Captain Nelson.
- Call Captain Bligh. - Captain Bligh.
Captain Bligh, in the previous evidence given before this court...
...you failed to make clear one very important point:
A motive for the mutiny.
Can you tell us why your men took your ship?
No, sir. Until I was seized in the cabin, I suspected nothing.
A circumstance occurred the night before...
...which should have aroused my suspicions.
Going on deck, I found Fletcher Christian and Roger Byam...
...talking together at the rail.
I heard Roger Byam say, "You can count on me."
I heard Christian reply, "Good. That's settled."
I saw them shake hands.
I realized afterwards they were plotting to seize the Bounty.
But that's not true, Captain Bligh.
Milord, gentlemen, let me explain.
If the prisoner so desires, he may question the witness.
Captain Bligh, you've not repeated my whole talk with Fletcher Christian.
Did you not hear him tell me about his home in Cumberland?
I did not.
Well, did you not hear him ask my promise...
...that if he did not return, I would tell his parents what had happened?
I did not.
I swear before God and before this court...
...that was the content of my talk with Christian.
It had nothing to do with mutiny.
Captain Bligh, apart from the conversation you overheard...
...was Mr. Byam's previous conduct such that you believe him guilty?
Sir, his entire conduct convinces me that he plotted with Christian.
They were friends before the mutiny. They remained friends after the mutiny.
When I arrived, the prisoner could've arrested Christian.
But he allowed him to escape. On his own admittance.
Yes, but you knew I was trapped on the island, perhaps for years.
Outnumbered, unarmed.
I gave my word to Christian not to move against him.
Mr. Byam, if you were loyal when Christian escaped...
...I should have found you dead.
I have nothing more to ask him.
I can only say again to this court, I am not guilty of mutiny.
If that is so, why did you not join your captain when he was cast adrift?
I was below planning a counterattack to regain the ship from the mutineers.
With whom did you plan the attack?
Sir, with my messmate, Midshipman Stewart.
Milord...
...Midshipman Stewart died in the Pandora's boat.
"The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want."
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want.
[SPEAKING INDISTINCTLY]
Can't they ever reach a verdict?
I'm that sick of waiting, I could stamp on a litter of wildcats...
...and never feel a scratch.
Well, what are you looking at?
It ain't Tahiti. It's only Portsmouth.
I thought she might row by in a boat.
Who, the queen?
No, my wife.
Sorry, lad.
Why can't I see her? My wife, my boy...
...that's all I've come back for.
I knew they'd hang me.
But I've got to see them. I've got to see them!
Blast these sea captains!
Who made their sea law? God didn't. The burning killers!
Lad! We're all in the same boat, Tom.
They won't let me see my mother.
Won't you help us now by holding on?
Yes, sir.
Roger Byam?
Follow me, please.
- Sir Joseph. - My lad, they've reached a verdict.
- Watch the dirk. - The dirk?
The midshipman's dirk will be lying on the table before Lord Hood.
If it lies crosswise, you've been acquitted.
If the point lies toward you, you've been condemned.
God be with you.
Thank you, sir.
MAN: Prisoner and escort, halt. Left, hut.
HOOD: Have you anything to say before the sentence of this court...
...is passed upon you?
Milord, much as I desire to live, I'm not afraid to die.
Since I first sailed on the Bounty four years ago...
...I've known how men can be made to suffer worse things than death.
Cruelly, beyond duty, beyond necessity.
Captain Bligh, you've told your story of mutiny on the Bounty.
How men plotted against you, seized your ship...
...cast you adrift in an open boat.
A great venture in science brought to nothing. Two British ships lost.
But there's another story, Captain Bligh...
...of 10 coconuts and two cheeses.
A story of a man who robbed his seamen, cursed them, flogged them.
Not to punish, but to break their spirit.
A story of greed and tyranny...
...and of anger against it, of what it cost.
One man, milord, would not endure such tyranny.
That's why you hounded him. That's why you hate him, hate his friends.
And that's why you're beaten.
Fletcher Christian's still free.
