Introduction

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial is a 2023 American legal drama film adapted and directed by William Friedkin from Herman Wouk’s 1953 play of the same name, itself based on the 1952 novel The Caine Mutiny, also by Wouk.

It stars Kiefer Sutherland, Jason Clarke, Jake Lacy, Monica Raymund and Lance Reddick. The film marks a posthumous release for Reddick and Friedkin, who both died in 2023 on 17 March and 07 August, respectively.

Refer to The Caine Mutiny (1954) and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988).

Outline

When a US Naval captain shows signs of mental instability that jeopardizes the safety of his ship, the first officer relieves him of command and faces court-martial for mutiny. Greenwald, a sceptic lawyer, reluctantly defends Maryk, an officer of the navy who took control of the vessel from its dominant captain Queeg whilst caught in a violent sea storm. Greenwald becomes increasingly concerned as the court martial proceeds and questions if the Caine were a true mutiny or simply the courageous acts of a group of sailors that could not trust their unstable leader.

Cast

• Kiefer Sutherland as Lieutenant Commander Queeg, Acting Captain of the USS Caine
• Jason Clarke as Lieutenant Greenwald, defence attorney
• Jake Lacy as Lieutenant Maryk
• Monica Raymund as Lieutenant Commander Challee, lead prosecutor
• Lewis Pullman as Lieutenant Junior Grade Keefer
• Jay Duplass as Lieutenant Alan Bird
• Tom Riley as Lieutenant Keith
• Lance Reddick as Captain Blakely, head judge
• Elizabeth Anweis as Lieutenant Commander Joan Lundeen
• Francois Battiste as Captain Southard
• Gabe Kessler as Petty Officer Third Class Urban
• Gina Garcia-Sharp as the stenographer
• Stephanie Erb as Rear Admiral Lucille Stutz
• Dale Dye as Vice Admiral R.T. Dewey
• Denzel Johnson as Prosecution Paralegal J.P Simmons

Production

In September 2021, William Friedkin announced plans to develop an adaptation of The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial and that he was beginning the process of casting the film. The following year, in August, Deadline Hollywood officially reported that a new adaptation of Herman Wouk’s novel The Caine Mutiny directed by Friedkin was in the works for Paramount Global Content Distribution and Showtime Networks. Kiefer Sutherland was announced to star, with Friedkin having altered Wouk’s script himself to reflect a more modern timeline, setting it in the Persian Gulf, as opposed to the original’s World War II setting. Principal photography began presumably in January 2023 and was completed sometime before star Lance Reddick’s death in March. In the wake of his death, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro posted a tweet, praising the actor’s performance in the film.

Del Toro himself served as back-up director on the film for liability reasons, due to Friedkin’s age, and had sat beside him every day during the shoot. Since the production had been operating on a tight schedule, Friedkin expected that everyone come to the set prepared so as to avoid doing any retakes. According to del Toro, rather than scold a particular actor who stumbled over a crucial line several times, Friedkin instead asked, “You wanna do it in an hour or so? Or we pick it up tomorrow?”:

“The gesture was healing, soothing and put the entire set back in control. I had seen, at the ripe age of 58, that of th[e] many tools in Billy’s arsenal, kindness was one of the most effective ones.”

Release

In March 2023, Paramount Global Content Distribution revived Republic Pictures, with The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial announced as one of its first acquisitions. The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial had its world premiere on 03 September 2023 at the 80th Venice International Film Festival where it screened out of competition. Upon its release, Paramount+ announced it will premiere the film in all international markets where the service is available. The film was released on 06 October 2023 on Paramount+ with Showtime followed by a linear release on Showtime on 08 October.

Trivia

• Unlike The Caine Mutiny (1954) and The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (1988) which takes place during World War II, this version takes place in 2022.
• This marks as the second time William Friedkin remakes a film from the 1950’s.
  • He previously directed 12 Angry Men (1997), remake of the classic 1957 film. Like the 1997 version, where he changed the characters races (mixing white and African-Americans while the original material only had white actors), this version of Caine Mutiny does the same and includes female characters which were absent in the previous versions of the same story (filmed in 1954 and 1988).

Production & Filming Details

• Director(s):
  • William Friedkin
• Producer(s):
  • Annabelle Dunne … producer
  • Matthew Parker … producer (as Matt Parker)
  • Michael Salven … executive producer
  • Mike Upton … executive producer
• Writer(s):
  • William Friedkin … (teleplay by)
  • Herman Wouk … (based on the play by)
• Music:
• Cinematography:
  • Michael Grady
• Editor(s):
  • Darrin Navarro
• Production:
  • Paramount Global Content Distribution
  • Republic Pictures
• Distributor(s):
  • Showtime Networks (United States)(TV)
• Release Date: 03 September 2023 (Venice Film Festival, Italy).
• Running Time: 108 minutes.
• Rating: 12.
• Country: US.
• Language: English.

Video Link(s)