The Four Feathers (2002)

Director:

Shekhar Kapur

Writers (WGA):

A.E.W. Mason (novel)
Michael Schiffer (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

20 September 2002 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure | Drama | War

Tagline:

Freedom. Country. Honor. Passion. To save his best friend, one man must risk everything he loves.

Plot:

A British officer resigns his post just before battle and subsequently receives four white feathers from his friends and fiancee as symbols of what they believe to be his cowardice.

Plot Keywords:

Cowardice | British | Sudan | North Africa | Church Of England

Cast

Wes Bentley	...	Jack Durrance
Mohamed Bouich	...	Sudanese Storyteller
Campbell Brown	...	Dervish Ansar
Daniel Caltagirone	...	Gustave
James Cosmo	...	Col. Sutch
Andy Coumbe	...	Colonel Other Regiment
Angela Douglas	...	Aunt Mary
Karim Doukkali	...	Egyptian Orderly
Lucy Gordon	...	Isabelle
Megan Hall	...	Millie
James Hillier	...	Drunken Corporal
Nick Holder	...	British Lion
Djimon Hounsou	...	Abou Fatma
Kate Hudson	...	Ethne Eustace
Alex Jennings	...	Colonel Hamilton

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for intense battle sequences, disturbing images, violence and some sensuality.

Runtime:

131 min | Canada:125 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA | UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:14 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Portugal:M/12 (original rating) | Malaysia:U | Australia:M (TV rating) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:MA | Brazil:12 | Canada:14A | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:R13 | Norway:15 | Peru:14 | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Singapore:PG (cut) | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | Switzerland:14 (canton of the Grisons) | UK:15 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #39145) (edited for re-rating) | USA:R (original rating)

Filming Locations:

Bledlow, Buckinghamshire, England, UK

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

The major fight scene is the Battle of Abu Klea, which took place on January 17, 1885. A British Desert Column of approximately 1,100 troops fought a Mahdist force of over 12,000 dervishes. The scene depicted in the film, however, is a fictional version of the actual battle.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: In the beginning while the troops are training they charge dummies with bayonets. Several bayonets are obviously rubber.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Title Card: By 1884 over a quarter of the earth's surface had been conquered by the British Army. There was no greater honor for a young man than to fight for Queen and Country. Those that refused the call to arms brought shame and humiliation on their friends and families...
Title Card: The Symbol of their disgrace was the white feather of cowardice...

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants (2004)

Beautiful-Looking, Old Fashioned War Melodrama

"Four Feathers" reminded me of "Dances With Wolves," a beautiful try at PC reinterpretation of a soldier's role in an imperialistic war.

While I haven't read the original novel or have seen any of the previous five filmed versions of the story and my knowledge of the history of this period is pretty much formed by movies and "Masterpiece Theatre," this is the first one done by someone born in a former British colony, director Shekhar Kapur, so I was curious to see how the natives were treated (well, more like the Pawnee than the Lakota in "Wolves").

This version also carries today's symbolic weight of Western soldiers against Muslim warriors, especially as the enemy is identified as the Mahdi -- who Osama Bin Lama proclaimed as the last glory of Islam that he aspired to replicate.

This new interpretation has Heath Ledger refusing to fight in the Sudan not because of the cowardice symbolized by the titular feathers but more in the spirit of Country Joe McDonald's view of the Viet Nam War.

I got lost a few times in the geography and rescue choreography and found Djimon Hounsou a noble African with no motivation or reason for being there whatsoever.

However, the cinematography is gorgeous and will all be lost in video. Particularly thrilling are the battle scenes, which rate up there with "Barry Lyndon." I was especially impressed that Kapur didn't keep repeating the same sight lines, as most show-off directors do about shots that must have taken hours to set up.

While crossing and re-crossing the sands didn't make a lot of sense with little explanation as to survival, the treks and fights there were lovely.

And heck, I'm a fan of the three leads, Ledger (who looks great even in a fright wig), Wes Bentley and Kate Hudson (who mostly gets to dress up and look pretty), so I just sat back and enjoyed an old-fashioned big-screen Hollywood adventure (despite the endless chatter from the row of old ladies behind me).

(originally written 9/21/2002)