Amazon.co.uk Review
War is hell, but it can bring out the best in the unlikeliest of men.
Sword of Honour, a splendid British miniseries, is based on the semi-autobiographical novel by Evelyn Waugh. Waugh's alter ego in the film, Guy Crouchback, played with gravitas, fortitude, and a wee bit of vulnerability by a pre-James Bond Daniel Craig, joins the World War II effort as an older soldier because he feels a pure calling to fight evil. And fight he does, though the realities of war and army life are ultimately revealed to him in all their venality and haphazardness. The film sweeps across Europe, from pre-war England--where life for the upper crust is all crisp linen, martinis, and a fierce denial of the notion that the British Empire is, in fact, doomed--to Capt. Crouchback's missions in Vichy France, an utterly destroyed Crete, Egypt, and more. All the while, Crouchback fights his own demons along with the Nazis; his alluring ex-wife, Virginia (played with sultry sensuality by the American actress Megan Dodds, so memorable in the British series
MI-5), to whom Crouchback is undeniably still drawn. The action and production values are topnotch, as is the ensemble cast. But the key is Craig, whose world-weary demeanor only barely masks the needs of a soldier--and a man--who is all too human. His performance is soul-stirring, and even those who think they aren't war-film fans will be captivated by the layered storytelling here. Extras include cast filmographies and a biography of Waugh.
--A.T. Hurley
Special Features
Aspect ratio: 16:9 anamorphic
Soundtrack: English, stereo
From the Back Cover
Award-winning novelist and screenwriter William Boyd brings Sword of Honour, Evelyn Waugh's classic trilogy of the Second World War, vividly to life in this epic two-part drama take from Channel 4 television.
At the heart of the story is one man's heroic quest -- both to fight for a deep moral cause and to reclaim his manhood after a shattering divorce from the society beauty Virginia Troy (Megan Dodds). But Guy Crouchback's (Daniel Craig) encounters with the absurd reality in the British Army from 1939-45, strewn with bureaucratic blunders, military debacles and indelibly funny characters, prove to be more of a challenge than facing the enemy itself.
In strong contrast to Guy's military experience, his renewed and passionate acquaintance with his dangerously beautiful ex-wife provokes a personal and moral crisis that tests to the limit both his undying love for Virginia and his profound sense of duty. Sword of Honour is both a war story and a love story -- as well as a biting satire on the emergence of the world we lice in today.
