Detractors of this film and of Marlon Brando always state the same things; Brando's English accent isn't accurate, Bligh wasn't a tyrant and Brando deliberately sabotaged this film to try and make more money. Who cares? All that matters it that the film is dramatic and entertaining and it is.
By the standards of the day, Captain Bligh probably wasn't a cruel man. Two centuries later, however, the methods of discipline on the Bounty would be seen as inhumane. It's hard enough working with people in an office. Can you imagine being cooped up for years on a ship with people you don't like and NEVER being able to get away from them? It's no wonder they mutinied!
You can see why Brando wanted to do this movie. Apart from the hefty sum he was given, he would also get to shoot in Tahiti and the script touched on things personal to him like the confrontation and subsequent subjugation of authority and the oppression of ethnic peoples. (It's worth seeing this film purely for the slyly lascivious look Marlon Brando gives his future wife, Tahitian beauty Tarita, as she dances for him.)
The film has been given a brand new digital transfer and it looks magnificent, especially the gorgeous vistas of Tahiti. Frustratingly though, the film comes in two parts on separate discs and it is annoying to have to stop the film, eject the first disc and insert the second one. They could have easily used one dual-layer disc and solved that problem.
The special features on the disc all concern the building and voyages of the exact replica of the HMS Bounty that the studio commissioned. The documentary on the construction of the ship is fascinating. It details how difficult it was to find people with the rare skills to actually build a wooden sailing ship long after such methods had become obsolete and forgotten. It then goes into the painstaking effort that was necessary to bring the Bounty to life again. Incredible stuff and a story from movie history you don't hear much about but should. Sadly, there are no commentaries or interviews with cast or crew and no documentaries about the making of the film. Not one. Very strange.
A good film, well-restored and well worth the very reasonable price.