Rating: 
Summary: PAINTERLY VISTAS
Review: The seventh(!) film version of A. E. W. Mason's rousing 1902 novel THE FOUR FEATHERS, is a gorgeous epic. But emotionally remote as the locations.Heath Ledger stars as Harry Feversham, a British soldier who inexplicably resigns from his regiment when they are ordered to the Sudan to fight "fanatical Mohammedans..." He gets four feathers, symbolic of cowardice, from his comrades and his fiance, Kate Hudson. Later he hears that his fellows are under siege and makes his way to the Sudan to redeem himself. Wes Bentley is the best friend and Djimon Hounsou is memorable as Ledger's desert guardian. Shekhar Kapur's direction is painterly and the exhilarating middle-eastern themed music by James Horner is layered with floating Arabic motifs and choral laments that sound like the muezzin's call to prayer. Lots of extras and a richly dense commentary.
Rating: 
Summary: The Four Feathers
Review: The Four Feathers is the movie you have been waiting for! There have not been any good movies out on DVD lately and I was really getting bored. The Four Feathers is an epic film of a man's struggle with his courage. Heath Ledger gives an awesome performance. I can't believe he wasn't nominated for a Golden Globe or Oscar. This film also boasts great performances by Wes Bentley and Kate Hudson. This is an awesome movie and I most certainly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Highly under-rated movie
Review: I have enjoyed watching this DVD immensely. The movie needs to be watched without thinking about the previous versions or the book. Do not watch it with a preconceived notion as to what the movie should or shouldn't be. Take it for what it is. A movie that has a heart felt story that is presented with superb acting. True there are holes in the story. True, the ideas are not what we believe today (but most historical movies don't have the same values as we have today) But look past these ideas and just breath in the fine performances and the story. Ledger proved to me he was a great actor. Pay close attention to Ledger in the the scenes with Abuu in the prison, Jack in the desert and at the end, and Ethne in the church. The whole story is told in his expressions and his eyes.
Buy this DVD and watch it, not once, but several times. The first time watching Four Feathers was intense, but the more I watch it, the more I love it. And also watch it with the director speaking - it gives a whole new light on the story. And just as an added note -- my 11 year old son has watched this with me several times. He not only gets the story and understands it but he asks to watch it. He also has commented on the fact that he can't understand why people don't like Four Feathers. Out of the mouths of children I suppose.
Rating:
Summary: One of the year's best...
Review: "The Four Feathers" is easily the most underrated film of 2002. The film is a rolicking adventure from beginning to ending, but its epic battle sequences and action moments don't hamper a story that covers such diverse and emotional themes as friendship, duty, honor, redemption, and love. Ledger gives the best performance of his career thus far, while supporting players Bentley and Hudson do amazing things with the time that is given them. The real gem of the film, though, is Djimon Hounsou, who plays Ledger's "guardian angel." If you haven't seen this film, see it immediately. You'll not regret it.
Rating: 
Summary: The best remake of Four Feathers
Review: Being of Irish descent, my views about British Imperialism are not neutral at all. This remake went further to present this compelling story free of the Brito-mania of the 1938 version. However, this remake fell short of the full condemnation of imperialism as it deserves. I would therefore give it four and a half stars. It makes me wonder if there were deleted scenes that would have made this statement but were taken out for concerns about losing box office tickets. However, Djimon Hounsou's strong support role (as usual) made the difference for me even wanting to watch this remake. The other strong support role was that of Kate Hudson. I would have to say that I have much more respect for Heath Ledger after seeing this movie. Care is taken to be historically accurate in period clothing, props and set. The other compelling asset of the movie is it represents real story telling, something that is rare in current movies. How about a sequel with Djimon in a lead role? Why is an absolutely 100 percent African in a lead role politically incorrect in 2003? The "Amistad" had Djimon in a support role. However, his role was what made the movie work. He was in a strong support role in "Gladiator." How about Abou continuing on his nomadic journey? God puts someone else in his path. If treated with the same nobility of character, this would be a viable box office draw for any diverse audience. In the extra material interviews, Shekhar Kapur impressed me as the type of director that could do this type of sequel and make it work intelligently.
Rating:
Summary: Fine acting, great photography, dated story
Review: "The Four Feathers" is a gloriously photographed, well-acted historical epic. What nearly undoes it is the source material - a 1902 novel by A.E.W. Mason, which has been filmed at least four times before. There were silent versions made in 1915, 1922 and 1929, as well as a highly regarded talking version in 1939. Its story of a pacifist who is cast out of British society because he refuses to go to war is still compelling, but the idea that British colonialism and the warfare it produced was somehow noble and glorious is not. Harry Faversham [Heath Ledger] is a young member of an elite branch of the British Army. His good friends are the best and the brightest in the regiment. He is engaged to the smart, beautiful Ethne [Kate Hudson]. His life seems perfect until he and his friends learn that their regiment is to be sent to the Sudan to help quell a native rebellion. Harry suddenly realizes he doesn't want to go to war. His whole life has been dictated by his military family. He impulsively quits the army. Ethne and three of his friends send him white feathers, which are symbols of what they perceive to be his cowardice. He is filled with guilt, not because he left the army, but because he abandoned his friends. A few weeks later, he secretly journeys to the Sudan to find them. It's a dangerous trip, and by the time he reaches them, he can not bring himself to reveal himself. Instead, he disguises himself as an Arab and aids them in secret. This is obviously an expensive movie. It contains massive battles scenes and lavish sets. For the visuals alone, it is worth seeing. Ledger gives a first rate performance as Faversham, as does Wes Bentley as his best friend, Lt. Jack Durrance. The script, however, can't help but show us people in places they shouldn't be doing things they shouldn't do. [Westerners prior to WW II didn't view it this way.] We still have great empathy for Faversham as regards his feelings of loyalty to his friends, but it's hard to feel much sympathy for the friends themselves, due to their blind obedience to the dubious ideals of the British Empire. In the end, "The Four Feathers" is itself outdated.
