Vangelis - The Bounty (Opening Theme)

This is the opening theme from the 1984 film, "The Bounty", directed by Roger Donaldson. The film is based on one of most notorious scandals in the history of the British Royal Navy - the seizure of the HMS Bounty by a group of rebellious crew members in 1789. The crew members had apparently become a bit too friendly with the natives of the island of Tahiti, and refused to leave.

The film stars Sir Anthony Hopkins as Lieutenant William Bligh, the Bounty's commander, and Mel Gibson as Fletcher Christian, Bligh's best friend turned lead mutineer.

"The Bounty" breaks with some of the conventions established by previous takes on the incident. Traditionally, Bligh was portrayed as a cruel, sadistic tyrant, and Christian as a brave freedom fighter.

However, this film offers a more sympathetic (and realistic) view of Bligh as a verbally abusive but otherwise quite progressive ship's commander simply trying to do his job. At the same time, Christian is given a less sympathetic (and, again, more realistic) portrayal as an opportunistic social climber. In other words, while Bligh was traditionally the villian and Christian the hero, "The Bounty" essentially reverses these roles or at least blurs the distinction.

The greatest break with tradition, however, is the film's haunting, synthesizer-based "space music" soundtrack composed and performed by Vangelis. Despite much demand, however, the soundtrack has never been released on CD, although the opening and ending theme were included Vangelis's 1989 soundtrack compilation, "Themes."

The video itself consists of an animated sequence from an old NASA documentary depicting the formation of the Solar System, combined with some artist's renderings of the formation of Earth in particular. This is the first time that I have included actual video footage in one of my videos.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• The Bounty
• Opening Theme
• Vangelis
• Solar System Formation
• NASA
• Animation
• Anthony Hopkins
• Mel Gibson
• Laurence Olivier
• Edward Fox
• Daniel Day-Lewis
• Liam Neeson
• Bernard Hill
• Wi Kuki Kaa
• Fletcher Christian
• William Bligh

[bluejeckett]

The Bounty holds special significance for me aa an Australian cos not only was Bligh on Captain Cooks ill fated vouyage to Hawai where he was murdered, plus was he central figure of the mutiny on the Bounty but he later became governor general of Australia

this is the original track, there is a false one floating about but mate why have u used space images, it was a film about the sea not sci fi

[Scifimaster92]

@bluejeckett I just thought the images matched the mood of the music. By the way, you're the first person to point that out.

[Scifimaster92]

@bluejeckett Well, that's just your opinion.

[Scifimaster92]

@Scifimaster92 And by the way, I didn't mean to be rude or anything, so I apologize if it came out that way.

Oh, and if you like, you can check out my video for the end theme, which consists of space images up until the end, at which point an image of a sailing ship (actually the HMS Bounty itself) appears. This is intended as a "flashback" of sorts to the early days of exploration.

[chr0mtique]

The movie is one of my favorites, it brings a kind of a mysterious wonder and attracts the body and soul to adventures beyond land and into the sea.

[freddy279]

I love this track! Very nice video. The Vangelis atmosphere is Fantastic!

[AlienFirefox]

@bluejeckett

bligh wasnt just harsh he treated the men like trash. fletcher christian did consider bligh a friend but he just couldnt put up with the way bligh was treating him and his men. mel gibson is a great actor his an american but his an australian actor. his obviously gone back to his american roots so his an arrogant arsehole but his still a great actor all thanks to australia.

[bluejeckett]

@AlienFirefox too bad u got mel gibson playing him lol an american born australian not my idea of uper english sailor. Bligh and Cook were navigational superheroes, duno how he did it, but discipline in those days was harsh and had to be, cos given one whiff of relaxedness and men would desert, fact is alot of them were forced into service anyway so give them a tropical island full of half naked women after months at sea and thye were bound to desert, the same thign happened on cooks voyages

[bluejeckett]

@Scifimaster92 yeh I guess space is relevant in that it ties in with the exploration doesnt it, that would be a nice touch

[AlienFirefox]

@bluejeckett

im a direct decent of fletcher christian and im australian too

i am amazed by what bligh acomplished but he was a bastard too his men which is why he got rebelled against.

[bluejeckett]

@Scifimaster92 well Ive noticed your name is scifimaster so I spose u have that leaning but the mood of this track is more suited to the desolation of the open sea or desert or ominous looking horizon where trouble is lurking, I dont think space images suit it personally

[hossackpaul]

On of the tightest, tensest films i have ever seen. The soundtrack is a perfect match. Hopkins is fantastic throughout. Fabulous stuff!