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cinematic achievement,” “a gentleman’s action movie,” “ great storytelling,” and “such
fun to watch.”
Reel History Versus Real History
William Mclaughlin calls Master and Commander “one of the most historically accu-
rate movies of this century,” but also observes that “the very first battle seems
unrealistic, as the Acheron had such a decisive advantage that it is hard to imagine
how the Surprise possibly escaped.” Mclaughlin also points out a late, glaring
mistake: “At the very end of the film, the captured Acheron is sent to the Spanish
colonial port of Valparaíso in Chile. Not only was Valparaíso farther away than
other acceptable ports, it was also still very underdeveloped by 1805. Its real growth
into a port city didn’t start until about a de cade later. On top of this Valparaíso
was Spanish and therefore allied with France and Napoleon, something Jack
[Aubrey] would have known. Sending the captured ship there would be as good
as giving it back to the French” (Mclaughlin, 2016). Jason Epstein’s assessment of
the movie’s historical accuracy is far harsher. He finds it highly unlikely that the
Admiralty would send “the Surprise across the Atlantic in the fateful year 1805 when
Lord Nelson needs every frigate he can muster to defend the homeland.” Epstein
finds it equally unlikely that “the French [would] send the formidable Acheron to
interfere with whalers when the combined French and Spanish fleets are prepar-
ing to gather at Toulon and Cadiz for the climactic battle that will end later that
year.” Furthermore, Epstein notes that anyone “familiar with the vagaries of ocean
navigation will also won der how, with global positioning technology two centu-
ries in the future, the Acheron pinpoints the Surprise in the vast South Atlantic and
through an eerie fog sends, without radar or laser technology, a thundering salvo
right onto Aubrey’s gun deck” (Epstein, 2003).
Men in War (1957)
Synopsis
Men in War is an American war film adapted from Van Van Praag’s WWII novel,
Day Without End (1949), directed by Anthony Mann and starring Robert Ryan and
Aldo Ray as the leaders of a small detachment of U.S. Army soldiers cut off and
desperately trying to rejoin their division during the Korean War. The events
depicted in the film take place on one day: 6 September 1950.
Background
A former truck salesman from Queens, New York City, named Van Van Praag
enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1939. Promoted through the ranks until he was com-
missioned a 2nd Lieutenant in 1944, Van Praag fought in France as a platoon leader,
was severely wounded, and was then shipped home. In the summer of 1949 William
Sloane published Van Praag’s only novel, Day Without End, a brutal day- in- the- life
account of a war- weary Army platoon on the frontline for 58 straight days since