Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World is a 2003 film directed by Peter Weir and starring Russell Crowe as Jack Aubrey, with Paul Bettany as Stephen Maturin. The score includes an assortment of classical works, notably the Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello played by Yo-Yo Ma and a recurring rendition of Ralph Vaughn Williams' Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis.

The film's special edition DVD release contains behind-the-scenes material giving useful insights into the film-making process. Great efforts were made to reproduce the authentic look and feel of life aboard an early nineteenth century man of war. Some of the filming actually took place at sea on board Rose (a reproduction of the 18th century frigate HMS Rose), while other scenes were shot on a full-scale replica mounted on gimbals in a large tank. There was a third ship, HMS Surprise which was a scale model built by Weta Workshop. A storm sequence was enhanced using digitally-composited footage of waves actually shot on board a modern replica of Cook's Endeavour rounding Cape Horn. All of the actors were given a thorough grounding in the naval life of the period in order to make their performances as authentic as possible.

The film is based on the Aubrey–Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian and includes episodes from several novels in the series. The plot of the film, in which Aubrey in the HMS Surprise chases an enemy frigate round Cape Horn into the Pacific, is based loosely on The Far Side of the World, but the American frigate USS Norfolk in the book becomes the American-built French privateer Acheron in the film. USS Constitution was used as the basis for Acheron. The episode of deception of the enemy by means of a raft bearing lanterns is taken from Master and Commander, and the episode in which Maturin operates on himself to remove a bullet is taken from HMS Surprise.

An element of the plot is Maturin's desire to explore the Galapagos to examine its fauna and flora. However, the hunt of Acheron frustrates repeatedly this desire in spite of Aubrey's intentions.

The movie's success and the wide-open ending has led to credible speculation about a sequel, although it is not known whether Weir would wish to direct.