House of the Dragon director cites Master and Commander as inspiration

The director of House of the Dragon’s season 3 premiere, Loni Peristere, said he used Master and Commander as a reference when staging the Battle of the Gullet in the episode "Sea and Salt, Fire and Blood." The sequence, taken from George R.R. Martin’s Fire and Blood, is one of the most devastating in Westeros history: a win for Queen Rhaenyra and the Blacks that cost much of her navy and several key figures, and is remembered as the Dance of the Dragons’ bloodiest naval battle.

Peristere called Peter Weir’s 2003 film and J.M. Turner’s painting The Battle of Trafalgar the cornerstones of building the sequence. He and cinematographer PJ Dillon spent a day studying the painting and attending a 35mm screening of Master and Commander to prepare; Peristere wrote on Instagram that Turner fearlessly depicted the dead, drowning, and burning bodies of helpless sailors, and that many of those elements informed Weir’s film.

loni peristere, peter weir, j.m. turner, rhaenyra, gullet, pj dillon, trafalgar, naval battle, 35mm, cinematography