The Charge of the Light Brigade

Plot synopsis:
In 1854, Major Geoffrey Vickers (Errol Flynn) and his brother, Captain Perry Vickers (Patric Knowles), are stationed at the fictional city of Chukoti in India, with the 27th Lancers of the British Army during the period of East India Company dominance over the Indian subcontinent. Perry has secretly betrayed Geoffrey by stealing the love of his fiancee Elsa (Olivia de Havilland).
During an official visit to local tributary rajah, Surat Khan (C. Henry Gordon), Geoffrey saves the rajah's life. Later, Surat Khan massacres the inhabitants of Chukoti (mainly the dependents of the lancers), and allies himself with the Russians, whom the British are fighting in the Crimean War. He spares Elsa and Geoffrey as they flee the slaughter to repay his debt to Geoffrey.
The love triangle and the quest for vengeance are both resolved at the Battle of Balaclava. Aware that Surat Khan is inspecting the Russian position opposite the 27th Lancers, Geoffrey Vickers secretly replaces the written orders of Sir Charles Macefield (Henry Stephenson) to the commander of the Light Brigade, Sir Benjamin Warrenton (Nigel Bruce). Vickers then orders the famous suicidal attack so the lancers can avenge the Chukoti massacre. He writes a note to Macefield explaining his actions and forces his brother Perry to deliver it, sparing him from almost certain death. The attack succeeds in reaching the Russian artillery positions. There, Vickers finds and kills Surat Khan, at the cost of his own life.
After receiving Vickers' note, Macefield takes responsibility for the charge and burns the note to protect Vickers' good name.

Tags: anti war, cult, violence

Review:
First, it should be noted that Tony Richardson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade (1968) is not a remake of the Errol Flynn classic adventure film of 1936; rather it is based on the Cecil Woodham-Smith work of military history, "The Reason Why".
And these three stooges thoroughly deserve the censure of history, for never were the lives of six hundred brave men thrown away more senselessly than with the charge of the Light Brigade.Richardson depicts the insanity of the Crimean War and Victorian society's glorification of militarism with a death's head sense of humor which makes the horrors of the conflict all the more potent.
Both Lords had a long running personal feud which they quickly placed on an official level as well with unfortunate consequences for the Light Brigade.David Hemmings and Vanessa Redgrave are the young romantic leads.
Mark Dignam as General Airey, Raglan's Chief of Staff, ("Speak up Nolan, he's a bit hard of hearing, and that statue doesn't help!") Howard Marion-Crawford as Lt. General Sir George Brown, Peter Bowles as Captain Henry Duberly, Norman Rossington as Sergeant Major Corbett, ("Right foot, straw foot!") and especially Jill Bennett as a lascivious Fanny Duberly all are very effective.
Prior to this we see a series of apparently unconnected episodes which give the viewer an insight into the workings of Victorian society, including anti-intellectuallism and idleness among the 'upper' classes, and brutality and theft among the 'scum' recruited in the slums.While almost plot less this section of the film does follow a core of characters whose lives are connected by army service.
Faced with the reality of battle and the inadequacies of the commanders (the senile Raglan and the childish Lucan and Cardigan) his impatience and temper have tragic consequences as he impetuously points the Light Brigade ("There, my Lord, is your enemy, there are your guns!") towards the bloody fiasco of which he is the first victim.
If you can free yourself from the idea of a narrative history and give yourself up to a series of impressions which add new layers of understanding 'Charge of the Light Brigade' makes a fine historical film..
Military life is here portrayed in terms of ranks of men being bullied and brutalized by each successive rank above them, with the biggest, meanest and stupidest ones at the top.I found it quite interesting to see the famous charge, celebrated in the romantic verses of Tennyson, portrayed in such a matter-of-fact manner as a series of tactical blunders due to bad communication and incompatible personalities among the commanders.
The Charge of the Light Brigade is an example of one of these misfires.The film is a classic piece of late sixties film making; both in the bizarre arty techniques used, and in the bold anti-war message.
The audience is invited to feast upon the bumbling Lord Raglan (John Gielgud), who nonchalantly sits at his desk in the war office and calls the shots based only on his devotion to England's great past, rather than on any rational thought.
