I have to admit this is a film that has escaped me most of my life and never really watched it. I was too critical of Flynn after “the booze and the broads got to him” as a local film host Bill Kennedy used to say. Now however I take his later films for what they are and don’t put any expectations on them and what do you know?, I am having a great time. This film may be one of the best ones but it is hard to come by unless you get it in a package deal with 3 other films (shown below) or live in Europe region 2. This film deserves a proper Blu Ray release so there will be more talk about it since there is very little now. As it is it looks very good on my 1080p LED Sharp 60in and if they went one step farther it would really rock on Blu Ray. Three big stars ( Flynn, O’Hara, Quinn ) means 3 sets of fans from all over the world so I think it would sell. Any comments or am I alone on this one.
— twinarchers
I agree that it’s a very good film, twinarchers, and I’m happy about your position of non-expectation regarding Flynn’s later films. Because he made a number of superior films of the genre earlier on, there’s a tendency to look at his later work in comparison to those rather than to view them in their own right.
You have chosen, in my estimation, the best available DVD version of the film–albeit in that four-film collection–and it surpasses in transfer quality the other versions available. As it happens, I’ll be preparing a “Then & Now” series on “Against All Flags” very soon and I look forward to posting the images on the blog. Thanks for the topic!
Thanks for the comments. Looking forward the the screen captions. The Black Swan is another film I have not seen.
Just watched Northern Pursuit last night (with the wife) and we both got a kick out of seeing Bill Kennedy. Saw many Flynn films during his local Detroit show and skipped school two days in a row to watch TDWTBO! Does anyone here have Mara Maru on the Warner Archive DVD? That may be my next purchase.
Yes I have Mara Maru on dvd from the Warner Archive.Excellent quality.
Thanks
I was just watching Master Of Ballantrae and can tell it had a larger budget and better production values than AAF. Really nice to see and I have had the DVD for years. Now its only available from Warner Archive. I am wondering if its the same source print or maybe better quality? Jack Cardiff photography and made in Europe is better than back lot. Real ports and real ships adds a lot to it.
Well, it’s definitely not Captain Blood nor The Sea Hawk, twinarchers, but it’s fun enough for what it was, with the Flynn, O’Hara & Quinn all giving it a good go, I think. Just as Babe Ruth – the King of Clout – couldn’t jack 60 out of the park every season, Errol – the King of Swashbucklers – couldn’t give us Blood or Hawk (no ‘e’) forever. It’s astonishing anyone could perform at that level even once.
Trailer’s fun, too!
www.youtube.com…
I’ll betcha Bill Kennedy liked it better than Dragonwyck!
I am one of those who enjoy Flynn’s later work sometimes more than his early work. “Against All Flags”was good enough to inspire a remake and is a worthy addition to any collection. Besides even in this collection the other movies along with Flynn’s all have interesting casting. Also Quinn and O’Hara are excellent support. A great double bill would be “Against All Flags” and “The Black Swan”! Of course a better double feature that I remember one theater featured was “The Sea Hawk” and “The Black Swan.” Unfortunately I missed that one.–A. R.
I just recently re watched Against All Flags and always enjoy it.Errol is terrific as always and I really like Anthony Quinn in this.Maureen O’Hara is lots of fun opposite Errol and there is the great bonus of Errol singing.
‘Again?’ lol. :)
Of course Errol was so young and full of vim and vigorous charisma in those early flicks! He excited many of us kids and the action was something we never forgot. However as I have aged I really enjoy his 40’s and the acting is from experience more than just another pretty face. I only wish he could have lived longer and the acting would have been more like a fine wine. Oh well we have what we have…………
If only he could have lasted another 10 years and continued thru the 1950s like he did thru the 1940’s. There is a line in AAF where he says to Spitfire about “serving under her”. I wonder how that went over in the 50’s? It was used again in the 1967 James Bond film “You Only Live Twice” when Aki says that to Bond and it was supposed to be sexy then too and that was 15 years later! Great stuff.
Yes! Wouldn’t Errol have made a perfect Bond if they were made earlier.