The Four Feathers
by Shekhar Kapur
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Campbell Brown, Heath Ledger, Kate Hudson, Mohamed Bouich, Wes BentleyDirector: Shekhar Kapur
Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
Producer: Allon Reich
Producer: Julie Goldstein
Producer: Laurie Borg
Producer: Marty Katz
Writer: A.E.W. Mason
Writer: Hossein Amini
Writer: Michael Schiffer
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Running Time: 132 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-02-18
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
Movie Reviews of The Four Feathers
Movie Review: Feeling a little anxious, Harry?
Summary: 5 Stars
Well. I don't really know where to begin. I guess it is to say that I thought this a very fine movie. Wes Bently (Durrance) is no Ralph Richardson and Heath Ledger is no Jon Clements. That seems to be the central criticism of this movie. Here's what I found to be quite enjoyable.
Like Marvin Gaye's "Heard it on the Grapevine," possibly the most recorded or 'covered' R&B tune, A.E.W. Mason's book over a 100 years ago has been made into movies seven times. I can't think of another book that has had that success. Why is that?
Well. Because it's a wonderful story that asks questions that remain to this day unanswerable. Without sounding sexist, as long as women dress for the hunt and struggle to maintain what both genders safely call "allure," men will question each other's courage. Whether you're in the third grade or in the Third Reich or in the Army Rangers or in the United States Marine Corps, the issue is going to come up.
What makes the Four Feathers a great canvas for that issue is that the British are such easy targets. Nevertheless, it could have been written in Greek History with the 300 Spartans, Roman History with Horatio at the Bridge, and on and on. It's a fascinating issue. Can we be afraid? Are we all afraid and just some of us will it away? Are there those who are unafraid?
So forget the statement that poor Harry ought not feel that way. We love this story and ALL the movies made about it because, like the reference to alluring dress above, the question is timeless.
The other reason I like the movie is because it clearly allows Harry (Heath Ledger) to remove himself from the Commissioning scrolls in the absence of fraud or wilful bad behavior. In the past (and I believe in the Mason work itself) the script created an environment where Faversham receives the orders for himself and his three friends (Durrance, Willoughby, Burrows) and then hides them giving him time to resign. That's a different cup of tea, if you will. Here, Ledger just resigns, and makes no secret of the reason.
Additionally, I liked Kate Hudson. She always reminded me of why they should prohibit nepotism in every profession, having gotten her job seemingly only because of her parentage and step-parentage. But she does a credible job as Ethene, and actually takes the role a step further by showing remorse and an acknowledgement of her hideous mistake, no doubt being the straw that breaks the camel's back so to speak, pushing Harry into the Sudan he so wanted to escape. Good acting job, Kate.
Djimon Hounsou did a wonderful job as Harry's protector once he actually makes it to the Sudan. An excellent actor who looks like the brick wall it's a good thing he wasn't around years earlier when they were casting for "Conan," or there would be a different Governor of California.
The tedious comparisons with the 1939 version are just that, tedious. The story in THIS version is still great. Ledger, Hudson, Bently and Hounsou do an above average job, the dialogue is excellent, and the photography is brilliant. The battle sequence of the British Square being filmed from above is the best I have ever seen. 1939 was 75 years ago. Yes, it was a brilliant film. It was still 75 years ago. Move on. 5 stars. Larry Scantlebury
Summary of The Four Feathers
HARRY FEVERSHAM IS A BRITISH SOLDIER WITH A GOLDEN FUTURE - UNTIL HE INEXPLICABLY RESIGNS FROM HIS REGIMENT. HARRY IS BRANDED A COWARD, DISOWNED BY HIS FAMILY, HIS BEAUTIFUL FIANCE& HIS BEST FRIEND. HARRY RECEIVES NEWS THAT HIS REGIMENT HASBEEN BRUTALLY ATTACKED SO HE SETS OUT SAVE THEIR LIVES.The seventh filming of A.E.W. Mason's classic 1902 novel, this near-epic production of The Four Feathers looks great, sounds great, and feels rather average. It would be difficult to diminish the rousing adventure of Mason's novel, and director Shekhar Kapur (Elizabeth) certainly gets more bang for his buck, with massive battle scenes and rugged, sun-baked harshness enhanced by Robert Richardson's masterful cinematography. Kapur preserves the universal appeal of the story, set in the 1880s, in which a promising soldier (Heath Ledger) resigns on the eve of battle in Britain's Sudanese campaign, is labeled a coward by his fiancée (Kate Hudson), and redeems himself by posing as a Muslim warrior to rescue his best friend Jack (Wes Bentley) from certain death in the desert. For all its heroics, however, the film seems oddly passionless; Djimon Hounsou is excellent as Ledger's desert guardian, but these young Hollywood stars lack the authenticity of Zoltan Korda's 1939 film, which remains the definitive version. --Jeff Shannon
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