The Charge of the Light Brigade [DVD]

 

 

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I would have given this 5 stars, had it not been for the fact that this film has been quite severely cut, with various scenes edited out from the original cinema release. This was presumably done to include the extra 28 minutes of 'extras' such as the irrelevant 1912 featurette. This is a great shame, as this film should have been shown in its entirety as it is a film deserving of recognition. A missed opportunity

......... I have now acquired two versions of this brilliant film only to be disappointed by the senseless cutting ........ again in this version the wedding scene between Clarissa (Vanessa Redgrave) and William Morris Mark Burns) has been cut to the bearest intention and fails dismally in projecting the viewer into the cultural glimpse of Victorian England and the comradery and 'glue' of the Regimental social structure as was depicted in the original Richardson ........ where paymaster Duberly (Peter Bowles) plays the piano mounted on a hay rick ... CUT ........ the picket scene where Raglan (Sir John Geilgud) has is hat shot through is vital for establishing the charatcter of Raglan and enlightening the viewer about the social structure of the Victorian officer corps and the anomolies of command by placing inept officers by recommendation of family and title rather than by (h)ability (Mog- Alan Dobie) ....... CUT .......the scene where Nolan(David Hemmings) and Morris (Mark Burns) are out riding beyond the Allied piquet lines and come across three troopers cooking breakfast, among them trooper Corbett of the 17th Lancers, nee Sergeant Major 11th Hussars (Norman Rossington) flogged, broken and disgraced by the unscrupulous Cardigan (Trevor Howard) when he refused to spy on Nolan at Cardigans order and made Cardigans intention known to Nolan ..... now has his breakfast pinched by Nolan and Morris ...... adding injury to insult !!! ...... important in establishing the general disregard of the enlisted man's sensibilites by the officer class at this time ... interestingly dressed as comradery .. CUT ... the second flogging scene where the trooper (Credit unknown)found asleep on Guard Duty is flogged ........ this scene is vital in enhancing this mans character (as well as that of Cardigans) when later we are shown his inability to accept the death of his horse after the charge ....... by willing the animal to rise again ...... a vital illustration of the sinewy tough character of the men who actually charged .. CUT ...

.......... please oh please will somebody release this marvellous film in its entirety !!!! ????????? ........... with all the aformentioned wounds dressed and restored to visual health !!!!!!!!!

Phillip Flockhart May 2009

"They will not fight unless they are flogged to it. Would you ask that of them? Would you ask they fight like fiends of Hell for money? Or h'ideas? That would be unchristian."

The Charge of the Light Brigade is one of those films that disappointed me on a first viewing (like many, I was expecting an epic adventure film) but which I love more each time I see it.

Charles Wood's delicious use of language makes the dialog a joy to listen to, and for the most part the performances do it justice - not just the likes of Trevor Howard, Harry Andrews and John Gielgud's delightfully vague Lord Raglan, but also the smaller roles like Norman Rossington's broken Sergeant and Alan Dobie's impoverished officer Mogg, who makes up in jovial and ignorant arrogance what he lacks in wit. It's an astonishingly ambitious film, and for the most part succeeds, painting a portrait not just of a time and place but a whole state of mind - it's not just the bungles of the Crimean War and the casual cruelty of the army in Richardson's sights but the blind stupidity of Britain's entire Victorian class system.

The film is even brave enough to have its nominal hero, David Hemmings' Captain Nolan, be as inadvertently unsympathetic as the superiors he rails against - he might seem more enlightened, but he'll still thoughtlessly finish off his men's breakfast (in one of several scenes cut for this DVD) or push away a wounded soldier. As careless with his men as Raglan is, you can see his point when he dreads the day when professional soldiers like Nolan will run a modern army - "It will be a sad day for England when her armies are led by men who know too well what they are doing- it smacks of murder."