Note Lord Raglan's line: "It is a sad day for Britain when her officers know too much what they are doing." Nolan is the man trying to fight vainly against the ignorance-entrenched system.All this happens to the backdrop of Britain choosing to join in on a foreign war - to save Turkey from Russia.
These animations contrasted beautifully with the scenes of petty bickering and war-mongering in Lord Raglan's corridors of power.A great cast and a stark and powerful idea make The Charge of the Light Brigade an interesting film, and at least a good production.
Nolan's roll in the battle remains controversial and whether he delivered inaccurate verbal orders to Acrdigan to charge to prove the effectiveness of cavalry even against artillery or warn the brigade away has not been established because Nolan was killed.As for the Crimean War, it also depicts the drum beat to war accurately and the implication that most of the dying was done by commoners and much of the death was caused by disease.
Let's make it very clear from the outset, this version of The Charge of The Light Brigade is in no way a remake of the Errol Flynn film that Warner Brothers did in 1936.
The problem was all the powers were woefully unprepared for such a war, British included.The Charge of the Light Brigade as no other film explores the incredible ineptitude of the British Army at that time.
Lord Raglan who is played by John Gielgud was an able staff officer for Wellington, but as a strategist was hopelessly out of his depth.Howewver the main two blunderers were a pair of quarreling in-laws, Lord Cardigan and Lord Lucan played by Trevor Howard and Harry Andrews.
The charge at Balaclava gained its enduring legend through the popular poem of Alfred Lord Tennyson who was smart enough to romanticize the Noble Six Hundred instead of their inept leadership The movie that Errol Flynn and Olivia DeHavilland starred in back in 1936 was a romantic story inspired by that poem.What Tony Richardson and the cast he directed in 1968 bring you the real story of the charge.
I will congratulate ( With reservations ) the production team for making a very British type of historical epic , this is far more accurate than say ZULU which was ironically directed and co-written by a Hollywood film maker for a Hollywood studio and in that film Cy Endfield showed that perhaps you have to rewrite history ever so slightly to make a classic epic movie based upon actual events .
Unfortunately by being as accurate as possible as a history lesson THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE resembles the critically panned ZULU DAWN rather than ZULU which is in many film critics top ten movies including mine We learn that many British officers in the Victorian British army bought themselves their rank causing serious friction with officers who were totally professional soldiers who achieved their rank through talent .
My favourite subject is history (especially the Victorian era)and I was very pleased that Tony Richardson made this excellent film historically accurate.No Hollywood style poetic license.Some of the quotes that Capt.Nolan said were apparently excerpts from a book he wrote on cavalry warfare (which I have never found).I wondered how he (Richardson) would handle the fact that no one actually knows whether Cardigan reached the Russian guns or not and at what stage (if any) he turned back,but he seems to have glossed over that issue.I can only give this film 10 out of 10 because it is simply brilliant.The casting was superb with what I think was Trevor Howards best ever role,and Harry Andrews as Lord Lucan was perfect.I watched the Errol Flynn version of the events the other day and they seemed to have gone out of their way to make it as far from the truth as possible,right down to the uniforms and regiments involved.So well done to Tony Richardson etc.for making what is so far my favourite war film.Since writing my earlier comments I have discovered that Capt.Nolans book is still available "CAVALRY,ITS HISTORY AND TACTICS"and I would dearly love to read it but it costs £80!.I have also been told that the scene where Cardigan does actually reach the Russian guns was in fact edited from the final version.I thank other people for the comments and my learning more about a fascinating event in military history.
This conflict reaches The Times and enrages Nolan, who continues his arrogance even as the Light Brigade join the forces heading through Turkey.With stories of all manner of goings-on during the three year production of this film it is little wonder that in some regards this film is all over the place.
Anyway i have read a new book, by Saul David called the "the Homicidal Earl" about Cardigan and sheds much light on the sort of person he was to lead such a charge in Battle.In fact the Earl did get in to the guns and through them, however the main point of contention is why did not the Early wait for the 2nd and 3rd waves of the Light Brigade before he retired from the guns?
