Rating: 
Summary: A good movie, but imagine what it could've been - 3.5 stars
Review: To call THE FOUR FEATHERS in line with such epics as BRAVEHEART and THE ENGLISH PATIENT (as the back cover says it is) is quite far-fetched. To call THE FOUR FEATHERS a good runner-up is much more appropriate. Let's start off with the good things first: -THE PACING is incredible. This movie sweeps you from formal England to the beautiful and deadly Sudan within a half-hour. The transition is extremely well done and really gets the story moving.
-THE CINEMETOGRAPHY is marvelous. It's obviously Lawrence of Arabia inspired, but then again, what ISN'T inspired from Lawrence of Arabia?
-THE ACTION is great. There are a few little gunfights, but there's a massive 13 minute battle sequence that is very well choreographed and executed. In one word: AMAZING.
-THE MUSIC is wonderful. Although it starts off a bit bland, it really kicks in to the sweeping main theme once the film trasnports you to the Sudan. James Horner really did a great job.
-THE ACTING is pretty good. Wes Bentley delivers a great performance, as does Heath Ledger. Also, the on-screen chemistry between Heath Ledger and Djimon Hounsou is great.
-THE RATING. While not quite strong enough to be an R, it does teeter on the edge and shows you everything within the limits of PG-13. There is swordplay/stabbings, massive gun battles, whippings, beatings, killings, and more. (They are all muted, though.) To me, this helps the movie a lot by having a sense of realism but not being TOO realistic. (Like BRAVEHEART) And now, the not-so-good things: -IT SLOWS DOWN too much in the last act and the edning is very choppy. This is where the film really suffers. After escaping from prison, all of a sudden (one second later in screen time) Heath's character is back in England. Then, there is a long and tedious scene between Heath Ledger and Kate Hudson. Also, the movie ends not really telling you who gets Kate Hudson's character.
-THE SCRIPT is mostly good, but bland in some spots. For example, in the scene I mentioned earlier with Kate Hudson and Heath Ledger talking at the end of the movie, the dialouge is really bland. There are other scenes, too.
-IT ENDS TOO SOON. By the end, this movie has tried so hard to be an epic with its rousing score, great action, well-done drama, etc., and it leaves you at the credits after 130 minutes. Now usually, 130 minutes is fairly long, but not for a movie of this sort of scope and historical arc. It doesn't play out long enough to leave a real impression in most people. Anyway, don't get me wrong. This is a great movie. But just imagined what it COULD'VE BEEN if it were 30 minutes longer and had the script and the very last act touched up a tiny bit. 2002; Rated PG-13 for an intense fights and battle scenes, violence, disturbing images, and sensuality
Rating: 
Summary: buy it
Review: i found this movie to be great with nothing wrong with it.
can't believe the low ratings given. i rented it on a whim,
and found another movie to add to my collection.
Rating:
Summary: The struggle of regaining self-respect and self-worth...
Review: Harry Faversham, a young British officer, decides to resign from the British military as he faces his fears of an imminent war in Sudan. In turn Harry receives four white feathers, as a symbol of his cowardice, from his closest friends and his father who renounces him. Harry also looses his fiancé's confidence and trust as she is questioning how she will be perceived by people. Harry ponders his situation and quickly realizes that he has sunken deeper than he expected and must find a way to regain self-respect and self-worth. Four feathers is an adventurous story that takes place in the British colony Sudan during the end of the 1800s, which offers both drama and tragedy as war does for all affected parties.
Rating:
Summary: Lavish and spectacular, but not as good as the book.
Review: A.E.W. Mason's classic novel of the cowardice and redemption of a British soldier in the Sudan in the 1880s has been filmed several times, the best of which is Zoltan Korda's magnificent 1939 production starring John Clements, Ralph Richardson, C. Aubrey Smith and June Duprez. This latest version directed by Shekar Kapur ("Elizabeth") is certainly lavish and spectacular: Robert Richardson's awesome cinematography captures the sweeping vistas of the sandy desert of the Sahara and the green meadows of England, the dazzling interiors of the Victorian age and the claustraphobic horrors of the Omdurman prison, with Ruth Meyers' magnificent costumes as icing. But the script (by Hossein Amini and Michael Schiffer) fails to capture the spirit and verve of the Mason or Korda works. It doesn't want to fully embrace the imperialism of the source, but can't fully condemn it either because the story hinges so strongly on this element. As a result, there's a thread of ambiguity throughout. The leads are unable to draw the audience fully in, though Kate Hudson looks ravishing and Wes Bentley tries hard. The supporting players come off better: Djimon Hounsou is magnetic as a slave that assists the hero, Michael Sheen provides much-needed comic relief, and Kris Marshall is quietly moving as a devout Christian. Kapur's direction is a bit too lethargic, with a final coda that goes on too long. He reaches his peak midway through with a battle that is genuinely spellbinding, realizing the spectacle but in no way de-emphasizing the heartbreak and folly of the situation. For the widescreen vistas alone, it's worth seeing on the big screen, but for the whole impact of the great story, read Mason's book or watch Korda's great film.
Rating:
Summary: The Christian Sentiment is very powerful!!
Review: This movie moved me to tears on several occassions. The soundtrack is very moving itself - particularly when using surroundsound headphones, which I strongly suggest. The cinematography is nothing short of artistic. The family can watch it, good friends can enjoy it. It would make a greatly inspirational gift for anyone in the military. The comparison to world events [of our time] is noticable and sobering. This one is a keeper.
