Film Review

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023) — Kiefer Sutherland rivals Bogart in William Friedkin’s final film

A naval officer stands trial for mutiny after taking command from a ship’s captain he felt was acting in an unstable way…

Herman Wouk’s 1951 novel The Caine Mutiny has been adapted for cinema and TV at least ten times, but the best-known version by far remains Edward Dmytryk’s of 1954, with Humphrey Bogart delivering one of his most memorable performances as the insecure, neurotic Captain Queeg.

William Friedkin’s final film, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival in September 2023 shortly after his death, follows Robert Altman’s 1988 made-for-TV version and many other adaptations by technically adapting not the novel itself but Wouk’s own stage version. It thus omits the shipboard sequences prominent in Dmytryk’s film, instead concentrating on the legal drama that unfolds after one of Captain Queeg’s officers relieves him of his command and is accused of mutiny.