78. MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD
 
United States
dir. Peter Weir
world premiere 2003
U.S. release 2003
 

 
Because it's so easy to think of corsets when you think of "historical drama," and so easy to think of vainglorious manly men when you think of action-adventure. And then comes M&C, with its remarkable envelope of period reality, its natural, lived-in performances, and just the right ratios of illuminating down-time and rousing spectacle.