But Christian lost too, milord.
God knows he's judged himself more harshly than you could judge him.
I say to his father, he was my friend.
No finer man ever lived.
I don't try to justify his crime, his mutiny...
...but I condemn the tyranny that drove him to it.
I don't speak here for myself alone, but for these men you've condemned.
I speak in their names and Fletcher Christian's name for all men at sea.
These men don't ask for comfort. They don't ask for safety.
If they could speak to you, they'd say:
"Let us choose to do our duty willingly.
Not the choice of a slave, but that of free Englishmen."
They ask only the freedom that England expects for every man.
If one man among you believed that... One man.
He could command the fleets of England.
He could sweep the seas for England.
If he called his men to their duty not by flaying their backs...
...but by lifting their hearts...
...their...
That's all.
Roger Byam, midshipman.
Having heard the evidence against you and having heard your own defense...
...the sentence of this court is you shall suffer death by hanging...
...onboard such of His Majesty's ships of war and at such time...
...as the commissioners for executing the office of lord high admiral...
...of Great Britain and Ireland shall direct.
MAN: Prisoner and escort, into file.
Left, turn. Quick, hut.
I pronounce this court dissolved.
Milord, may I congratulate the court?
Captain Bligh, in my opinion, your open-boat voyage...
...was the most remarkable conduct of navigation in the history of the sea.
I must admire your seamanship and courage, but...
Detachment, fall in.
[LOCK TURNING]
Thanks, mate.
I've seen them, sir, thanks to you and your friends.
The wife, she's well, sir.
And the boy, blow me, I hardly knew him, he's growed so.
You wouldn't believe it, the dead spit of me.
I'm glad, Tom.
Look, sir. Like the one she gave me the day we sailed for Tahiti.
Do you know, sir, that sailing seems like a dream.
As far away as the islands are.
I remember how Mr. Christian talked to me that day.
Cheered me up, he did.
Where do you think he is now, sir?
I'd give anything to know.
One thing's certain, he's taken that ship beyond maps.
I wonder if he found his island.
MAN: Well, sir, what did you find? - Your new home, lads.
There she is, Pitcairn's Island.
THOMPSON: There's no place to land.
That's why I chose it. I plan to run the Bounty in head-on, then burn her.
- Burn her? - We'd be fools to burn her.
We'll be fools if we don't.
If there's one spar left in sight, we'll never be safe.
MAN: Sir, we can't burn the ship. - We can never get back.
There's no way back, lad.
Once ashore, we're there to stay.
But this ship's our last tie with home. Yon's a Ionely rock to die on.
It's enough to live on. There's sun and earth and water.
It can be a hell or a home as we choose to make it.
We'll remember this as long as we live and regret it.
And remember why we took this ship.
They can't press-gang you there, they can't starve you, and can't flog you.
We're not afraid of a new life.
As long as we can live it with decency and self-respect, we can and we must.
For ourselves and our children.
Well, hands for burning?
- I say burn her, hull and sticks. TOGETHER: Aye, aye.
Very well. We'll get the women and children ashore...
...and then stand by to take her in. TOGETHER: Aye, sir.
She makes a grand light, sir.
Good English oak.
Discipline has been maintained.
The mutineers who confessed have been punished.
But we're here to plead for the life of Roger Byam...
...because we believe him innocent.
And there is more at stake here, Your Majesty, than his life.
We do not exaggerate when we say a new understanding...
...between officers and men has come to the fleet.
By returning Byam to duty, Your Majesty will confirm that understanding.
And not for today only, but for all time to come.
[SINGING]
Everyone aboard?
- The last shore boat's coming alongside. - Make ready for sea.
Very good, sir.
- Ship ready for sea, sir. - Very good.
Midshipman Byam, reporting for duty.
- You take the mizzenmast, Byam. - Very good.
- Very glad to have you with us, lad. - Thank you, sir.
- May I, Byam? - Of course.
We're off to the Mediterranean, lad. We'll sweep the seas for England.
Sir?
Subtitles by SDI Media Group
[ENGLISH SDH]