The Charge of the Light Brigade

Rating:
Summary: The Myths of the Light Brigade
Review: Despite the legend, only 150 men were lost and Nolan bore a good part of the responsibility for pointing off in a general direction and refusing to give details of his instructions. Victorian politics and aristocrat feuds bore the rest.

The first part of this film sets it remarkably well. The convolutions of "Class" structure and arogance worked for years before this battle to lose the Light Brigade.

Hemmings' Nolan isn't nearly arrogant enough. And Raglan and Cardigan were worse than presented.

I personally enjoy reading about the intrigues of this battle and its unfortunate personalities. The devil is in the details and this film details the wretched conditions of the unfortunate British grunt and the drudgery and distilled *filth* of War. Even the officers in this one were reduced to unwashed bodies and clothes for weeks. The Light Brigade went into battle looking like they'd already lost it.

The horses fared worse, 5000 remounts dying of neglect and starvation in a pen in the harbor before the battle. Several hundred more lost in the battle -- more than the number of men lost.

One of the better "eye witness" accounts of this Charge can be read in Anna Sewell's "Black Beauty" when old Captain -- a horse who survived -- gives his stablemates a blow by blow description. Even the cavalry horses suffered from victimization by elitist arrogance. This movie misses that. But given its grim subject matter, adding the slaughter of horses would make it unwatchable.

I like the layering in this film. It "looks" right. But it feels terrible.

Rating:
Summary: Reality Movie
Review: This is one of those films that tries to tell it like it was. The reality and stupidity of war. The cartoons are not really needed, but injet some of the surreal nature of being there. Photography and acting are excellent. It tries to tell it like it was, and may in fact do so.

Note: I prefer the original 1930s Charge of the Light Brigade. It was escapist fantasy.

Rating:
Summary: Over Charged...
Review: Bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the 1930's Errol Flynn version, this Charge Of The Light Brigade is a truly strange enterprise that takes a long and winding route to deliver its popular 1960's anti-war message. The film is by Tony Richardson, who directed the hugely successful Tom Jones, and the style and approach to both films is very similar, even though one was a comedy and the other a history. Richardson certainly provides plenty of period feel and detail. His depiction of some aspects of Victorian life is almost like a social history or even a Dickensian expose. Much of the dialogue is similarly stilted and archaic. The recreation of the 1850's is remarkable yet there are times when the viewer could justifiably cry out: "Too much information!" So intent is Richardson on providing a thorough social and political context to the famous military folly that the film's first half is a slow and uncertain affair, coming to life only when the troops arrive in the Crimea. And all the careful realism sits uneasily with the animated series of Punch-like cartoons that link the various portions of the film. So much style crammed into one movie...

Still, we do get an incredibly accurate account of the Charge and the events leading up to it. Military incompetence and vanity is demonstrated over and over again, as are the evils of the British class system. The Charge itself is a fascinating sequence of superb film making - showing the horror and brutality (and stupidity?) of war while also stripping away any facades of heroism. Courage is both celebrated and lamented because it is wasted in a vague and worthless cause. But does the film really tell us anything we didn't already know?

A brilliant cast helps to bring humanity to the spectacle and the preaching. The performances are all the more amazing considering some of the dialogue the actors have to work with. David Hemmings is outstanding in a role that manages to hold the film together. Trevor Howard is very good as the pompous Lord Cardigan while Harry Andrews more than matches him as Lord Lucan. John Gielgud stays just this side of comedy as the befuddled commander Lord Raglan. Norman Rossington is impressive as a common soldier. Jill Bennett makes a nice contribution as an officer's wife with loose morals but Vanessa Redgrave (the director's wife) has little to do but look pale and helpless.

There is no doubt The Charge Of The Light Brigade is an extremely interesting film. Whether it is an entertaining or even enlightening one is very much a matter of taste. It has probably not worn as well as some other films from the 1960's. But it does have some undeniably powerful moments. It is basically a question of whether it is worth wading through everything else to get to those moments.

