The Four Feathers [DVD]

I recently decided to pick up The Four Feathers when it was on a pretty good discount. I had a hunch that this film was one I watched when I was younger. I had a lot more familiarity with the Heath Ledger remake but felt that it was worth having a gander at this film as a change of pace from the recent mass release of comic book films. I was not disappointed in the film, not in the slightest.The Four Feathers is a film by Zoltan Korda and was released all the way back in 1939. The films plot is pretty basic and quite easy to follow. basically the story follows a British soldier who is branded a coward by his three friends (and fellow soldiers) as well as his fiance. The symbol of choice being a card with a white feather on top. Despite having no desire to soldier, the main character takes this as an insult to his character and goes on a spectacular adventure to return each feather to their owner. A good 2/3 of the film follows the main character through some epic battles and a great escape of sorts. I can't imagine many people struggling to keep up with the plot. It is basic and does everything it really needs to.The film has a lot of enjoyable set pieces from great sandy deserts to some great shots of the river Nile, each one serves the story perfectly. There are a few set pieces clearly done on a stage, but they're quite convincing for the most part. In fact, since most of the staged sets were mainly representing England, I think it shows a nice contrast between the home country and the sand covered environments that dominate the movie. It's a good contrast and was handled very well. Especially from a time when the difference between an in studio set and an exterior shot could look extremely different.Unfortunately, the beauty of the landscape is let down by the visual quality of the film itself. It is very clear that the source for this "The British Film" bluray is not up to the usual standard. There is a lot of scratches and discolourisation through out the film. There are a number of scenes that look quite good but the majority of the film looks like it has seen better times. It is a bit of a shame really as this film would look beautiful if it was given the treatment of Gone With the Wind from the same year, as an example.With all that said, this is still a great movie to own. There is a lot of things to love about the film, even if the image quality is a bit dodgy. I personally thought the pacing of the film was spot on (until the rather abrupt ending) and the humour placed through out was good fun. I wouldn't recommend this specific version of the film at full price. But if you can get this on a discount like myself, it is worth it. A very enjoyable movie, indeed.

Good, well-known 1939 British film (made in colour despite the early date) set in the 1890s. The hero, a young British army officer, near the beginning of the film resigns his commission rather than go with his regiment to fight in Lord Kitchener's campaign in the Sudan. To show their contempt for his apparent cowardice his 3 best friends in the regiment and his fiancee each give him a white feather.The rest of the story is about he how sets out to redeem himself by performing 4 acts of courage, one in front of each of those who gave him a feather, after which they accept return of their feathers. This includes travelling in disguise to the Sudan, where the war is raging, to perform 3 of the acts of courage, and the last on return to Britain. In each case he does not just do something brave for show, but to help people.The Sudan War was set off by a charismatic, dangerous, deluded Muslim fanatic who convinced himself and his followers that he was the 'Mahdi' (a kind of Muslim 'Messiah', prophesied to appear at the end of days) and it was his mission to wage war on unbelievers, comparable to the 'Islamic State' in recent times. The Mahdi's army captured the Sudanese Capital Khartoum, where the Blue and White Niles join to make the Nile proper, killing the then British hero General Gordon who had been left with inadequate forces to defend it. After the Mahdi's death his followers were crushed by a British and Egyptian army led by Lord Kitchener at the battle of Omdurman.Although it is a dramatic story, the Sudan War is relatively little remembered or understood now, although there is an even better film (at least to me) about the earlier stage of it starring Charleton Heston and Laurence Olivier just called 'Khartoum'. Winston Churchill as a young man was in Kitchener's army and wrote an interesting book about what happened called 'The River War'.However, the Sudan War is probably now best known for the Lance Corporal Jones character in 'Dad's Army's reminisces about serving in it half a century before.

Based on the novel by A E W Mason, this is good old fashioned 'Boys Own' adventure story set in the Sudan shortly after Gordon of Khartoum was killed. An army officer resigns his commission just as his regiment is posted to the battle front in the Sudan. His friends and his fiancee each send him a white feather signifying cowardice. He sets out to prove them wrong. Made in 1939 and shot on location in the Sudan, the technicolor film quality belies its age and is very good for its era. This story has been filmed a couple of times under different titles, but this is arguably the best. PS: I wrote that about the DVD. I now have a Blu-ray version; The video is markedly better with vibrant colours and a lighter, brighter picture, particularly in the indoor shots. The sound, on the other hand, was not so satisfactory. The speech was clear enough but has a slightly louder dynamic and the music suffered from amplitude distortion. Having said that the Blu-ray is worth having for the picture alone.