Eric Husher

Pirates from the other side, Dec 8 2002

While a very good compendium of buccaneer tales from the days of derring-do, what makes this book unique (at least from an English-speaking perspective) is that it is an account of the pirates, buccaneers, etc from the Spanish viewpoint. Those of you who have read about the Caribbean pirates and have seen the usual Hollywood movies are in for a treat! Historical correction number one; the pirates didn't always win against the Spanish, and in fact, most of their encounters ended with disasterous consequences for the buccaneers, even the most famous! Historical correction number two; there were a lot more than just English-speaking pirates in the Caribbean (sorry, Henry Morgan!), and the… Read more

Classic sea-going movie, Jun 24 2001

Where to begin? While admittedly some of the dialogue may seem hackneyed by modern standards, the tale itself and scenematic visuals are strong enough to stand on their own merits. Few films come close to this for Napoleonic sea-battle accuracy, even the recent productions from England. I can only hope a similar effort will be made for the Patrick O'Brian series!

Why has Spielberg not attempted to remake this?, Sep 19 2000

A classic of this calibre is difficult to approach, simply because of the volumes that have already been written. The image of Orson Wells as Father Maple has stuck with me for years, as has the contents of his sermon (watch closely at the ropes of his ladder up to the pulpit which magically detach from the floor when he pulls the ladder after him!). The whaling scenes have never been beaten, but that is mostly because they have never really been attempted properly since and suffer through age,looking very dated indeed. The same can be said for the sets (the 'Spouter Inn' could be on a high-school stage set). For this, and many other reasons, I think it is high time that this… Read more