There are so many interesting aspects of this movie from the dandified dialogue to the cartoon inserts which are done in the style of Victorian illustrators of the day.A lot of high caliber actors really shine with the material including David Hemmings with his highly strung manner, Trevor Howard who has the funniest scene in the film when he spanks Fanny Duberley and the Lord Lucan of Harry Andrews who is constantly at war with Lord Cardigan, both being related and despise each other.
Even Geilgud shines as the confused Lord Raglan and his ineptitude in the role of commander really highlights the inadequacy of the British military of that age which, if you read the history books, were outclassed by the French management of their forces.The injustice of the class system is another facet of the film which really gets under the skin and leaves a lasting impression of the British Empire and the military which held it in place.
All of this demonstrates the sort of internal politics that goes on within organizations but not just the military.The battle scenes are very impressive, especially the final charge of the Light Brigade and the explanation of how this failure in military decision making occurred, is made perfectly clear.
Tony Richardson elects to go with Cecil Woodham Smith's historically accurate book instead of Tennyson's glorifying poem in this version of the oft filmed Charge of the Light Brigade.
It is a sprawling epic richly constructed, sumptuously photographed (with some splendid animation interludes) and well acted by a prestigious cast but its lumbering pace removes the urgency from the the build-up and the film staggers.Brigade's anti-war theme deals with the unvarnished state of the military and the disparity between officer and enlisted man leading up to the climactic battle.
Trevor Howard and Harry Andrews as the bickering and bumbling officers Cardigan and Lucan are magnificently and maddeningly vainglorious while John Gielguld leads with reticent senility forgetting at times what war and enemy he's fighting.
The (in)famous Charge of the Light Brigade during the Crimean War. Starting from several months earlier, we see the potential origins of and background to the debacle, as seen through the eyes of one of the chief orchestrators of it, Captain Lewis Nolan.Decent but disappointing.
By cutting out the fluff from the first half and adding in a more complete picture of the Battle of Balaclava, especially things like the Charge of the Heavy Brigade and the defensive stand by the 93rd Highland Regiment ("The Thin Red Line"), this could have been a great movie.At least this isn't as bad as the 1936 version of The Charge of the Light Brigade, starring Errol Flynn, though would take a lot to be that bad.
This chronicles the Brits in peace as they start the Crimean War and fight the Battle of Balaclava on October 25, 1854.For a movie belittling the British military for being tradition-bound, this is an overly traditional historical drama.
The battle scenes, too, are remarkably faithful to the original locations and deployments, given the obvious limitations in budget and pre-CGI effects.The actors playing they major characters, Raglan (Gielgud), Lucan (Andrews), and Cardigan (Howard) all do an excellent job.And I actually likes the Punch-style animated cut scenes.
So while there is a story to tell here there are no clear cut heroes except for the soldiers themselves, and certainly no villains.So, to make a movie, you can choose either to change history and make larger than life, cartoon characters based on the exaggerated media reports of the day, and the 1950's book which was something of a anti- Cardigan hit piece, ...
OK - I have NO idea what film the reviewer was watching that so highly praised the merits of this film...maybe he meant to opine upon the one made earlier with Flynn and DeHavilland.I'll keep this short and to the point - something that unfortunately was somewhat of a lesson lost to the crew that put this tripe together - and just list the points individually.-Dialogue works MUCH better when portrayed in a normal fashion by actors who give a fig about what they're spouting (I swear I saw John Gielgud flinch out of character once or twice)-I get it, you think that the class system of England was tyrannical - that was conveyed IN THE OPENING CREDITS!
You really need to be interested in history to appreciate this film fully, although everyone brought up in a British educational system will have heard of the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade.
The Charge of the light brigade is possibly the best film to depict what was so very wrong with the British empire.
The film also depicts most of its main characters as either ignorant, stupid or completely incompetent even it's hero/anti hero Captain Nolan the modern officer who is morals are at times very questionable.
Tony Richardson's film of 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' is, as has been said, not a re-make of the 1936 Errol Flynn film and more based on the book 'The Reason Why' than Tennyson's poem.Comparing the two, neither should be looked to as representation of true history (particularly the Flynn film, this version has a little more respect shown whereas history is cast to the wind in the earlier version).