Rating: 
Summary: A remake of a remake
Review: The Four Feathers is an epic story of a man trying to regain his honor. Heath Ledger stars as Harry Feversham,a soldier who decides to resign his commision in the army just days before his unit is shipped out. Three of his closest friends and his fiance, played by Kate Hudson, send him four white feathers, a sign of cowardice. Harry travels to the Sudan to prove he is not a coward. This movie is an epic movie that succeeds in many things that it sets out to do. The desert and battle scenes are excellent showing the beauty of the miles and miles of sand as well as the chaos of the battles. Heath Ledger gives a good performance as Harry while Djimon Hounsou(Gladiator) as Harry's desert guide steals the show in almost ever scene he is in. Also giving a good performance is Wes Bentley as Harry's loyal friend, Jack. Overall the movie is very good in portraying the time. Mostly good performances with the background setting of the 1880's, both in England and the Sudan. DVD is worthwhile with several featurettes, a making of documentary and widescreen presentation. Well worth the price!
Rating:
Summary: You can take the feather off a chicken, but you can't...;)
Review: I haven't seen the other film versions of this story, but politics have never been my cup of tea. The main story is Heath Ledger quitting the army on the eve of being sent off to fight a war in Sudan for Britain. This brings disgrace to his family, friends and fiancee. They each give him a white feather as a symbol of cowardice. This forces Ledger to think hard of a way to redeem himself in the eyes of his friends and Ethne. He decides to go off into the dessert disquised as a Muslim warrior to help the British army. It was a losing battle, and Ledger tries his best to save his friends with the help of Djimon Hounsou (who rescues him from near death in the desert). Hounsou plays a Christian who believes that Ledger was sent to him by God to protect and help. He does just that, saving him on more than one occasion from certain death. The real appeal to me of watching this film was my expectation of a great action movie along the lines of Braveheart. Although I wasn't disappointed with what they managed to piece together (especially that climactic battle sequence with the British army in a Square formation surrounded and outnumbered on all sides), I wasn't entirely impressed with it either. For one, the fight scenes weren't gory enough. Soldiers hack at their enemies with their bayonets, but we only see their backs. The cavalry has perfect aim and can take down a charging mob of Muslim soldiers on horses (without hitting a single horse). No limbs flew off, people even managed to escape. About the only thing I found impressive was Ledger mounting a horse while in motion. As for the romance that goes on with Ledger and Hudson's character. There was too little of it in terms of screentime and affection shown. I thought their engagement announcement was a joke. There were no real commanding performances rendered. Ok, maybe Hounsou breathed some life into the story (but I read that his character is not even part of the original story this film is based on). Hounsou's cameraderie with Ledger in the desert is noteworthy. (But again, he must have superman's back because despite getting lashed repeatedly on the back we do not a single scar or welt mark.) So, see this film if you like a) Heath Ledger, b) Djimon Hounsou, c) unbelievable battle scenes, d) invincible horses or e) all of the above. LEAP rating (each out of 5):
============================
L (Language) - 3.5 (I enjoyed the dialogue between the characters. But I didn't like the inattention to the little details that make a movie realistic or believable.)
E (Erotica) - 0 (n/a)
A (Action) - 4 ("Form a square!" impressive looking desert battle scene)
P (Plot) - 3 (Straightforward enough, Ledger must show to his friends that he isn't a coward.)
Rating:
Summary: Four Feathers is the best!
Review: Four Feathers was a nice surprise-we just kind of found it on the video rental shelf and had never heard anything about it. It is clean-no swearing, no sex (one scene it is intimated, but not really shown), and the violence is not gory/bloody in the extreme. The story line is very well done and a good example of heroism at work. I highly recommend it to both men and women-you won't be sorry you saw this one!
Rating:
Summary: A Thoroughly Enjoyable Experience
Review: As we all know, this is a film that has been made countless times in the 100 years since the novel was written. However, this is a version of the story that deserved to be made. An epic of this magnitude is always aided by the stunning visuals of modern film-making techniques- and the cinematograpny here is amazing.
The film is not perfect. It suffers from some technical flaws, including some occassional, but rather jarring, editing holes. However, the acting is largely superb, though I agree that it was difficult to see Kate Hudson as British, let alone upper-class. Heath Ledger is a fine young actor and, though his accent falters a bit at times, he is more than up to the task of playing Harry Feversham. Wes Bentley's performance was absolutely outstanding. I never doubted the authenticity of his character (or his accent) for a second. (Indeed, I had no idea that he was the same actor from "American Beauty" until I read the other reviews on this site and consequently looked it up. Even now, I find it difficult to believe).
The script is solid, if nothing terribly original, but it is based on (and tightly follows) a rather old novel. One can find many of the cliches of the "epic" genre in the story and dialogue, but I entered the theater expecting them.
I am a fan of epics. My favorite film of all time is "Lawrence of Arabia", and while this version of "The Four Feathers" certainly isn't going to unseat David Lean's masterpiece, it is a worthy addition to my DVD collection. It is definitely a film I don't mind watching over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: Left on the Cutting Room Floor
Review: I had the priviledge of viewing the inital cut of this film in February or March of 2001 at a length of just over 3 hours. Kapur captured the quality of Mason's text and delivered a period piece that would have been favorably compared to Elizabeth. By the time this version of Feathers was cut down to the edition released to the public, it had lost all of the artistry and substance that it contained. Miramax has effectively taken a film that I counted as one of my all-time favorites and reduced it to one that I will not even rent. If a Director's Cut version of this film was released that included the first cut, I would buy it in an instant, but in it's current incarnation it just a mediocre movie.
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