Rating:
Summary: A Satire On Hubris and the Victorian Era
Review: Tony Richardson's 1968 satire of Victorian imperialism set during the Crimean War of 1854-1855. A clever film with subtle humor that is very rich in covering the details of Victorian society such as clothing, mannerisms, class structure, institutions, etc. Although it has somewhat of an uneven plot with strange editing, this film is very well acted with beautiful cinematography.

The film is primarily a satirical tragedy as opposed to being an action-drama typical of your standard war films such as 'Saving Private Ryan' for example. The film therefore mostly focuses on the characters' development within their social ranks, how they interact with each other, and what effect their interactions have on society or on them collectively. The film follows the central character, Captain Lewis Edward Nolan of the 15th Hussars. Nolan is a historical character who was a veteran of the wars in India and on very bad terms with his commander, Lord Cardigan (Howard), a boorish man with little concern for his suboordinates. Captain Nolan is also best friends with Mr. Richardson (Mark Burns) and, unfortunately, more than best friends with Mrs. Richardson(Vanessa Redgrave.) Both Nolan and Richardson are longing to see some action with their cavalry regiment and their wishes are soon fulfilled when war breaks out with Russia. Under the command of Earl Lucan and Cardigan (who both hate each other immensely), they are shipped off to the Crimea to join the French and the Turks against the Russians.

Again, the title of the film is somewhat deceptive as the legendary charge of the light brigade takes up but the last 15 minutes of the 2+ hour film. Interestingly enough, the duration of the film battle sequence is about the same length as the actual charge: less than 20 minutes. The film is pretty accurate as to the battle but omits the details of the first engagements that took place on October 25, 1854, at the battle of Balaklava. The film does show how the ill prepared British and allied forces were driven back from the Causeway Heights by the Russians and how their canons were taken. The film also shows how Lord Raglan (John Gielgud) issued a rather ambiguous order to recouperate the 'Russian guns' without saying which ones. As such, the Light Brigade headed directly through the North valley towards the furthest Russian gun emplacements to the East as opposed to charging towards the nearest gun emplacements to the South-East on the Causeway Heights. This meant an extended charge through a valley in which the enemy commanded three sides with artillery, infantry, and cavalry contingents. Although the brigade succeeded in dislodging the artillery and routing the Russian cavalry, their numbers were too few to capitalize on their gains: they instead withdrew back to their original positions in an ordered fashion. Starting with approximately 600 men, they returned with only about 200 men. Despite the blunder, their mad charge was undertaken with such order and discipline that, for the rest of the Crimean War, the Russians would often refuse to fight the British cavalry even when they had a significant numerical superiority.

In sum, this film is primarily a social and political satire on Victorian England. A viewer would probably have more of an appreciation for this film if he/she's familiar with the social and political norms of that period. This is not a war film per se as most of the plot unfolds in the peaceful and stuffy surroundings of Victorian London. I agree with the other reviewers that the animated political cartoons are a little overdone. The humor in this film being so subtle, the animation serves to expressly remind the audience that the film is more a satire and not a true drama. Overall a good satirical drama with excellent cinematography and great acting.

Rating:
Summary: Poor anti-war movie
Review: I am trying to decide if I am going to throw this DVD away. I watched the whole movie. It was the toughest sit through since "Mosquito Coast" with Harrison Ford. I do not mind watching a movie that is making the case that war is bad...war is bad, even though sometimes it is necessary. However, the movie itself jumped all over the place. As another review said, the relationships were poorly built. At first the animated portions of the film were interesting in an artsy way, but they kept coming back and were over used. The battle/war itself should have been more focused upon. The Crimean War was badly fought and this could have been a much better movie if it had shown the poor quality of generalship on both sides instead of just showing the character of the British and French generals.

Rating:
Summary: Into the valley of death they rode ...
Review: I first saw this version after seeing the 1936 film (both, ca. 1968) . Both are extremely good. In truth, I cannot remember which one was better. But this film did not disappoint me, that much, I recall.