The Flynn film is perhaps more accessible, whereas some may be confused with some of Richardson's ideas and what he's trying to say.Richardson's 'The Charge of the Light Brigade' did have a couple of things that weren't quite right.
Much is said, and while not always subtly (subtlety never was Richardson's middle name) it makes its point and often powerfully.In terms of performances, Trevor Howard, John Gielgud and Harry Andrews have the more meatier roles than Hemmings and Redgrave, and they in particular stand out in a near-uniformly impressive cast.
Tony Richardson's 1968 re-make of "The Charge of the Light Brigade" plays moore like an absurd black comedy than a historical military drama.
The major stumbling blocks to English victory over the Russians on the field were the childish bickering English officers Lord Lucan and Lord Cardigan (Harry Andrews, Trevor Howard) and their incredibly inept military commanders Lord Raglan (John Gielgud) and General Airey (Mark Dignam.) The film attempts to be historically accurate, but hampered with gossipy social gatherings, innocuous niceties, subtle private interludes and colorful military exercises, further punctuated with brutal, but changing military regimentation.
The animated triumphalist-patriotist drawings (in the style of Victorian newspaper caricatures) were a gifted idea executed with great power.One line that captured my attention for days was Gielgud's character giving judgement about Hemmings's character, the young gifted militaryman who seemed the positive hero until this part of the film, the man who would like to reform the army by throwing out the incompetent aristocrats.
In 1936 Errol Flynn appeared in a film called THE CHARGE OF THE LIGHT BRIGADE, directed (at Warner Brothers) by Michael Curtiz.
Tony Richardson's "The Charge of the Light Brigade" is a stylish anti-war film in its' commentary on military ineptitude, but it is weakened by subplots.
Its critique of class distinctions only occasionally work--particularly in the military scenes--as it tries to fit in as a film like John Schlesinger's "Far From the Madding Crowd" as another period piece commenting on class in Victorian England (and"Brigade," like "Crowd," has a woman being loved by at least two men--in "Crowd" it is three).The Light Brigade (The 11th Regiment of Hussars) is shabbily run by Lord Cardigan (Trevor Howard), who really is playing the part of a soldier due to his status.
Soldiers marching end up dead from cholera or from the enemy, which is compounded by Raglan's stupidity, as evidenced by the charge itself--done after only Nolan, tired of the inaction and incompetency, tries to get the brigade moving--and he does--but is killed, leaving Lucan, Cardigan, and Raglan only each other to blame."Brigade" is worth watching, but the love triangle and Mrs. Duberly bloated the film.
However, I did like the animated sequences that explain the historical context (particularly their engraving-type look).So if the film focused on the faulty preparation for the war and on the failed charge itself (a little more circumstance), and got rid of the love triangle in particular (a little less pomp), I would have liked it more..
I still have a soft spot for the film, despite its historical flaws and dated style.'The Charge of the Light Brigade' filters the Crimean War through the sensibilities of the Vietnam era.
(I recommend Moyse-Bartlett's biography, 'Louis Edward Nolan & His Influence on the British Cavalry' to anyone interested in the real man.) Trevor Howard's Cardigan and Harry Andrews' Lucan, the brothers-in-law from Hell, are better cast in terms of appearance, and are closer to their historical counterparts in characterisation.
Such a calamity could never happen today.Every movie about war reflects the period in which it was made, and it's interesting to compare this film, made in 1968, with the 1936 version starring Errol Flynn and directed by Michael Curtiz.
Nolan, trying to turn the Brigade in the right direction as the charge begins, is the first to die; this is one of the more ironic scenes I've ever seen in a movie.The only failing was the seemingly tacked-on love affair between Nolan and the wife (Vanessa Redgrave) of his long-time friend.I would suggest watching this film to anyone..
I watched the 1968 version of The Charge of the Light Brigade as part of my ongoing World War I film fest.
It has a great cast such as John Gielgud, Vanessa and Corin Redgrave, Trevor Howard, Harry Andrews and T.P. McKenna but it takes more than good acting to save it a film this bad.