Perhaps it's that lack of someone to root for that helped kill the film at the box-office (along with Richardson's refusal to have press screenings because he felt critics were not intelligent enough to appreciate the film), but I'd still love to see the four-hour rough cut footage emerge from its prison in the BFI's vaults some day. Several stills exist of deleted scenes (such as Cardigan's encounter with Russian troops on his return from the charge: they let him go in respect of his rank in reality) and although his part as a Russian Prince was otherwise completely cut, Laurence Harvey can still be briefly glimpsed in the theatre scene (along with Donald Wolfit playing MacBeth).

What gaps were left by the cuts and budget restrictions (not that the film isn't genuinely spectacular) are admirably filled in by Richard Williams stunningly imaginative and witty animation - old woodcut prints come to life as the British lion puts on his policeman's helmet to stop Russia assaulting Turkey - and John Addison's magnificent score. Amazingly, the pity of it all is not lost under the wit, with the starkest of endings as the generals argue over whose fault it is while flies buzz around dead horses. A truly great film.

Sadly, this is not a great DVD.

The transfer is for the most part fine, but the animation sequences and the all but unreadable credits do suffer. What really disappoints is the fact that, like the previous laserdisc issue, this is a heavily cut version missing some 6-7 minutes. The ommission of Vanessa Redgrave's horrendous singing may be a merciful release, but the ommission of a reel from the Crimea scenes (including the flogging scene of a sentry who inadvertently shot at Raglan and Cardigan subsequently rewarding the flogged man for his bravery) are definitely not. The only extra is a trailer.

Sadly, it appears that despite releasing a video of the longer version (minus a few seconds of vicious horsefalls), the BFI's R2 DVD is the same cut version, albeit with slightly better extras (an interview with Richard Williams and a silent version of the Charge). Very disappointing.

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2.0 out of 5 stars Inaccurate and void of key events
A lot of reviews focus on the cutting of certain scenes and focus on the fabric of Victorian popular and military social structure, but since the film is supposedly about the... Read more

Published 1 month ago by M. R. Shillitoe

3.0 out of 5 stars Over Charged
Bearing no resemblance whatsoever to the 1930s Errol Flynn version, this Charge of the Light Brigade is a truly strange enterprise that takes a long and winding route to deliver... Read more

Published 17 months ago by Cowboy Buddha

3.0 out of 5 stars US release 139mins
I see the US release is 139mins. Why do British distributors have to mutilate films?

Published 17 months ago by Mrs. Susan E. A. Andrews

1.0 out of 5 stars Oh god they've done it again
If ever a company chose an inapropriate name OPTIMUM it was you. Go and sit in the corner.
BFI lets be having you, on blu-ray this time.

Published 20 months ago by whiteside

3.0 out of 5 stars a brillant film ruined for no good reason.
this film which i saw first in the cinema when it first came out was always in my mind a very good film well acted with good actors in fact some the very best of british actors... Read more

Published 20 months ago by N. M. Thorogood

2.0 out of 5 stars Not what I expected
This DVD was a disappointmnet. -I found it badly made with a story that was difficult to follow. Wouldn't recommend.

Published on 20 Jan 2010 by S. A. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars How the turkish cavalry did it!
Filmed in Turkey with their serving "Cavalry" costumed as extras. Note at end of movie an officer walks about dispatching wounded horses with a pistol. Read more

Published on 3 Nov 2009 by K. James

3.0 out of 5 stars You've Lost the Light Brigade!
Even in its abused, neglected state (hence the three-star rating), Tony Richardson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" is still a fantastic piece of cinema and a sadly overlooked... Read more

Published on 6 Oct 2009 by Martin Greaves

3.0 out of 5 stars Truth Hurts
Compared to the earlier Errol Flynn version which provides a highly romanticised version of events, this production is true to the historical facts. Read more

Published on 2 July 2009 by Tom Reilly

2.0 out of 5 stars A truly great film on a disappointing DVD
"They will not fight unless they are flogged to it. Would you ask that of them? Would you ask they fight like fiends of Hell for money? Or h'ideas? That would be unchristian. Read more

Published on 27 Jun 2009 by Trevor Willsmer

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