Billy Budd
- APPROVED
- Year:
- 1962
- 123 min
- 680 Views
Seventeen ninety-seven...
... the year of the mutinies
of the fleet at Spithead and at the Nore...
... and of the continuing war
with republican France.
August the 16th, His Majesty's
frigate, Avenger, on a wartime cruise...
... with orders to reinforce
the British squadron off the coast of Spain.
John Claggart, master-at-arms,
royal navy.
Edwin Fairfax Vere,
post captain, royal navy.
The Dansker, sailmaker.
Philip Seymour, first lieutenant.
Julian Ratcliffe, second lieutenant.
Steven Wyatt, gunnery officer.
Enoch Jenkins, maintopman.
Squeak, assistant to Mr. Claggart.
Alan Payne, maintopman.
William O'Daniel, maintopman.
Arnold Talbot, maintopman.
Neil Kincaid, maintopman.
Alfred Hallam, captain of marines.
On the same day, at the same hour...
... the merchant ship, Rights of Man,
out of Dundee...
... bound for the West Indies
with a cargo of manufactured goods.
Nathaniel Graveling, ship's master.
Amos Leonard, first mate.
Charles Mathews, merchant seaman.
Billy Budd, merchant seaman.
- Down a little.
- Down a little, sir.
Weren't it better to heave to, sir?
She's a man-of-war.
Not an enemy, is she?
No, sir, she's British.
Her name's the Rights of Man, sir.
It's a dangerous name for a vessel
in this day and age.
- Is she heaving to?
- No, sir.
Aye. It's worse than any enemy.
If she's British, I'll not heave to.
If she's French,
she only wants to sink us.
in the expectation of being sunk.
If she's British, she'll want to take my best
men from me, and I'll not stand for that.
Hoist the topgallants.
Hoist the topgallants!
Hey, Budd.
Billy Budd, give us a song.
Away, boys, away
They says I hangs for money
All hang, boys, hang
Away, boys, away
And then I hanged my family
She's hoisting more canvas.
- They appear to be singing, sir.
- Yes.
Are they so ignorant
they cannot understand our purpose?
Oh, I doubt that it's ignorance
which motivates their actions, Mr. Ratcliffe.
Captain Hallam.
- Sir?
- We all envy your word of command.
Tell them to heave to, if you will,
with my compliments.
Ta.
Away, boys, away
Captain's compliments...
...will you heave to?
- Captain, they're ordering us to heave to.
There can be no mistaking
their meaning now.
That don't prevent me
being a bit hard of hearing, do it?
- Fall off.
- Fall off, sir.
I'll get the best I can out of her.
to make a fair wind of it, sir.
You sure she's not a Frenchman
in disguise, sir?
Nothing so adventurous,
I'm afraid, Ratcliffe.
proves she's one of ours.
But I will be obeyed.
Send a shot across her bows.
We're at war, Mr. Seymour.
Fire the bow chaser!
Well, I can't pretend
to be blind too, can I?
Back the main yard, Mr. Mate.
Backing the main yard, sir?
There's no avoiding it, man.
Get up on the focs'le.
If I spit now,
I'd get him fair and square, man.
Why do you waste it on him?
He's not so bad.
There's no difference
between any of them.
Cast off forward.
And what do you want, then?
Down oars.
All together.
All hands on deck.
All hands right over to the focs'le.
Budd. Billy Budd. Get up aloft again.
Maybe they won't see you.
Men lined up already, captain?
There's no doubt about your intentions.
Is that why you failed
to obey our order?
I never thought I'd see the day when
I'd pray for a French sail on the horizon.
A French sail? Why?
Then the royal navy
could do its duty for a change...
...protect our merchant ships
instead of preying on them.
You have ideas of your own, captain.
I'm not alone in that.
What's this man's record?
- Good.
What, with the whole of the Nore
and the mutiny?
Who's the likely man now, lieutenant?
Aye, there was officers killed and all.
Where did you hear this?
Aye, it's common knowledge.
We're not long out of port.
The mainland's buzzing with it.
Read the newspapers. They're talking
about reforms in the House of Commons.
You know what that means.
It means the reforms
- Who is that?
- Billy. Billy Budd.
According to the rights of war...
...a man-of-war can impress a seaman
from any other vessel.
- Do you understand that, Billy?
- Aye, captain.
You also understand
there's nothing I can do?
Aye, captain.
You understand too much too well.
Are you at least sorry to be leaving?
Aye, that I am, captain.
It's a good ship, this.
You helped make it good.
A man-of-war, you'll find, is different.
- Different, sir?
- Aye, Billy.
Do your work well, keep your mouth shut,
except at meal times.
It's not as it is here.
Now, there's a good lad.
Go forward and get your gear.
Aye, captain.
My compliments to your captain.
Tell him I regret
I do not command a faster ship.
Cast off forward.
Take that oar.
Up together.
God go with you, Billy Budd...
...for it's a fact that you go with God.
Goodbye to you all.
- Goodbye to you too, old Rights of Man.
- What do you mean by that, boy?
Nothing, sir.
- All that trouble for only one man.
- Must be a reason, sir.
Oh, yes, I can imagine the reason...
...knowing the temper
of that vessel's master.
- Well, Seymour, our choice better be good.
- Get a rope down.
Do you swear to abide
by the Articles of War, to obey orders...
...and, if need be, to lay down your life
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