Rating:
Summary: A quest for redemption that keeps us at a distance
Review: The most memorable shot in director Shekhar Kapur's "The Four Feathers" serves as an apt metaphor for this 2002 version, the seventh to be filmed, of A.E.W. Mason's novel. It is a shot from atop a mountain, looking down on a British square in the desert of the Sudan in 1898 at the Battle of Abou Clea being attacked on all four sides by an overwhelming number of Mahdi soldiers. However, as spectacular as the shot happens to be, it puts us at great distance from the action, which is worst thing that can be said about the entire film. "The Four Feathers" is clearly one of the classic love triangle stories of literature, with Harry Faversham (Heath Ledger), his best friend Lt. Jack Durrance (Wes Bentley), and the woman they both love, Ethne Eustace (Kate Hudson). Harry and Jack are the major parts of a quintet of young army officers who are friends and spend their time playing solider and playing rugby. But the Mahdi and his Mohammedean fanatics have risen in the Sudan and General Gordon is set to meet his fate at Khartoum, which means the call to duty has been sounded and, as the their commanding officer proudly tells the boys, their government has finally seen fit to send them to war. However, Harry has more than second thoughts about going off to fight for Queen and country. His engagement to Ethne seems the obvious excuse for his decision, but he makes noises about have objections to the British colonial presence in the Sudan that seem like out of time modern motive of political correctness. Whatever the rationale behind the decision, Harry resigns his commission. Of his four friends three of them send white weathers as a token of their condemnation of his cowardice; the fourth feather is added by Ethne, who breaks off the engagement. Harry's father, a British serving general, literally turns his back on the young man as well (apparently to Harry's surprise). The quest for redemption has begun. On the one hand you have to give the film credit for not giving Harry a series of unbelievable heroic episodes in which he earns the right for his friends to reclaim their feathers. So I find myself in the strange position of arguing that this realistic approach ironically mutes the heroism of Harry's quest too much. The greater irony is that the most heroic figure in this film is Abou Fatma (Djimon Hounsou), a desert prince becomes Harry's protector because he has no choice: God put the dying Englishman in his path in the desert. Yet even his pivotal role is kept at a distance in this film and he remains a supporting player to Harry's quest for redemption. Kapur has done British period pieces before in "Elizabeth," so there are no real complaints about the look of the film (the inevitable comparisons to David Lean's classic "Lawrence of Arabia" are somewhat misplaced; the film is more in the tradition of "Gunga Din"). But the story and the performances keep the audience at a distance. Perhaps this is because by now the story of such love triangle has been played out so much that its utter predictability has stripped away all of the emotional value. I just know that I was stunned to discover that when we finished watching this Heath Ledger film that they wished we had watched something else instead. But seeing as how the Harry who completes the quest for redemption does not seem that much different from the one that began the film, I have to agree they are right.
Rating: 
Summary: Politically correct garbage.
Review: This film is another Hollywood attempt at historical revisionism (this time to a fictional work). I walked out 2/3 the way through the film. The only people it will appeal to are the [crusaders] marching in the streets in protest of the war on terrorism. Just be thankful that Martin Sheen or Susan Sarandon were not in the picture.
A far superior version of the Four Feathers, though made on a much smaller budget, was the TV version starring Jane Seymour and Beau Bridges. Anyone who wants to see a quality "historical war film" ahould purchase Zulu,Gettysburg, or, better yet, wait for the DVD version of "Gods and Generals".
Rating:
Summary: Four Feathers (2002)
Review: Four Feathers 1939 is much better! This version didn't move me one bit!
Rating:
Summary: The Four Feathers-Ledger Impresses
Review: Unfortunately I had missed out on a chance to see this film in theatres, and I really wanted to. So, I got the DVD just when it came out (February 18), and watched it immeadiately. After viewing the film, I was very pleased, I ennjoyed this handsome and wonderfully acted film, from Director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth). Heath Ledger delivers a very naunced and fine perfomrnace as Harry, a young soldier who wishes to resign from his commision after finding out he will have to fight and go to war. Kate Hudson plays his fiancee, Ethne and Wes Bentley plays his best and loyal friend.
The film's plot is very simple and straightfoward, the intense and gripping battle sequences are nothing short of miraculous, specifically the impressive square formation and of course the acting as I said earlier is spectacular. The film, sadly did not perform greatly at the box-office, and performed at a mediocre level. Heath Ledger, should definetly deserve recognition for his performance as a man in search self-discovery, Harry Feversham. Ledger, is given four feathers which
are a sign of cowardice. He goes to the Sudan to help his friends against the Madhi, when they attack a British fortress. The film takes on a breath taking adventure and journey, the original version based on A.E.W. Mason's novel of the exact name was made in 1939, that film was of course very good. This film does give justice to the other film, and I think is simply amazing! Though the ending seemed to be sort of redundant, as a coward who becomes a hero and just saves the day. I did like the film, there was also beautiful cinematography, too bad this didn't get an oscar nod for that. Heath, Kate, Wes and Djimon Honsou who is excellent by the way do a great job in this movie! I would highly recommend this movie, I bought without seeing it and enjoyed so much! Own it on video and DVD, February 18, 2003.
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