When the young republic of The Netherlands is attacked by England, France, and Germany, and the country is on the brink of civil war, only one man can lead the country's strongest weapon, th... Read allWhen the young republic of The Netherlands is attacked by England, France, and Germany, and the country is on the brink of civil war, only one man can lead the country's strongest weapon, the Dutch fleet: Michiel de Ruyter.When the young republic of The Netherlands is attacked by England, France, and Germany, and the country is on the brink of civil war, only one man can lead the country's strongest weapon, the Dutch fleet: Michiel de Ruyter.
- Awards
- 2 wins & 4 nominations
Egbert Jan Weeber
- Willem III
- (as Evert-Jan Weeber)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPaintings from the seventeenth century served as an inspiration for the design. In the beginning of this movie, when Klaartje (Pip Pellens), the family maid, pours milk, it is almost an exact replica of the famous painting "The Milkmaid" by Johannes Vermeer.
- GoofsWhen the camera zooms out from the aerial view of the French invading a city to a view from above the clouds, which then blends into a map, the view from space is actual modern day satellite photography. It shows many features and landmasses which did not exist in the 17th century. Most notable the whole province of Flevoland, the Maasvlakte near Rotterdam, the islands of Zeeland were not yet connected, various dams and bridges, and the greenhouses in the Westland.
- Alternate versionsIn the Netherlands, the movie was released in two different versions in the cinema. One of the versions lack explicit images of a lynching and also the death scene of the main character is made less horrific. This version has certification: 12 years and older.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Naval Warfare Expert Rates 9 Sea Battle Tactics in Movies and TV (2021)
- SoundtracksMichiel de Ruyter (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)
Written by Trevor Morris
Published by Riva Media Records
courtesy of VOCfilm B.V.
Featured review
Good looking movie with storytelling problems
This film has a structure problem. It is not that the story is completely incoherent, but there were a number of moments when I and my partner asked ourselves, "Wait, why did that happen?" And we know a little bit of Dutch history. I can imagine that for a person who does not, certain events will be even more confusing. The film keeps switching from one thing to another and starts to lose the viewer. Even when it does try to explain things, like a plan for an upcoming battle, it does not do a very good job.
During the action scenes, the camera work adds to this problem. It seems the makers really wanted to show off the explosions and the pretty ships, so you see a lot of those kinds of shots, but those shots do not explain the details of what is actually happening. War stuff is happening. There you go.
Separate from the storytelling, the visuals and the music are good. There are a few cool high-altitude CG shots mixed with real ships, and if you are a fan old ships, this is movie is a must-see. The soundtrack has that epic over-the-top Hans Zimmer feel to it, and during a number of prolonged scenes that have no dialogue, the film starts looking more like a music video. Unfortunately, the good music and visuals just underline the mediocrity of the storytelling. It often doesn't feel like the scene in question has earned to give itself an epic soundtrack.
There is a similar problem with the acting. The acting itself is good but sometimes does not fit with the story. A character will start crying about the death of another character, but the movie had not sufficiently established the close friendship between those two characters and so the reaction feels strange. Again, a structure problem.
It is commendable that the movie's budget is a mere 8 million. The same movie done in the US would have cost at least 100 mil, with 20 paid to Russell Crowe alone (that's a Master and Commander reference, everyone). It is unfortunate that the film will probably not earn a sufficient profit. Michiel De Ruyter is a patriotic Dutch film that portrays the English as dumb**ses. It is centered on Dutch characters, as the name of the movie suggests, and seems to not have much of an international appeal.
This is one of those movies that makes me wish that IMDb had a 6.5 option for scoring. It is alright, but needed to have a more ironed story structure.
During the action scenes, the camera work adds to this problem. It seems the makers really wanted to show off the explosions and the pretty ships, so you see a lot of those kinds of shots, but those shots do not explain the details of what is actually happening. War stuff is happening. There you go.
Separate from the storytelling, the visuals and the music are good. There are a few cool high-altitude CG shots mixed with real ships, and if you are a fan old ships, this is movie is a must-see. The soundtrack has that epic over-the-top Hans Zimmer feel to it, and during a number of prolonged scenes that have no dialogue, the film starts looking more like a music video. Unfortunately, the good music and visuals just underline the mediocrity of the storytelling. It often doesn't feel like the scene in question has earned to give itself an epic soundtrack.
There is a similar problem with the acting. The acting itself is good but sometimes does not fit with the story. A character will start crying about the death of another character, but the movie had not sufficiently established the close friendship between those two characters and so the reaction feels strange. Again, a structure problem.
It is commendable that the movie's budget is a mere 8 million. The same movie done in the US would have cost at least 100 mil, with 20 paid to Russell Crowe alone (that's a Master and Commander reference, everyone). It is unfortunate that the film will probably not earn a sufficient profit. Michiel De Ruyter is a patriotic Dutch film that portrays the English as dumb**ses. It is centered on Dutch characters, as the name of the movie suggests, and seems to not have much of an international appeal.
This is one of those movies that makes me wish that IMDb had a 6.5 option for scoring. It is alright, but needed to have a more ironed story structure.
helpful•208
- JaydoDre
- Aug 21, 2016
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Admiral
- Filming locations
- Bergen op Zoom, Noord-Brabant, Netherlands(MarkiezenHof, King Charles Palace, Whitehall)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- €8,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross worldwide
- $6,398,252
- Runtime2 hours 31 minutes
- Color
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