Britain is still basking in glow of Waterloo over 30 years before. Lord Cardigan (Trevor Howard) is a hard commander of traditions. He dislikes Captain Nolan (David Hemmings) who actually has combat experience in India which makes him inferior to those who got their rank through their class status. Waterloo veteran Lord Raglan (John Gielgud) commands the British forces but he proves to be a poor one. 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. I don't know how important is the black bottle affair but nobody outside of Britain knows it and nobody cares. It takes an hour to start the war and that's 30 minutes too long. On the other hand, I really like the animation. It explains complex ideas in a short and simple fashion. There are lots of extras and the battles are impressively staged. The commanders are portrayed not merely incompetent but rather idiotic. It's not just the fog of war, arrogance and miscommunication. These guys are really stupid and worst of all lazy.
For a movie belittling the British military for being tradition-bound, this is an overly traditional historical drama. I don't know how important is the black bottle affair but nobody outside of Britain knows it and nobody cares. It takes an hour to start the war and that's 30 minutes too long. On the other hand, I really like the animation. It explains complex ideas in a short and simple fashion. There are lots of extras and the battles are impressively staged. The commanders are portrayed not merely incompetent but rather idiotic. It's not just the fog of war, arrogance and miscommunication. These guys are really stupid and worst of all lazy.